SPAIN: Government Resignations & more – 6th Nov 2025

Buenos días from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Spain Update from the 6th of November twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Spain.

First up this week, on Monday the 3rd, Carlos Mazon, regional leader of Valencia and member of the Partido Popular or PP, resigned following mounting criticism over his government’s handling of the devastating floods in October last year.

As we reported in previous episodes, the disaster killed hundreds and caused billions of euros in damage, particularly in Valencia’s southern suburbs. Mazon admitted he had become the focus of criticism, hatred, and tension, and acknowledged he should have canceled personal engagements during the floods.

Mazon’s administration was accused of failing to issue timely evacuation warnings, sending mobile alerts only after flooding had already begun, over twelve hours after the national weather agency’s top alert. A government poll prior to Mazon’s stepping down showed that over 70% of Valencian residents wanted him to quit.

Also on Monday, the 3rd, Alvaro Garcia Ortiz, Spain’s top prosecutor, denied leaking confidential legal documents against the PP during the first day of his historic trial.

Ortiz was appointed by Socialist President Pedro Sánchez in twenty twenty-two and is facing accusations of leaking files related to businessman Alberto Gonzalez Amador, partner of Madrid’s right-wing leader Isabel Díaz Ayuso, to damage Ayuso’s political career.

Prosecutors have requested acquittal, and Sánchez has publicly expressed confidence in Garcia Ortiz’s innocence. The case adds to multiple corruption investigations that have challenged Sánchez’s minority government.

The upcoming elections in Extremadura in southwestern Spain, on the 21st of December have reignited tensions among Spain’s left-wing parties, particularly between Podemos and Sumar.

Podemos has formed a coalition with Izquierda Unida and Alianza Verde under the banner Unidas por Extremadura, while Sumar, led by Vice President Yolanda Díaz, has opted out. This decision highlights deepening divisions within Spain’s broader left.

Although left-wing parties were united for the twenty twenty-three general elections, similar alliances now seem unlikely elsewhere, as Podemos has already rejected the idea of repeating the coalition formula that succeeded in Andalucia in twenty twenty-two.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the 4th, the country granted citizenship to over 170 descendants of volunteers from the International Brigades, units of international volunteers who fought against fascism during the Spanish Civil War and the Franco dictatorship.

This news marks the 50th anniversary of Francisco Franco’s death and highlights Spain’s active efforts to confront its authoritarian past through initiatives such as granting citizenship to surviving Brigaders between two thousand nine and twenty thirteen, outlawing the National Francisco Franco Foundation and removing fascist symbols nationwide.

A recent survey published by the Catalan Institute for Peace Trust has revealed that democracy could be weakening in Catalunya.

Out of 2,700 residents interviewed, one-third question whether democracy is the best form of government, with skepticism highest among those under thirty-five. In contrast, 79% of those over sixty-five support democracy as the optimal system.

The survey also revealed worrying social trends, including growing antifeminism among young men, with one in four under-25s believing gender-based violence is a feminist invention. While most Catalans reject authoritarian leadership, young men expressed the least opposition.

On Tuesday the 4th, Spain announced the European Commission’s proposal to cut EU greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by twenty forty.

Spain, alongside other pro-climate nations such as Sweden and the Netherlands, supports maintaining ambitious targets despite resistance from countries including Italy, Poland, and the Czech Republic, which fear the economic impact on their energy, manufacturing and automotive industries.

Next up, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, Spain now has some of the highest household electricity bills in the EU.

In mid-twenty twenty-five, Spain’s average electricity cost rose to about twenty-nine cents per kilowatt-hour, slightly above the EU average of just over twenty-eight. In comparison, the average in Spain in twenty twenty was around twenty-three cents.

The increase stems mainly from the government’s decision to end the temporary electricity tax cuts that were introduced in twenty twenty-three–twenty twenty-four to offset inflation, as well as new grid management measures implemented by Red Eléctrica, the state-owned company that operates the national grid, after a nationwide blackout in April.

