SPAIN: Missing Flood Aid & more – 19th Dec 2024

Buenos días from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Spain Update from the 19th of December twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what's going down in Spain.

Let’s start things off with a flood update. The 19th of December marked fifty days since the devastating floods that hit seventy-five municipalities in the Valencia region on the east coast. Aid deadlines were initially set for the 16th of December but have been extended to early January.

Thousands of families remain without adequate public aid with only four families having received full compensation for fatalities. Volunteer efforts have supported over sixty flood victims in Paiporta, Valencia province, where administrative hurdles like outdated systems complicate applications.

While flood funds still need government support, according to President Pedro Sanchez and news outlet The Economist, Spain’s economy is thriving.

Speaking at a socialist party conference early last week, Sanchez said there are around one million more jobs in Spain than in twenty nineteen. Experts predict that by the end of twenty twenty-four, the economy will have experienced a projected growth of approximately 3%, compared to last year's growth which was just over 2.5%.

Tourism is also booming. The Ministry of Industry and Tourism has accounted for more than eighty-two million international visitors in the first ten months of twenty twenty-four, around 10% higher than in twenty twenty-three.

Immigration has also driven workforce growth, as Spain’s population has risen by around 1.5 million since twenty twenty-one, primarily due to Latin American immigrants.

Next, Spain's Consumer Rights Ministry confirmed on Wednesday the 18th that there would be an investigation into Airbnb for failing to remove unlicensed rental listings, a move which aims to address housing shortages and soaring property prices.

The government says it plans to fine the housing platform over 100,000 euros for illegal ads. Airbnb is disputing this, saying officials didn’t specify which listings to remove.

Barcelona in the northeast intensified measures in June by banning tourism rentals outright; a policy Airbnb is contesting. So it seems like Spain has had enough as it joins Italy and Croatia in tightening controls on tourism rentals.

Keeping with the law, fake news could soon be illegal in Spain. On Wednesday the 18th, Félix Bolaños, Spain’s Justice Minister, presented a bill to replace its nineteen eighty-four rectification law, which targets disinformation originally spread by traditional news outlets but will now include misinformation spread online by social media influencers and digital platforms.

The new legislation will allow anyone who considers themselves a victim of misinformation to demand a correction from the author, regardless of whether that happens to be a newspaper, online, or on TV. If this request isn’t actioned, the case will go to court. Bolaños says it's to make it harder for those who lie and spread misinformation to do so. While also replacing outdated rules that many use to avoid these issues and not take accountability.

President Sánchez, who highlighted disinformation in his democratic renewal plan in April, supports the initiative, emphasizing citizens' right to truthful information.

Now, an update on the Catalan amnesty law, which made headlines in May twenty twenty-four and that we've spoken about in previous episodes. On Tuesday the 17th, EU Law Live reported that the Tribunal de Cuentas (Court of Auditors) has asked the Court of Justice of the EU to review the Organic Law 1/twenty twenty-four. This law pardons all those involved in the twenty fourteen and twenty seventeen Catalan independence protests and referendums.

The Tribunal is concerned that parts of the law contradict EU regulations, especially the pardoning of politicians, which they argue undermines the rule of law, which states no one is above it. They also raise concerns about potential mismanagement of public funds in Catalalunya, with implications for EU financial interests.

What makes this story so interesting is that Catalan parties made amnesty a key condition for securing their vote, enabling President Sánchez to win his second term in office in twenty twenty-three.

As we come to close a chapter in twenty twenty-four, Spain and India say they are looking forward to twenty twenty-six with solidified bilateral relationships.

Back in October, Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, met with Sánchez to make fresh agreements between the two countries. These agreements span across culture, economics, and politics with a special emphasis on twenty twenty-six as the India-Spain Year of Culture, Tourism, and AI.

According to the Economic Times, this growing partnership matches the increasing number of Indian tourists visiting Spain. Their visits reflect the growing influence of India’s middle class, whose increased financial independence is shaping global travel trends.

As the festive holiday season comes closer, the national police, the Spanish civil guard, has launched its annual pre-Christmas campaign to combat drunk driving, starting on Monday, the 11th.

Police checkpoints will be set up across the country, and could stop people at any point in the day, targeting both major roads and areas near bars and restaurants.

Local police forces will also join the initiative. The campaign aims to reduce alcohol-related accidents, which accounted for around 20% of fatal crashes in twenty twenty-three, according to a Report on Toxicological Findings in Traffic Accident Victims from las year.

Some might say this day is unlucky, but this year on Friday the 13th, government sources revealed proposed plans to raise the minimum wage by 4% in twenty twenty-five, increasing minimum full-time monthly earnings from 1,180 euros in twenty twenty-four to 1,134 in twenty twenty-five.

This adjustment would benefit over 2.5 million workers, providing an additional 635 euros annually to many.

However, plans are still up in the air. The Ministry of Work is waiting for recommendations from a committee of experts before deciding how much wages will go up, with a decision expected just before the end of this year.

Football is pretty important to a lot of Spaniards, so our next story is about the world sport. twenty twenty-four has been a year of winning for Spanish Football. On Monday, the 16th, Spain defeated Colombia 10-8 to win the Acapulco Beach Soccer Cup twenty twenty-four.

This final achievement of twenty twenty-four marks one of the best years for football Spain has ever had. This year, the men’s national team won the UEFA Euros, and achieved gold at the Olympics, not to mention the women’s beach soccer team winning at the Euro Winners Cup in June.

To get closer to the Spanish football culture, you can learn popular chants including: ¡A Por Ellos! ¡Que Viva España! —Roughly meaning, Let’s get them, long life Spain — or ¡Hala! — meaning, Let’s go or come on!

Have you ever been baffled by a road sign? A French road sign indicating heavy fog, in use since nineteen sixty-seven, has recently appeared on Spanish roads in a modified form, though most drivers in both countries remain unaware of its meaning.

The sign, featuring black lines symbolizing fog, requires drivers to reduce speed and increase following distances in hazardous conditions. In France, reports suggest that up to two-thirds of French drivers don’t recognize it.

Meanwhile, in Spain, the sign has been adjusted so that more road users can understand its meaning.

Want to check out the sign? Link in the show notes!

Now for something revealing… On Sunday, the 15th, Spain hosted its first nudist cinema screenings ever at the Lys cinema in Girona, Northern Catalunya. Around fifty attendees watched the twenty twenty-three horror thriller You Are Not Me, or Tú no Eres Yo while seated on towels.

The initiative stemmed from the Valencian Naturist Association, whose members participated as extras in the film.

Compared to many other countries, Spain in particular has a relaxed attitude towards nudity both culturally and legally. It’s one of the only countries that doesn’t have a national law that prohibits public nudity. Still, local entities have enforced rules on it.

However, It’s still pretty normal to see partial nudity at the beach during summer and full nudity on its many nudist beaches.

Wrapping up this show, Granada, in Southern Andalucia, has claimed the title of having Spain's tallest Christmas tree, standing at fifty-seven meters, equivalent to a twenty-story building or around 2,200 inches (fifty-six meters). It is located at the Nevada Shopping Center in Armilla, just outside Granada.

Visible from numerous high points in Granada and even the Sierra Nevada mountains, in the south, the tree will remain until Three Kings Day on the 6th of January.

Nevada Shopping says it is the tallest Christmas tree in Europe, though this hasn’t been verified.

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

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¡Hasta la próxima!