Last Details to the Amnesty Law & more – 16th Nov 2023

Buenos días from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Spain Update from the 16th of November twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Spain.

It's a critical week for politics since the socialists, PSOE, and Together for Catalunya or Junts per Catalunya are wrapping up their amnesty law negotiations days before PSOE leader Pedro Sanchez’s investiture debate. On Sunday, the 12th, the PSOE solved last-minute technical details.

Late on Monday the 13th, the socialists published the official details of the amnesty law.

The much discussed amnesty will allow those accused of involvement in the twenty seventeen Catalan Independence referendum to plead for their criminal charges to be dropped, including perhaps most controversially, former self-exiled Junts leader Carles Puigdemont. The pardon isn't just for the twenty seventeen independence bid either; anyone accused of crimes involving or surrounding the Catalan independence and autonomy between January twenty twelve and the 13th of November twenty twenty-three can plead their case in court. And let's remember the laws used for charging them are extremely tenuous. So look with some perspective on shrill calls for….rule of law. Also, those facha judges have sure been in there for a while…..

After weeks of back and forth, with this amnesty, PSOE leader Sánchez aims to secure enough votes to reach a 176-seat majority in parliament. Sanchez requires parliamentary support to re-assume office. Because since July's inconclusive general election results, Spain has been in political limbo without a president.

On Wednesday the 15th and Thursday the 16th, Sanchez's presidential debate started. He needs an overall majority in the first vote or a minor majority, meaning a plurality, with more yes votes in the second and third. The Canarian Coalition, Junts per Catalunya, and Basque party Eh Bildu have already pledged support.

Not everyone is happy about the settled amnesty agreements. Thousands of right-wing demonstrators and Partido Popular and Vox party officials, including leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo and Vox´s Santiago Abascal, took to the streets on Sunday the 12th in Madrid. Agitators Alvise Perez and Dani Esteve, from Desokupa organized the rally. Banners against PSOE called Pedro Sanchez "a dictator," and other signs labeled the amnesty agreements as "unlawful," asking for "Europe to save us." Sunday's rally in Madrid was peaceful compared to the protests outside the PSOE headquarters in the capital on Tuesday the 7th. Similar demonstrations occurred in Barcelona, Valencia, and other regional capitals.

Morning protests went off without a hitch in Madrid. However, the story took a twist in the afternoon, when a large group of people headed to the PSOE headquarters on Ferraz Street, shouting, “A por ellos" or "Get them." as they shouted during the Catalan referendum in twenty seventeen. Despite aggressive language, afternoon scenes were much calmer than night demonstrations, which have been going on since the 6th of November.

When night came around, aggravated protests continued. Around 1,200 protestors shouted insults and threw bottles and other objects at the riot police, who tried to contain the situation with tear gas and rubber bullets.

Since Sunday the 5th, night protests have regularly occurred in Ferraz Street. Police have removed bins to prevent protestors from burning them, so rubbish is lying around, neighbors are on edge, and local restaurants have had to close in the evenings as police have put up a barricade to prevent demonstrators from reaching PSOE headquarters.

In the middle of anti-amnesty protests in Madrid, in the Middle East, the war between Israel and Hamas continues, and the death toll is increasing daily.

According to news outlet La Vanguardia, there are around 180 Spaniards trapped in Gaza. Many of them have dual nationality and live there or reside in Spain but were visiting friends and family when attacks and bombings escalated.

On Monday the 13th, José Manuel Albares, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced that around eighty people with Spanish passports left Gaza on Tuesday the 14th through the Rafah crossing in Egypt. At the same time, Israeli authorities have said they plan to evacuate just over 500 foreigners or Palestinians with dual nationality, some of whom are Spanish. Still, with mixed information, the terror continues as the United Nations fails to unanimously agree on calling for a ceasefire or humanitarian pause.

