The Spanish Evangelical Alliance (AEE) published a document called 'Vota con criterio' (Vote with an informed opinion), to encourage reflection prior to the general elections that will take place on Sunday 23 July,

“This text will not tell you who to vote for, but it will help you to choose in the light of the Word of God”, says in the introduction Xesús Manuel Suárez, Secretary General of the AEE and coordinator of the document.

You can download the document for free here (Spanish language).

The 73-page text presents 10 topics of general interest, which are important for society and particularly for evangelicals. The different authors, all of whom are specialists in their field, provide a reflection from a biblical perspective addressing the challenges and opportunities that Spanish society is currently facing.

A reference document

The document is already a tradition of the AEE, which has previously provided it under the name 'Vote wisely', and has now changed its title, to reinforce the aim “that each evangelical creates their own criteria responsibly to decide their vote”.

“The aim is to help evangelicals to exercise their responsibility to vote with informed criteria”, Suárez told Spanish news website Protestante Digital.

That is why the document “never gives any indication of how to vote. It just shows the current situation, what biblical criteria we can find for each of the aspects of political life, and some questions that help us to discern where the wisest way to vote may be”.

“We encourage people to vote, not not out of sympathy, or because of what they hear, but to engage in a responsible, rigorous analysis of who to vote for and why. And for this reason we believe that it is useful to review each area of political activity”, said Suárez.

Ten themes, nine authors

'Vote with criteria', which is available in PDF format and can be downloaded free of charge from the AEE website, is divided into ten thematic chapters.

Javier Otero, who holds a degree in teaching, teaches evangelical religious education and is the national secretary of the Assemblies of God, writes about Education.

Health is the theme addressed by Ángel Sierra, a retired doctor and Master in medical management and clinical management.

Immigration is covered by Ángel Manuel Hernández, pastor of the Iglesia Misión Cristiana Moderna (Modern Christian Mission Church), with several governmental distinctions for his social work.

Denís Suárez, musician and composer, with a degree in Hebrew and Aramaic Studies, will tackle Culture.

Marc Correa Domenech, professor at the ESADE business school, specialising in finance, addresses two topics: Fiscal policy, and Economics and the financial system.

Jaume Llenas, graduate in Law and national coordinator of the Graduate Bible Groups, writes on 'Territorial planning'.

A new theme introduced in this edition is the Roma people. 'Today I want to talk about my people... the Romani people' is a contribution by Fernando Navarro, pastor and director of the Philadelphia evangelical Bible school.

The debates around the role of media are addressed by Pedro Tarquis, general director of Areópago Protestante, which includes news websites Protestante Digital and Evangelical Focus.

Finally, Europe closes the document, by Xesús Manuel Suárez, medical doctor and Secretary General of the Spanish Evangelical Alliance.

Participation in politics, a responsibility for all

The aim of the AEE is to provide resources to participate in public life, which is a necessary participation.

“Politicians want irresponsible citizens, that is what we cannot be”, stressed Suárez. “As Christians, we have to understand that politics is no more corrupt than any other arena and we are called to participate, and voting is just another way to do so”.

Training days on politics for university students

The AEE, along with the University Bible Groups (GBU - IFES), encourages young people to get involved in politics. This summer, a new edition of the Political Training School will be held as part of the camp organised by GBU.

“We should not run away from problems, but prepare ourselves to face them properly”, concluded Suárez.

You can read and download the full document here (in Spanish).