Consumers are urging the government to reduce the current electricity tax, while officials have extended nuclear power plant operations to stabilize prices.

From energy prices to modern science, on Friday the 31st, Spanish-led researchers achieved the first transplantation of human kidney organoids, known as mini-kidneys, into pig kidneys, marking a major step toward reducing the global shortage of transplantable organs.

Biologist Nuria Montserrat and her team grew tiny kidney-like structures from human stem cells and integrated them into pig kidneys, keeping the organs alive outside the body. When they transplanted the kidneys back to pigs, the organs functioned normally with no signs of rejection, opening the door to regenerating discarded human kidneys for future transplants.

In news from the capital, street vendors around Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium have filed a lawsuit against the city council after being relocated from their historic stalls to new areas they consider economically unviable.

On Monday, the 3rd, eighty-seven families, some operating for decades, said the relocations to low-traffic areas caused by the stadium's reconstruction have severely reduced their sales. Many vendors report losses of up to 80%.

The dispute comes as the Bernabéu Market, a new 3,000-square-meter complex with restaurants and gourmet shops. Vendors emphasize that their stalls are a key part of the matchday atmosphere and have received no prior consultation from the council, despite no previous issues.

On Wednesday, the 5th, Euro Weekly News released an article stating that Barcelona’s robbery rate is roughly three times higher than Spain’s national average, making it the city with the highest likelihood of robbery in the country.

According to new Eurostat data, the probability of being robbed in Barcelona is almost three times Spain’s average and second in the EU, only to Bucharest. In twenty twenty-four, Spain recorded about 130 thefts per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest rate in the EU. However, despite these figures, Barcelona remains one of Europe’s most visited cities, with over twenty-seven million overnight stays last year.

Tourists and locals are advised to stay alert and keep their belongings safe and close. Travelling or living in Spain? Check the link in the show notes for some useful tips.

A recent survey from Spain’s ESTUDES and the UK’s NHS Digital shows that smoking and drug use among young people have declined, with reductions in youth smoking and alcohol consumption and drug use either stabilizing or slightly decreasing.

According to the report, across the nation, daily cigarette smoking among adolescents has dropped from over 20% in the nineteen nineties to below 10% as of last year. However, vaping has surged across both countries, prompting proposed bans on disposable vapes and tighter regulations.

Alcohol use has also declined, with fewer teenagers drinking regularly. Cannabis remains the most used illicit drug, but usage is stable, even slightly decreasing.

If you have been listening to the shows, you might have heard us bring up the Moroccan-Spanish tunnel. On Wednesday, the 5th, the long-discussed plan to build the undersea tunnel connecting Spain and Morocco was deemed technically feasible, meaning it could be possible according to a new study commissioned by the Spanish government.

The proposed tunnel would connect southern Spain with Tangier, Morocco, potentially linking Europe and Africa by rail for the first time. The findings suggest construction could begin as early as twenty twenty-seven.

Despite a lot of positive excitement for the project, experts caution that enormous engineering, financial, and geopolitical challenges remain before the ambitious cross-continental tunnel can become a reality.

Now for a story that you might find interesting. According to the Directory of the Observatory of Religious Pluralism, Evangelical churches are booming across Madrid, with one opening about every four days over the past five years.

Women’s football is rightly in the spotlight, and the national team is no exception as it prepares to reignite its fierce rivalry with England, meeting them again in the qualifying group for the twenty twenty-seven Women’s World Cup.

The two sides have developed a heated rivalry in recent years, with Spain defeating England 1-0 in the twenty twenty-three World Cup final, while England claimed revenge at the Euro twenty twenty-five final.

Spain will look to maintain their World Cup dominance, with matches in the qualifying group scheduled between February and June twenty twenty-six.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

We have some new t-shirts coming out soon, just in time for Christmas! Stay tuned!

¡Hasta la próxima!