Sánchez, the New President & more – 23rd Nov 2023

Buenos días and happy Thanksgiving from Sant Gervasi! This is the Rorshok Spain Update from the 23rd of November twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Spain.

Starting this week's episode, Pedro Sánchez is back in the presidential driving seat, having won last week's investiture debate with an absolute majority of 179 votes in favor and 171 against. PSOE and its coalition partner Sumar agreed to a proposed amnesty in exchange for parliamentary support –enabling Sanchez's re-election.

The socialist leader returned to power after being sworn in on Friday, the 17th. Still, protests against amnesty proposals continued.

On Saturday the 18th, thousands of demonstrators gathered in Madrid, as they have for a couple of weeks. Many Spanish people, including fellow politicians from far-right parties, accused the socialist leader of putting his political career before the country by agreeing to an amnesty despite the not-very-specified consequences it could bring.

Sánchez announced his new government on Monday, the 20th.

Some members of his previous cabinet will keep their positions. Nadia Calviño will still be PSOE's first vice president, and Yolanda Diaz, Sumar's leader, will keep her post as second vice president. María Jesús Montero will continue as Minister of Finance, but she will also be the fourth vice president alongside Teresa Ribera, who will keep her position as third vice president and Minister of Environment.

Pablo Bustinduy from Sumar will replace Ione Bellara as Minister of Social Rights. Ana Redondo from PSOE will be the Minister of Equality, substituting Podemos representative Irene Montero. Montero is most known for her controversial "yes means yes" bill, which has reduced sexual offense sentences for approximately 900 criminals due to a penal clause loophole, also leading to the release of around 100 offenders, all by mistake.

In total, twelve out of the twenty-two ministers are women. It’s also the second-largest cabinet in Spain's modern democratic history, the largest being the third government of Adolfo Suárez in the early nineteen eighties.

What’s the reaction to the new cabinet? Unsurprisingly, the Partido Popular or PP has weighed in, labeling it "the most expensive government in history."

For many, the most surprising news is the reappointment of Fernando Grande-Marlaska as interior minister. The PP, Podemos, and a leading police union have all denounced Sanchez’s choice.

But why is the Interior Minister’s position so controversial? His management of migration, particularly with Morocco, has been contentious, especially his comments about the fatal June twenty twenty-two border crossing incident at Melilla. He’s since been accused of lying about how events unfolded after insisting there were “No deaths on Spanish soil,” despite evidence now proving otherwise.

Even though many expected him to be ousted, his position, for now, seems to be safe.

Next, an update on the fate of Shakira.

The Colombian singer faced accusations of failing to pay nearly fifteen million euros in income tax in Spain from twenty twelve to twenty fourteen, which she vehemently denied. She argued that she wasn't a tax resident during that period due to touring and dividing her time between the USA and Barcelona.

On Monday the 20th, just before the tax evasion trial began in Barcelona, Shakira told the court she had accepted an agreement with the prosecutors. Under the signed deal, she will receive a three-year suspended sentence and a seven million euro fine.

Despite this agreement, the Prosecutor's office has another outstanding complaint against the singer about alleged fraud in twenty eighteen, which is still being processed. So, she could be back in court before we know it.

From tax evasion to bad working conditions.

El Periodico published a report this week revealing that dozens of construction workers subcontracted to rebuild FC Barcelona's Camp Nou football stadium are being heavily exploited by subcontractors.

Payroll records from five companies reveal workers receive below-market-wages and regularly work more than the legal forty hours a week, often exceeding fifty-six hours since work began in June: Overtime, which they aren't paid for.

So, who bears responsibility? Well, FC Barcelona predictably denies accountability, having hired Turkish company Limak Construction Europe SL for just over 900 million euros to oversee the project. However, most laborers come from subcontractors like Deinoa S and Solrigol SL.

Subcontractors are notorious for underpaying and face numerous cases of labor exploitation. They tend to exploit workers who are desperate for jobs and often lack proficiency in Spanish, making them unaware of Spanish labor laws and the terms of their contracts.