Taking a swift U-turn back to protests in Madrid, social media is buzzing. At Monday's night protests at socialist headquarters, the well known annoying American idiot Tucker Carlson, former Fox News host, made a surprise appearance alongside Vox's Abascal—how appropiate. But why was he there? According to Vox sources, Carlson interviewed Abascal on Tuesday the 14th and wanted to see what was happening in the capital - probably for promo of the interview.

Carlson is no stranger to interviewing far-right figures; the fifty-four-year-old journalist, who was dismissed from Fox in April for racist and derogatory comments both on and off screen. Most recently, he has hosted his own talk show on the depressing tech-bro Kremlin bot-infested Twitter platform. Previously, he interviewed Trump, Argentinian Javier Milei, and is besties with much-hated-by-Brussels Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister who believes only "Trump can save the Western world." Tucker Carlson's messaging is predictable, the same as his messaging in the US, that only fascists on the street can save democracy from the elite. Carlson who is worth four hundred million dollars is very worried about the elite.

Another journalist who is making waves is Silvia Inshaurrondo. Famed for her quick retorts and tough reputation, she was awarded the twenty twenty-three Basque Journalism Association Award last week. During the political leadership limbo, she interviewed several MPs, including Feijóo in July, where she promptly fact-checked some of his comments during a live debate with Sanchez. This week, she asked Pepa Millán, spokesperson for Vox, if "MPs from her political party" would be leaving Parliament since they consider the government illegal and Congress illegitimate. Millán careened around the question by responding that "forming a majority government doesn't mean you can break the law." Well, OK, Pepa.

Moving to a long-talked-about subject now, as Spain focuses on depleting water reserves. The Catalan Water Agency announced on Tuesday the 14th that they are raising the drought alert level to "exceptional" for the TerLlobregat water supply system and Fluvià Muga river.

This change will put around six million residents in just over 200 municipalities on a higher alert levels. But what does this exceptional alert level involve? There will be a 40% reduction in water for agriculture and a 15% cut for industrial sector. For locals, public and private gardens can’t use sprinklers. Daily water allocation per person will be lower to 230 liters per day—down from 250. For some context, the average bathtub uses around 100 liters— which is around ten to fifteen minutes in the shower. So get scrubbing, but quickly!

Speaking of reserves, Spanish petroleum company Cespa has acquired the Ballenoil gas station network, a major player in the low-cost fuel market. Led by CEO Maarten Wetselaar, Cespa now boasts a portfolio of over 2,000 gas stations in the Iberian market, saying the move has enabled the second-largest oil company to tap into the demand for budget-friendly fuels and challenge industry giants like Repsol.

As autumn takes its grip, a lingering summer illness spreads across Europe.

European health authorities are raising concerns about a surge in cryptosporidiosis infections in multiple countries, Spain included, post-summer. This illness, attributed to a parasite, causes watery diarrhea and gastric discomfort, posing serious risks for children and potentially fatal for immunocompromised individuals. In Spain alone, from January to the 31st of October twenty twenty-three, there have been over 3,000 reported cases , a fourfold increase from the 800 cases reported in the same period in twenty twenty-two.

Most recently, the UK has been investigating an outbreak of infections affecting around 2,000 people. This particular breakout might be connected to hotel pools in Salou, Tarragona.

Ending with a bit of forgotten culture, a new exhibition entitled "Female Masters, teachers" or "Maestras," highlighting the forgotten stories of female artists fighting against the patriarchy across the centuries, will be displayed until the 4th of February at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Museum in Madrid. It features a collection of 100 paintings, sculptures, and prints curated from a feminist viewpoint by Spanish art historian Rocio de la Villa.

And that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us! Before we leave, we wanted to thank you for listening to us, and welcome all the new subscribers! We are happy the Rorshok Spain community is growing!

However, we are also sad because we had to cancel our update on Nigeria, due to low audience figures. So please, if you enjoy the Rorshok Spain Update, share it with your friends, or on social media or message us if you have any ideas on how to keep growing, without including ads.

Also, if you are feeling super generous today, you can financially support us with the link in the show notes.

¡Hasta la próxima!