The article deals with the sociocultural and historical background of the Olivencia Report and relates this to the document's content, particularly, to its recommendations for Spanish Boards. A discussion of the distinctively Spanish understandings of loyalty, due diligence and transparency is included. The work ends with insights into parallelisms between corporate governance and political government, specifically on the role of culture, democratic representation and accountability, the distribution of power, the protection of property rights and equality.