SPAIN: Amnesty Law & more – 21st Mar 2024

Buenos días from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Spain Update from the 21st of March twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what's going down in Spain.

On Thursday the 14th, the Spanish Congress passed a contentious amnesty law to aid Catalan nationalists facing legal action for separatist activities. The ruling got 178 votes in favor out of a 350-seat chamber. The law aims to pardon pending legal actions related to Catalunya's twenty seventeen bid for independence. Recall that Catalan nationalists had rejected the law at first.

The revised law provides stronger guarantees than those initially proposed by the government and restricts protection to crimes that the EU classifies as terrorism.

However, the law is not without criticism, as the Oppositional Partido Popular or PP accused Pedro Sánchez, the Spanish president, of pandering to nationalists.

Moving on, workers at Madrid's major travel hub, Barajas Airport, are set to strike over Easter, traditionally one of the year's busiest weekends, with thousands commuting to and from family gatherings.

Various trade unions representing ground staff and security workers organized the strike, aiming to protest against labor conditions, job insecurity, and outsourcing practices.

The walkout is scheduled to take place during the peak of the Easter travel season, impacting both domestic and international flights. The stoppages will run between 11.00 am and 1.00 pm from the 28th of March to the 1st of April.

Speaking of Easter, this week and over the Easter weekend, Andalucía is set to experience a significant weather event with the arrival of a calima.

A calima is a haze of Saharan desert sand. It has already begun to hit Spain's southernmost region, with potential rain due to a high-altitude depression also on the cards.

This situation mirrors an intense weather episode almost two years ago that caused red skies and poor air quality. The region will also see higher-than-normal temperatures, with around thirty degrees Celcius or eighty-six Fahrenheit.

The Basque Nationalist Party, or PNV, has proposed a legal change to allow the eviction of squatters within forty-eight hours.

This proposal seeks to address the issue that has become increasingly problematic across Spain. The PNV argues that current laws are ineffective in dealing with squatting and that immediate action is necessary to protect property rights and public safety.

The amendment seeks to modify Spain's Criminal Procedure Act and expedite the eviction process, providing relief to property owners and deterring illegal occupation.

Some critics have expressed concerns about potential violations of squatters' rights and advocate for more comprehensive solutions to address housing issues, but the PNV argues that current measures are far from satisfactory.

In other news, Iván González, the partner of Isabel Diaz Ayuso, Madrid's regional president, has been accused of fraud for deliberately receiving unemployment benefits while still working.

According to an ongoing tax investigation, González intentionally misrepresented his employment status to continue receiving benefits despite being employed.

Between twenty twenty and twenty twenty-one, González defrauded the government of over 350,000 euros. Not only that, but González reportedly made up to two million euros through aiding the sales of masks during the pandemic.

The ongoing investigation found that González acted with clear malicious conduct and will be prosecuted with at least two counts of tax crimes and another for falsifying a document.

Meanwhile, the Spanish government failed to pass a new budget last week, resulting in the extension of the previous twenty twenty-three budget legislation.

This extension means that spending and investment plans for the autonomous communities remain unchanged, with no new initiatives or increases in funding, affecting those states with lower resources or budgets in general.

However, debt repayment conditions for regional governments have been frozen, which could provide some relief amid economic challenges.

The lack of a new budget reflects political gridlock and underscores the difficulties in reaching a consensus among different parties in the Spanish government.

This week, protestors in Catalunya have blocked access to prison facilities, demanding better working conditions and increased safety measures.

The penitentiary staff unions organized the demonstrations to draw attention to overcrowding, staff shortages, and rising violence within the prison system.

Protests took place between Friday the 15th and Monday the 18th, and the Catalan authorities increased police presence following higher tensions within the demonstration groups.

They coincide with ongoing negotiations between the unions and the government to improve conditions for prison workers and enhance security measures in Spanish jails.

Moving to agriculture, this week, news outlet El Pais shed some light on the persisting issues agricultural laborers or braceros face in the Almería region of Spain.

Despite promises and authorities’ efforts to address the dire living conditions, little progress has been made. The conditions in these settlements are distressing, lacking basic amenities like electricity and running water, and the inhabitants often endure exploitative labor practices.

The agricultural sector in Almeria invoices around 3.5 billion euros annually, but for workers in the south of Spain, in places like Andalucia and Huelva, very little has changed in the last year.

Still in the South, on Friday, the 15th, the Andalucian regional government decided to allow hotels to fill their swimming pools amid drought conditions.

While permitting hotels to operate under strict guidelines, the government simultaneously prohibited private individuals and community pools from filling up their swimming pools. This measure aims to balance the needs of the tourism sector with water conservation efforts.

Following this decision, debate and criticism erupted, with some questioning the fairness of the policy and the priority it gives to tourism over the well-being of Spanish residents.

And it's not just the agriculture sector that's in uproar this week. German sports company Adidas faces backlash for unveiling Spain's new goalkeeper kits for the upcoming Euro Cup in June. These "new" kits have an uncanny resemblance to those worn by Kings League players, a seven-side football league player Gerard Piqué created in twenty twenty-two. Adidas' choice to provide identical kits to both Kings League and Spanish national team players has drawn widespread criticism for their apparent lack of originality.

Now, let's talk about love. Prominent figures in the cultural sector in Catalunya have signed a manifesto advocating for the de-privatization of Sant Jordi, a traditional Catalan festival celebrating literature and love.

Those who signed argued privatization could commercialize the event, diminishing its cultural and social significance. However, those against the manifesto say the festival's organization, promotion, and economic impact could improve dramatically.

The conversation around Sant Jordi, taking place on the 23rd of April, was sparked by a regional government decision to make book vendors pay up to 120 euros to set up in the middle of Barcelona, effectively pricing out local vendors.

Also on the 23rd of April, Barcelona is set to host the forty-first Ortega y Gasset Journalism Awards for the first time.

The ceremony will acknowledge many Spanish-speaking pieces of work from twenty twenty-three. Among the many awardees will be Bryan Avelar and Juan José Martínez, who investigated drug trafficking in Honduras for the media organization InSight. Jennifer González Posadas and Alejandro Melgoza Rocha will also be awarded for their piece published in news outlet N+Focus, about a Mexican community struggling with large businesses and overpopulation. For the full list of winners, head to our show notes.

And finally…from politics to bartending. Not too long ago, Pablo Iglesias, the former leader of Spain's Podemos party, was working towards a more left-leaning Spain, but in twenty twenty-one, he left politics and turned to hospitality.

The former Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Rights diverted his focus to opening a bar in Madrid called La Taberna Garibaldi, named after a battalion from the Spanish Civil War.

The bar's cocktail menu features leftist-themed drinks like the Marcos Margarita and Che Daiquiri. Iglesias aims to promote socialist ideals while offering social and cultural events.

La Taberna Garibaldi is due to open next week in the Lavapies area of Madrid.

And that’s it for this week!

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¡Hasta la próxima!