SPAIN: Political Rallies & more – 12th June 2025

Buenos días from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Spain Update from the 12th of June twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Spain.

To begin this week, on Sunday the 8th, tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Madrid demanding a new election amid allegations of government corruption. The Partido Popular or PP organized the rally and called for President Pedro Sánchez to resign.

The protest was triggered by a leaked audio released earlier this month, in which political activist Leire Diez — a former member of Sánchez’s Socialist party — allegedly orchestrated a smear campaign against a police unit investigating corruption tied to Sánchez’s family and allies.

Diez denies wrongdoing and has since quit the party. Despite this, Sánchez dismisses the investigations as a right-wing attack. The PP holds a narrow lead in the polls, but Sánchez remains the most popular leader. The protest marks the sixth major anti-government rally organized by the PP since twenty twenty-two.

On Tuesday the 3rd, Spain’s Defense Ministry suspended an Israeli missile manufacturing license, canceling a 280 million euro contract for anti-tank systems intended for the Spanish Army and Marine Corps.

The contract, awarded in October twenty twenty-three to Pap Tecnos, the Spanish branch of Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, included launch units, missiles, and logistical support.

Spain is shifting away from Israeli military technology due to concerns over the country’s actions in Gaza and aims to reduce to zero its dependence on Israeli defense products. United States missile systems are being considered as an alternative.

This decision follows a recent unilateral decision by the central government to cancel all of Spain’s involvement with Israeli arms products.

Next, unions at Iberdrola have called on more than 9,000 workers in Spain to strike on Friday, the 13th, marking what could be the first walkout in the company’s 100-year history.

The unions, which represent most of the workforce, are demanding higher wages and reduced working hours. They argue that inflation rose by 19% between twenty twenty-one and twenty twenty-four, while Iberdrola only increased salaries by an average of just under 3%. Workers want wage increases to be tied to inflation.

Despite ongoing negotiations since January, no agreement has been reached. A company spokesperson said employees enjoy strong benefits and a good work-life balance, and added that the management remains open to dialogue.

Keeping with the workforce, according to Spain’s National Statistics Institute, the number of workers over sixty-four has doubled in six years, rising from 220,000 in May twenty nineteen to 440,000 in twenty twenty-five.

Contributing factors include pension reforms that discourage early retirement and reward working longer, as well as an aging population.

On to tech, on Monday, the 9th, Spain introduced a draft law to begin tracking cryptocurrency assets held by its citizens abroad, aiming to boost transparency and combat tax evasion.

Aligned with the EU directives, the law is expected to generate up to 2.4 billion euros, according to the European Commission. Starting on the 1st of January, twenty twenty-six, crypto platforms must report users’ balances, transactions, token usage, and electronic payments to Spain’s Treasury.

For the first time, the Spanish Tax Agency will be authorized to seize digital assets to recover unpaid debts, a power previously limited to traditional bank accounts. The law also requires providers of electronic money and payment services to report customer data.

In other news, on Tuesday, the 10th, Spain’s Constitutional Court voted to keep in force the Historical and Democratic Memory Law of Cantabria, which was originally passed in twenty twenty-one but repealed in twenty twenty-four by the PP regional government with support from the far-right party Vox.

Spain's Historical and Democratic Memory Law recognizes Civil War victims, condemns Franco's regime, and promotes justice, reparations, and historical education. However, the country’s autonomous communities can choose to repeal this law temporarily, which is what happened in Cantabria, Northern Spain.

The central government argued that the repeal eliminated key protections for victims of human rights violations and undermined Spain's national Memory Law, which mandates all public administrations to uphold historical memory. The court’s decision exposed a divide, with conservative judges opposing the continuation of the law.

Meanwhile, big news for Gibraltar. On Wednesday, the 11th, Spain, the UK, the European Commission, and Gibraltar held a decisive meeting in Brussels, aiming to finally outline a post-Brexit plan for the British overseas territory.

After more than three years of negotiations, key issues included Gibraltar’s tax regime and its involvement with the EU single market, the implementation of Schengen border controls at Gibraltar’s airport and the logistics for workers and citizens of Gibraltar and across the border in Spain.

Full details about the meeting haven’t been released yet, but regarding border control, publication El País reported on the same day that the plan is for Spanish and Gibraltarian police to manage controls, with Spain maintaining final authority.

In the media, during a visit to Netflix’s production hub in Tres Cantos, Madrid, co-CEO Ted Sarandos announced the company would invest over $1 billion in Spain by twenty twenty-nine.

The move marks a deepening of Netflix’s commitment to Spanish-language content, celebrating its ten-year presence in the country in twenty twenty-five. Sarandos highlighted the global cultural impact of Spanish originals like Money Heist, Elite, and Society of the Snow, noting they generated over five billion viewing hours worldwide in twenty twenty-four.

The 23rd edition of Primavera Sound music festival, which started on Wednesday the 4th of June and ended on Sunday the 8th, kicked off what promises to be a record-breaking tourist season in Barcelona, reinforcing the city’s reputation as a global cultural hub.

The festival has driven a notable increase in train and flight bookings, following a trend that last year brought over 268,000 visitors from 134 countries. Coming right after the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Montmeló last weekend and just before the Sónar Festival, the Primavera Sound marks the start of Barcelona’s high tourist season.

Large events like Primavera Sound are key to sustaining Barcelona’s visitor-driven economy, even as tourism and lodging continue to divide the Catalan capital.

Going back to protests, on Sunday, the 7th, veterinarians, pet owners, and animal shelter workers marched through the streets of forty cities to protest Spain's new veterinary medicines law.

The demonstrators criticized the law for limiting vets' ability to supply treatments, imposing excessive bureaucracy, and relying on outdated protocols. Protesters argued that these restrictions delay access to vital medication and hinder professional judgment. They also condemned the new law’s change in penalties, which could see animal workers being fined over one million euros for technical prescription errors.

The protest sparked political battles. The opposition PP accused the government of pushing the decree without consensus, calling it harmful to both public health and animal welfare.

Talking culture, the small Valencian village of Potries, with just 1,000 residents, has officially launched its bid to become the European Capital of Culture in twenty thirty-one.

Potries aims to spotlight rural culture and challenge the dominance of larger cities like Toledo in the center, Granada in the south, and Pamplona in the north. Located in the La Safor region, just south of Valencia, Potries invests 33% of its nearly €1 million annual budget in cultural initiatives. These include the Àngel Domínguez ceramics museum, and local festivals

In twenty eighteen, it was named the Cultural Capital of the Valencian Community. If any small town has a chance to rise to the top, it's Potries.

Finally, closing this episode with an interesting story. On Wednesday, the 4th, three Spanish Muslims, Abdelkader Harkassi Aidi, Tarek Rodriguez, and Abdallah Rafael Hernandez Mancha, completed a 6,500km or 4,000-mile, seven-month horseback journey from Andalusia to Makkah, retracing an ancient Hajj route.

Hernandez had promised that if he passed an exam, he would become a Muslim and make the journey. The group trained for years and self-funded the trip, and after Hernandez passed his exam, they were finally able to go. They faced tough terrain and cold weather but were helped by locals and a Saudi influencer.

Their route crossed Europe, the Balkans, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. Even though they had to leave their horses in Riyadh due to regulations, they were warmly received in Madinah and are now preparing for Hajj, the spiritual journey that all muslims are required to perform.

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

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