Citizens have always carefully monitored the decisions taken by politicians as these determine their lives. Therefore, criticism against these public figures has come from many areas, literature being one of the most important. According to Benito Pérez Galdós, politics was a means of improving Spanish society, so his social commitment led him to participate in politics. In fact, he was elected as a member of parliament on two occasions. However, he also denounced politics as a mass show. More specifically, he fiercely criticizes some politicians who behave as clowns, with ridiculous speeches and comical gestures, in El amigo Manso by making use of caricature and irony. Although this work was published in 1882, the time of the Spanish Bourbon Restoration, it bears a strong resemblance to contemporary Spain.