Justice or Impunity? Learn Spanish with a News Story

Key vocabulary

• mitinm.

  rally, political meeting

  “El mitin del partido duró dos horas.”— The party's rally lasted two hours.

  Pattern dar un mitin to hold a rally

  Compare concentración (f.)

  Plural: mítines

  💡 From English 'meeting', but the Spanish spelling and pronunciation have been localized.

• enfrentamientom.

  confrontation, clash

  “Hubo un enfrentamiento entre los aficionados.”— There was a confrontation between the fans.

  Pattern enfrentamiento armado armed conflict

  Compare conflicto (m.)

  Plural: enfrentamientos

  💡 Formed from the verb enfrentar (to confront) + the noun suffix -miento.

• denunciarv.

  to report, denounce

  “Los vecinos denunciaron el ruido a la policía.”— The neighbors reported the noise to the police.

  Pattern denunciar un delito to report a crime

  Compare acusar (v.)

  Conjugation: denuncio, denuncias, denuncia...

  💡 The noun form is denuncia, often used with presentar.

• juezm./f.

  judge

  “El juez dictó sentencia después del juicio.”— The judge issued a verdict after the trial.

  Pattern el juez de instrucción examining magistrate

  Compare magistrado (m.)

  Plural: jueces

  💡 The feminine form is la jueza, but traditionally the masculine form is also used for women.

• archivarv.

  to file, archive; to dismiss (a case)

  “El fiscal pidió archivar la investigación.”— The prosecutor asked to dismiss the investigation.

  Pattern archivar el caso to close the case

  Compare cerrar (v.)

  Conjugation: archivo, archivas, archiva...

  💡 From archivo (archive); in legal contexts it means 'to shelve a case'.

• impunidadf.

  impunity, exemption from punishment

  “La impunidad es un problema en muchos países.”— Impunity is a problem in many countries.

  Pattern quedar en la impunidad to go unpunished

  Plural: impunidades

  💡 Root in- (not) + punir (to punish), related to punición.

• testigom./f.

  witness

  “Un testigo vio el accidente desde su ventana.”— A witness saw the accident from his window.

  Pattern testigo ocular eyewitness

  Compare observador (m.)

  Plural: testigos

  💡 Note that it is not testimonio (testimony); testigo refers to a person.

• pruebaf.

  proof, evidence

  “No hay pruebas contra el acusado.”— There is no evidence against the accused.

  Pattern prueba suficiente sufficient evidence

  Compare evidencia (f.)

  Plural: pruebas

  💡 The noun form of the verb probar (to prove).

• titularm.

  headline

  “El titular de hoy habla de política.”— Today's headline is about politics.

  Pattern el titular de un periódico newspaper headline

  Compare encabezado (m.)

  Plural: titulares

  💡 Also used as an adjective meaning 'starting' or 'regular', as in jugador titular.

• justiciaf.

  justice

  “La justicia es ciega.”— Justice is blind.

  Pattern sistema de justicia justice system

  Compare derecho (m.)

  Plural: justicias

  💡 Adjective justo (fair), antonym injusticia.

• sistemam.

  system

  “El sistema educativo necesita cambios.”— The education system needs changes.

  Pattern sistema judicial judicial system

  Compare estructura (f.)

  Plural: sistemas

  💡 From Greek systema; note that it is a masculine noun.

• investigarv.

  to investigate, research

  “La policía investiga el robo.”— The police are investigating the robbery.

  Pattern investigar un caso to investigate a case

  Compare examinar (v.)

  Conjugation: investigo, investigas, investiga...

  💡 Noun investigación, cognate with English investigate.

Grammar spotlight

Sentence patterns to steal

• Sin embargo, un juez ha decidido archivar la denuncia, es decir, cerrar el caso sin castigar a nadie.

  However, a judge has decided to dismiss the complaint, that is, to close the case without punishing anyone.

  Sin embargo, ... ha decidido + inf., es decir, ...You can replace the subject (e.g., el gobierno, la empresa) and the verb (e.g., aceptar, rechazar).

• Esta decisión ha sorprendido a muchas personas, porque hay testigos y vídeos que muestran los hechos.

  This decision has surprised many people, because there are witnesses and videos that show the events.

  Esta decisión ha sorprendido a + someone, porque + reasonYou can replace the noun (e.g., noticia, cambio) and the reason clause.

• Para algunos, la justicia no ha actuado de forma correcta.

  For some, the justice system has not acted correctly.

  Para algunos, + subject + no ha actuado de forma + adj.You can replace the subject (e.g., el gobierno) and the adjective (e.g., transparente, eficaz).

• Piensan que cerrar el caso sin investigar bien es una forma de impunidad.

  They think that closing the case without investigating properly is a form of impunity.

  Piensan que + gerund/infinitive + es una forma de + nounYou can replace the verb (e.g., actuar, decidir) and the noun (e.g., corrupción, injusticia).

• Aprender español también es entender la realidad de los países hispanohablantes.

  Learning Spanish is also understanding the reality of Spanish-speaking countries.

  Aprender + language también es entender + realityYou can replace the language (e.g., inglés) and the reality (e.g., cultura, historia).