Despite the report, workers who came forward say they don't plan to alert the authorities because they worry they will lose their jobs and possibly further work in the sector.

Switching back to Pedro Sánchez, this week, the Spanish President is in Israel meeting with Isaac Herzog, the Israeli President, and other officials on behalf of the EU and Spain.

While condemning the 7th of October Hamas attack and recognizing Israel's right to self-defense, he urged restraint, expressing concern about the death toll resulting from the Israeli Army's response.

Sánchez is also pushing for a peace conference between Israel and Palestine to take place in Spain within the next six months. José Manuel Albares, Foreign Affairs Minister, supports the conference proposal to achieve lasting peace in the region, emphasizing the importance of a "two-state solution" as the key to definitive peace for the entire area.

In a significant development, Spanish police detained three individuals on Tuesday, the 21st, in connection with the recent shooting of Alejo Vidal-Quadras, the former head of Spain's PP in Catalonia, that took place on Saturday, the 11th.

Vidal-Quadras is still in the hospital after being shot in the face; however, his condition is stable.

The incident is being treated as an anti-terror investigation. Lots of rumors about Iran's involvement. Police told Reuters that two of the detainees were Spanish men, and the third arrested was a British woman.

Now for something tasty! It’s official: the best chef in the world is from Madrid.

Spanish chef Dabiz Muñoz has been crowned the best chef in the world for the third consecutive year at the Best Chef Awards twenty twenty-three in Mérida, Mexico.

Albert Adrià, another Spaniard, secured the second spot. The competition featured chefs from thirty-one countries, with Spain emerging as the big winner, boasting five chefs in the top eight.

From top chefs to censorship, a new Barcelona museum has opened, showcasing over 200 works that have faced censorship, denouncement, or removal from exhibitions.

Journalist and businessman Tatxo Benet inaugurated The Museum of Forbidden Art or The Museu de l'Art Prohibit, which he funds.

He began the collection of art five years ago, and it spans a diverse group of artists like Picasso, Ai Weiwei, and Robert Mapplethorpe, highlighting stories of artistic suppression throughout art's history.

Focusing on freedom of expression, the museum features works that challenge religion, politics, and even art itself. If The Museu de l'Art Prohibit sounds like your kind of place, the exhibits are up and running in the heart of the Catalan capital.

When you think of some of Spain's most expensive streets, you might figure that they are all in Barcelona and Madrid, which is kind of true.

However, in an article released by Cushman & Wakefield, Palma de Mallorca's Paseo del Borne has been ranked as fourteenth of the most expensive streets in Spain for retail rent.

The report reveals that the iconic shopping avenue in the capital of Mallorca has secured a place among the top twenty costliest retail locations in the country, making it an attractive spot for businesses seeking prestige and visibility.

The study analyzes the average cost per square meter for retail space in various cities, and Palma's Paseo del Borne stands out as a prominent destination for upscale retail ventures.

While many love to shop, over-consumerism is a global issue. To combat this, lots of people buy clothes and then donate them.

However, a Greenpeace investigation into worldwide textile export waste revealed that many of these donated clothes in Spain actually end up in faraway places like the UAE and Pakistan— or further.

Last summer, Greenpeace placed trackers on twenty-nine garments left in street charity containers to see where these garments ended up. Four months later, many of them had traveled thousands of kilometers. Almost 50% have been detected outside Spain, reaching as far as Chile, Morocco, India, Romania, Egypt, and Togo.

Despite consumers' best intentions, Greenpeace argues that the ultra-fast fashion overproduction model undermines a successful circular economy. Garments have to travel extensively to meet global demand and often end up in mass textile wastelands, rendering the current system unsustainable.

If you want to know more about Greenpeace’s campaign to detox fast fashion, follow the link in the show notes.

And that’s it for this week!

Remember you can also help us financially by making a donation with the link in the show notes. We would really appreciate it on this Thanksgiving Day.

¡Hasta la próxima!