Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Creo que es justo que todas las personas tengan la misma libertad para opinar con respeto. - I believe it is fair that all people have the same freedom to express their opinion with respect.

The structure es justo que + subjunctive expresses a judgment / evaluation (it is fair that…, it is right that…).
After many expressions of opinion, value, or emotion (es justo que, es importante que, es bueno que, me alegra que, etc.), Spanish normally requires the present subjunctive, not the indicative.

So:

Creo que es justo que todas las personas tengan… ✅
Creo que es justo que todas las personas tienen… ❌ (sounds wrong / non‑native)

Even though creo que alone often takes the indicative (e.g. creo que tienen razón), the following expression es justo que forces the subjunctive in the next verb (tengan).

What tense and mood is tengan, and how is it formed from tener?

Tengan is present subjunctive, 3rd person plural (they).

Formation from tener:

Start with the yo form of the present indicative: tengo.
Drop the -o: teng-.
Add the subjunctive endings for -er / -ir verbs:
- yo: tenga
- tú: tengas
- él/ella/usted: tenga
- nosotros: tengamos
- vosotros: tengáis
- ellos/ellas/ustedes: tengan

So tengan = they have (in a subjunctive context: that they have).

Why are there two que (in creo que and es justo que)? Do they mean the same thing?

Both que here are conjunctions meaning that, and each introduces its own clause:

Creo que → introduces what you believe:
- Creo que / I think that…
es justo que → introduces the situation being judged as fair:
- es justo que / (it) is fair that…

Structurally:

Creo que
- es justo que
  - todas las personas tengan la misma libertad para opinar con respeto.

You need both:

Creo es justo que… ❌ (missing que after creo)
Creo que es justo tengan… ❌ (missing que after es justo)

Each que belongs to its own expression.

Why is it todas las personas and not toda la gente or todo el mundo?

All three are possible in Spanish, but they differ in tone and register:

todas las personas
- Literally all the people / all persons.
- Sounds neutral, inclusive, and slightly more formal.
- Fits well with topics like rights, justice, equality.
toda la gente
- More like everyone / all the people in a colloquial sense.
- Very common in speech: toda la gente debería…
todo el mundo
- Literally the whole world, but often means everyone.
- Informal/neutral, very common in conversation.

In this sentence, todas las personas matches the somewhat formal, rights‑focused idea: all people should have the same freedom.

Why is personas feminine, so we say todas las personas even if we mean men and women?

In Spanish, grammatical gender doesn’t always match biological gender:

The noun persona is feminine by definition, no matter who it refers to.
- una persona alta can be a tall man or a tall woman.
Because persona is feminine, all agreeing words must be feminine:
- todas las personas (not todos)
- las personas (not los)

So:

todas las personas can still mean all people, including men and women.
The feminine agreement is purely grammatical here, not ideological.

Why is it la misma libertad and not just misma libertad or el mismo libertad?

Two issues: the article and the gender.

Article: la vs (no article)
In Spanish, you usually need a definite article with misma/mismo in this sense:
- la misma libertad = the same freedom
- misma libertad (without la) sounds incomplete or non‑native here.
Gender agreement:
- libertad is a feminine noun → la libertad.
- So misma must also be feminine: la misma libertad.
- el mismo libertad is incorrect because libertad is not masculine.

So la misma libertad is the grammatically correct way to say the same freedom.

Why is there no a before todas las personas? Isn’t there a “personal a” for people?

The personal a is used when a person is the direct object of the verb, not when it is the subject.

Here, todas las personas is the subject of tengan:
- (que) todas las personas tengan la misma libertad…
- → that all people have the same freedom…

We only use the personal a in cases like:

Veo a todas las personas. – I see all the people.
Respeto a todas las personas. – I respect all people.

As a subject, no a is used, just like in English you don’t add any special marker to the subject.

Why is it para opinar and not para que opinen?

Both are possible, but they’re slightly different grammatically and stylistically.

para opinar con respeto (infinitive):
- Literally: to give opinions respectfully / to express opinions with respect.
- para + infinitive = purpose or use (to + verb).
- The understood subject of opinar is todas las personas.
para que opinen con respeto (subjunctive clause):
- Literally: so that they may give opinions respectfully.
- para que + subjunctive more explicitly introduces a purpose clause.

In this sentence:

tengan la misma libertad para opinar con respeto is smoother and more focused on the freedom to do X (where X = opinar con respeto).
tengan la misma libertad para que opinen con respeto is grammatically possible, but sounds more roundabout and less natural here.

So para opinar is the more natural choice in this structure.

What is the difference between opinar and phrases like expresar su opinión or decir lo que piensan?

All are related to expressing thoughts, but there are nuances:

opinar
- Means to give an opinion.
- Very direct and common: ¿Qué opinas? = What do you think? / What’s your opinion?
- Often used about views on issues, topics, debates.
expresar su opinión
- Literally to express their opinion.
- Slightly more formal / explicit than opinar.
- Focuses on the act of expressing the opinion.
decir lo que piensan
- Literally to say what they think.
- More colloquial, close to English to say what they think / to speak their mind.
- Slightly broader; not limited to formal “opinions.”

In this sentence, opinar con respeto is concise and natural: to share/give opinions respectfully.

What does con respeto literally mean, and could we say respetuosamente instead?

con respeto literally = with respect.
- Very common in everyday speech.
- Sounds neutral and natural.
respetuosamente = respectfully (an adverb).
- Grammatically fine, but often sounds more formal or stiff.
- More common in written contexts like formal letters:
  Respetuosamente, [name] (like “Respectfully,” / “Yours respectfully”).

In this specific sentence:

…para opinar con respeto = to give opinions with respect, i.e., politely, without insulting.
…para opinar respetuosamente is correct but noticeably more formal and less conversational.

So con respeto is the best match for a natural, everyday style.

Could we replace creo que es justo with pienso que es justo or me parece justo? Would it change the meaning?

You can replace it, and the change in meaning is very slight:

Creo que es justo…
- I think it is fair…
- Very common, neutral.
Pienso que es justo…
- Also I think it is fair…
- Very similar to creo, maybe marginally more “rational/reflective” in feel, but in practice they’re almost interchangeable here.
Me parece justo que…
- Literally it seems fair to me that…
- Slightly more subjective / personal in tone: In my view, it’s fair that…

All three are natural ways to introduce your opinion. The core message about fairness and equal freedom stays the same.