Live Debate between PP and PSOE & more –13th July 2023

Buenos días from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Spain Update from the 13th of July twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Spain.

The long-awaited face-to-face debate between the People’s Popular Party or PP head Alberto Nuñez Feijóo and Spanish Socialist Workers Party or PSOE leader Pedro Sanchez finally happened on Monday the 10th.

Over five million people watched the live debate. However, whether this debate was successful depends on who you listen to. The outlook of the PP candidate for The Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, was overwhelmingly positive for the PP leader Feijoo. She said that he is what the country needs to "repeal Sanchismo," quoting the right-leaning party's slogan against Sanchez's socialist government.

Others have said that some of Feijóo’s comments during the live debate were factually incorrect. Like his claim that the National Court closed the investigation into the Pegasus case because of Sanchez's "lack of collaboration." According to the media company Newtral, this is false, as the case has been put on hold because of a lack of dialogue with Israel - the country of origin of the Pegasus spyware.

Others are also concerned that Feijoo is becoming more ultra-right with his Vox party pacts. Both Sanchez and Feijoo were jokingly accused of arriving at the studios seasoned by media professionals ahead of the debate. Looking like "schoolboys before a scary exam,” ready to battle it out.

And battle it out they did, as both leaders clashed in what the media describes as a "brutal one-on-one debate." Neither party is likely to win by itself with an overwhelming majority, so much of the debate was about each other's potential coalition partners. Sánchez attacked Feijóo's pacts with Vox, who wants to alter many socialist policies like the Gender Equality legislation, a draft law that puts females in more decision-making positions.

On the other hand, Feijóo continued to criticize Sánchez for leading a coalition government with the far-left Podemos, who has been in the news for many things, including its Yes is Yes law blunder. He also condemned Sánchez for relying on parliamentary support from Catalan and Basque separatist parties - Basque EH Bildu, particularly, for its past associations with the ETA, a disbanded Basque Terrorist group.

The race seems to be narrowing some. According to the CIS barometer for July PSOE will get 31% of the votes while Feijóo’s party will get 30%

Speaking of coalitions, Yolanda Díaz, second deputy prime minister, current labor minister, and leader of the new left-leaning coalition Sumar is determined to keep the PP and Vox out of power in July’s General elections.

Almost twelve months ago, Díaz told newspapers that the socialist government PSOE ran things without spirit or soul. So, she joined forces with other left-leaning and green parties, including United We Can or Podemos, to create the Sumar movement, and now her party's spirit is being tested.

Sumar describes itself as a citizen movement that offers practical answers. One of its most interesting policies is to create a "universal inheritance" fund of €20,000 for every young person to spend on studying, training, or entrepreneurship when they reach eighteen.

However, poll predictions show that Sumar might have to do a lot of convincing to prove to voters that its policies are legitimate, especially Podemos voters who are angry with Sumar for not putting Podemos leaders at the forefront of the movement.

Spain's LGBTQ+ community rightfully fears the future as the country approaches its general election.

As it stands, the law in Spain allows anyone aged sixteen and over to legally switch their gender on government documentation and identification. Despite the PP’s opposition, Sanchez and his Socialist government passed this law in February.

With the July election getting closer, the LGBTQ+ community may have to prepare for that law to be altered, that is, if the PP can secure a win, as they would need support from Far-Right Vox to form a government – another party that opposed the bill when it was passed through and would very likely favor an alteration.

Undoubtedly, the results of this year's election are set to change the political landscape of Spain in a very big way.

Tourism is also arguably changing landscapes. In Barcelona, tourism fuels a large portion of the economy, but for some parts of the city, people feel it’s become a bit much, with Tourists Go Home graffitied around popular landmarks.

However, a hundred-year-old delicatessen grocery store, which reopened as a delicatessen with tastings, has managed to fend off crowds of tourists only looking to browse by jokingly hanging up a sign that says it's five euros to enter if you don't buy anything. The owners have said that even though they haven't charged anyone yet, it has prevented people from entering and only taking photos.

From globetrotting to hail, as heavy rain and severe hail storms struck Zaragoza last Thursday, the 6th, resulting in widespread flooding across the city.

Local police urged people to stay indoors, as in some cases, drivers who attempted to escape the worst-struck areas were carried away by rivers that had formed on the streets. Some residents even took to climbing trees to avoid the dangerous, fast-moving water.

Luckily, no injuries were reported, but the flash floods have undoubtedly caused large-scale damage to local businesses, amenities, personal belongings, and property.

While it hailed in Zaragoza, other parts of the peninsula are heating up. The State Meteorological Agency of Spain has reported intense and frequent heat waves that are set to stay this summer season, fuelled by climate change.

With that in mind, cities nationwide are allocating spaces for people to cool off away from the summer heat. In Bilbao, they have selected around 130 public and private spaces for "climate shelter," including libraries, parks, and schools. These spaces must have ample shade, water facilities, drinking water, or trees and grass for people to temporarily relax and escape the sun. According to the city council, In Barcelona, they have allocated over 200 spaces that are accessible with ramps, have comfortable resting areas with benches or chairs, and offer free water for everyone.

You can find the full list of climate shelters in the show notes for Barcelona, Bilbao, and Murcia.

Moving on, another year, another San Fermín bull celebration in Pamplona, and the twenty twenty-three edition resulted in more injuries.

In Pamplona, northern Spain, the annual week-long festival celebrates San Fermín (the area's patron saint) from the 6th to the 14th of July. During the festival, thousands of revelers flock to the streets, there are fireworks, and the festivities end with the popular song Poor Me by Agustin Lara or Pobre de mí.

The most infamous event, however, is the running of the bulls. A high-speed event where a herd of bulls is set loose on the streets to chase fearless or foolish adventures, affectionately named Mozos. It's high energy and not for the faint-hearted.

Every year, there are injuries. This year is no different. Three days into the festival, on Monday the 10th, eight people were taken to the hospital.

Speaking of celebrations involving bulls, there was another long-standing annual festival this week in the port city of Dénia, Alicante, on Monday the 10th, where a bull sadly drowned in the sea.

In Alicante, they celebrate Bulls to the Sea or Bous a la Mar. This popular tradition, a declared festival of National Tourist Interest, is a bullfighting event whereby locals (or runners) goad the animals into the water by jumping away from them. The first runner to get a bull into the water is the winner.

It is a hugely popular celebration alongside the Mediterranean Coast, like in Tarragona and L'Ampolla, where the festival is called Correbous.

For obvious reasons, animal rights activists in Alicante have long been campaigning against this tradition, and sadly during the event on Monday, a bull was unable to be rescued by nearby boats and tragically drowned, fuelling anger by protestors. The event was quickly canceled.

Moving on. Last week mandatory mask use was lifted in hospitals, care centers, and pharmacies, but another rule has remained in some regions.

A smoking ban on restaurant and bar terraces was enforced in many regions during the height of Covid. Still, regions like Valencia have decided to keep the rule in place, despite backlash from people wanting to light up. Restaurant staff and owners say is becoming difficult to deal with some smokers, as they can be aggressive and uncooperative.

That’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

In case you couldn’t listen to our previous update, we have two new shows! These are the Rorshok Multilateral Update, covering the world's major multilateral institutions, and the Ocean’s Update about 70% of Earth's surface covered in salt water. Intrigued? Listen to them in your podcast favorite app. You can also check out the rest of our Country Updates, to see what’s going on in the rest of the world!

¡Hasta la próxima!