SPAIN: Political Instability and Income Task Updates & more – 21st May 2026

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

Our top story this week, on Sunday the 17th, the Andalucian regional elections took place, exposing growing instability in Spanish politics ahead of the twenty twenty-seven general election as the Socialist party took a heavy defeat.

Partido Popular won, but lost its previous outright majority, which could force cooperation and possibly power-sharing with the nationalist fascist Vox party.

For President Pedro Sanchez’s Socialist party, the result was far worse than anticipated, securing just twenty-eight seats in the 109-seat regional parliament, the party’s worst result since the region’s first democratic elections in nineteen eighty-two.

Keeping with politics, on Tuesday the 19th, a Spanish court opened court proceedings on former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero with money laundering, influence peddling, and related offenses tied to the twenty twenty-one state bailout of Plus Ultra airlines. Zapatero illegally received 1.95 million euros from a fifty-three-million-euro state bailout package through offshore companies in the United Arab Emirates.

The case is politically damaging for Sánchez, whose Socialist government has already suffered multiple corruption scandals involving party figures such as José Luis Ábalos.

The indictment is unprecedented, as no former Spanish prime minister has previously faced charges this severe.

Next, an update on a story that has finally wrapped up after almost a year of back and forths. On Monday, the 18th, Latin popstar Shakira won her major legal victory after a court ruled she should receive a tax refund worth about fifty million euros.

The repayment includes about twenty-four million euros in income tax and nearly twenty-five million euros in penalties imposed by authorities for a serious twenty eleven tax violation.

However, the high court ruled that tax officials failed to prove Shakira was a tax resident in twenty eleven. The law requires at least 183 days in the country, but the court found she spent only 163 days here.

The tax agency said it will appeal to the Supreme Court, so no money will be paid until a final ruling is made.

Speaking of income tax, on Friday the 15th, the twenty twenty-five income tax campaign introduced new regional deductions as autonomous communities expanded incentives for health, housing, sustainability, and demographics. So, here are some key policies.

In Andalucia, in the south, taxpayers can now deduct gym memberships, veterinary expenses, and celiac disease costs from their tax returns, while Galicia in the northwest now offers some of the most generous benefits in Spain, including up to 9,000 euros for renovating empty homes intended for long-term rental. Catalunya added deductions for victims of gender violence who rent homes and for investments in housing and agricultural cooperatives.

From taxation to strikes, an update from last week. On Tuesday, the 19th, the regional Catalan government said it intends to prevent major teachers’ strikes and will propose targeted pay increases and more staff in schools, especially to support students with disabilities.

Rather than offering a general salary rise, the Department of Education wants to raise the singular supplement paid to tutors and introduce two new bonuses: one for co-tutoring duties and another for teachers working in high-complexity schools with vulnerable student populations. However, the exact size of the increase has not yet been disclosed.

In major crime news, on Tuesday the 19th, police in Catalunya arrested Jonathan Andic in connection with the death of his father, Isak Andic, the billionaire founder of fashion retailer Mango. Andic, who was born in Istanbul in nineteen fifty-three, built the leading fashion brand from a small clothing business after opening the company’s first store in nineteen eighty-four on Barcelona's Passeig de Gràcia.

Andic died in December twenty twenty-four after allegedly falling into a ravine while hiking with his son in the Montserrat mountains near Barcelona. Although the death was initially treated as an accident by the local police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra, investigators later began exploring the possibility of homicide after uncovering inconsistencies and circumstantial evidence.

The family said it was fully cooperating with authorities and said that Jonathan is innocent.

Moving to the skies. On Tuesday, the 19th, Euronews reported that from this week onwards, the country will start heating up, earlier than usual.

According to the national meteorological agency, AEMET, the hottest parts of the country will be western Andalucia in the south, particularly in Sevilla, Córdoba, and Mérida, where temperatures are expected to exceed 35°C (122°F). Other inland regions, including parts of Castilla-La Mancha, could also see temperatures above 33°C (91.4°F).

Meteorologists say the heatwave-like conditions are arriving far earlier than normal, as such temperatures are usually associated with July or August rather than mid-May. The hot spell follows one of Spain’s wettest winters in decades, highlighting increasingly extreme weather patterns linked to fossil-fuel-induced climate change.

A restaurant drama went viral on Monday, the 18th, after diners in an undisclosed restaurant allegedly walked out without paying - leaving a note to explain why.

The case was first shared online by Soy Camarero, an account known for highlighting incidents in the restaurant industry.

According to Soy Camarero, the customers pulled a classic simpa, the word for leaving a restaurant without paying. They said, "We are leaving without paying. We asked for the bill several times," and claimed staff repeatedly failed to attend to them.

Photos of the note spread across social media, sparking a heated debate online. Some backed the diners, while others criticized them. Which side do you fall on? Was it a fair protest or out of line?

Link to the article in the show notes.

Moving on to music and summer is looking interesting. The twenty twenty-six festival season promises one of its biggest summers yet, with more than seventy events running from May to September across the country. Major international stars including The Cure, Katy Perry, Foo Fighters and Juan Luis Guerra.

Some of the standout events include Primavera Sound in Barcelona, which is already sold out, featuring The Cure, Gorillaz and Massive Attack; Mad Cool in Madrid, celebrating its 10th anniversary with Foo Fighters, Florence and the Machine, and the Kings of Leon; and Bilbao BBK Live, which is celebrating twenty years with Calvin Harris and Robbie Williams.

Electronic music fans can go to festivals like Sónar and the Monegros Desert Festival, while rock fans can catch Iron Maiden, Marilyn Manson and The Offspring at summer metal events.

Looking a bit closer in the calendar, on Monday, the 18th, it was announced that football superstar Lamine Yamal is expected to miss the start of the twenty twenty-six FIFA World Cup because of a hamstring injury obtained during La Liga, a major blow to Spain ahead of the tournament.

According to reports, the FC Barcelona winger is likely to be unavailable for Spain’s opening group-stage match on the 15th of June and their second game on the 21st. The 18-year-old had been tipped to shine at the World Cup, but his injury has disrupted those plans.

The football federation has reportedly been working closely with Barcelona’s medical staff to monitor the 18-year-old’s recovery.

And finally.... This week’s opinion piece tackles the legacy of Francisco Franco.

In The Guardian, writer Abbas Asaria argues that Spain still hasn’t fully confronted its past, despite laws banning Francoist symbols in public spaces.

One of his major points is that bars and restaurants that openly glorify the dictatorship, with portraits, slogans, and memorabilia, expose what he sees as weak enforcement of the Democratic Memory Law. Particularly, Una Grande Libre, a bar in Madrid that embraces Francoist imagery and attracts far-right supporters.

If you’re curious, you can read his full piece in the show notes.

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

Anything to ask or tell us, info@rorshok.com.

¡Hasta la próxima!