SPAIN: Catastrophic Floods & more – 31st Oct 2024

Buenos días from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Spain Update from the 31st of October twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what's going down in Spain.

Let’s start with President Pedro Sanchez’s recent trip to India.

On Monday the 28th, Sanchez met with Narendra Modi, India’s Prime Minister, to inaugurate India’s first private military aircraft facility in Gujarat. The duo waved to crowds, covered with flowers as they made their way to inaugurate the facility.

Sanchez praised the partnership as a boost to Spain and India’s industrial ties. This trip marks the first visit by a Spanish premier to India in eighteen years. Modi visited Spain in twenty seventeen and held talks with Sanchez at the G20 summits in twenty eighteen and twenty twenty-one.

Spain is the 16th-largest foreign investor in India with more than 280 Spanish companies in the country in sectors such as construction, pharmacy, energy, and the railways industry, so their ties are pretty close.

In weather news on Wednesday the 30th, there were at least ninety-two casualties because torrential rainfall flooded homes and roads around Spain.

This severe weather has bled over into politics, where Left-wing politicians blamed regional leaders for dismantling emergency response teams.

Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission President, stressed the urgency of climate adaptation, calling for improved EU crisis management. Meanwhile, emergency warnings were issued in Cádiz as the storm moved south, highlighting the ongoing risk of the terrible weather.

Next up, on Sunday the 27th, the Spanish National Police and customs officials seized a record thirteen tons of cocaine in Algeciras, Cádiz, in the South, concealed among bananas from Ecuador.

This haul surpasses the previous record of nearly ten tons seized in August twenty twenty-three, also in Algeciras, highlighting Ecuador’s role as a major cocaine export hub.

Authorities arrested one suspect linked to a fruit company in El Campello, Alicante, in the southeast that is already under investigation for drug smuggling.

This seizure underscores the logistical power of European drug networks, with nearly 70% of European drug seizures occurring in major ports like Algeciras, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Over to Malaga, in the South, where on Thursday, the 24th, its regional government announced a ban on new permits for short-term rentals.

This ban, which applies to forty-three neighborhoods across Malaga, comes as a response to protests against rising rents and limited long-term housing. This action mirrors similar restrictions in cities like Barcelona, aiming to protect local housing markets. Francisco De la Torre, the Mayor of Malaga, also announced his intention to tax holiday rentals to fund social housing, requiring national law adjustments.

About 65% of accommodations in Malaga are used for short-term stays during the high tourist season. Residents argue that platforms like Airbnb contribute to high rents, pushing locals out of the market, attracting remote workers and tourists, and intensifying the city’s housing crisis.

The Canovelles municipal government in Vallès Oriental, northeast of Barcelona, has suspended its iconic street market in Catalunya due to safety concerns over a rise in unauthorized vendors.

A recent report by Mossos d’Esquadra, Catalunya’s regional police, flagged evacuation risks from overcrowding, estimating that around 300 unlicensed sellers are blocking emergency routes.

Legal vendors expressed frustration, fearing economic fallout, and urged authorities to increase police oversight rather than close the market.

Emilio Cordero, the Mayor of Canovelles, stressed that public safety remains the top priority, adding that officials are exploring alternatives such as downsizing or relocating the market. Still, for now, the market is set to close on Sunday the 3rd of November.

Speaking of law enforcement, the Spanish police recently confirmed that on the 14th and 15th of October, the police arrested four men suspected of running an online hate campaign encouraging racial abuse against Vinicius Jr., Real Madrid’s forward football player.

The campaign urged Atletico Madrid fans to wear masks to avoid identification while targeting the Black Brazilian player during the Madrid derby on the 29th of September.

Vinicius, who has faced repeated racial abuse, previously labeled LaLiga and Spain as racist after experiencing slurs at Valencia’s Mestalla stadium last year. This marks the first arrests related to online hate toward Vinicius Jr., following heightened attention from LaLiga, which condemned the campaign as incitement to hatred.

More about football as on Saturday the 26th, Barcelona defeated Real Madrid in one of the most infamous matches in Spanish football, El Clásico.

Barcelona defeated Real Madrid at home by 4-0 at the Bernabeu Stadium, extending their La Liga table lead to six points.

Football prodigy Lamine Yamal, who is just seventeen, made history as the youngest El Clásico scorer while Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe had two goals disallowed for offside and was thwarted by Barcelona's defensive play.

In other football news, on Monday the 28th, Rodrigo Hernández Cascante, known as Rodri, the Spanish and Manchester City football player, won the Ballon d'Or, the most prestigious award in world football.

The Manchester City midfielder, known for his tactical prowess, played a pivotal role in Manchester City's incredible twenty twenty-three season and was awarded the Euro twenty twenty-four Best Player title for his work with Spain.

On another note, on Sunday, the 27th, Manuel Domínguez, Canary Islands' Minister of Economy and Industry, announced that long-delayed public bids for geothermal research in Tenerife, Gran Canaria, and La Palma, which are located in the Southwest of mainland Spain, had been resolved.

In early twenty twenty-three, a team of researchers initiated the project, hoping that the research would boost local energy resources and tap into renewable energy. However, researchers hit a few roadblocks as some of the mining zones they wanted to use included offshore areas, which are regulated by the state, risking jurisdictional conflicts.

So far, 103 million euros have been allocated to the geothermal research.

Over to Navarra in the North, where the Black Power initiative has been empowering young African immigrant women to confront racism and social injustices while reclaiming their identities. The initiative offers anti-racism and sexual rights training as part of a three-year program, supported by Médicos del Mundo Navarra and funded by Fundación Caja Navarra and Fundación LaCaixa.

Black Power addresses challenges Afro-descendant youth face, especially the lack of positive representation.

The group promotes unity among Afro-descendant men and women and emphasizes self-representation. They work on challenging stereotypes, reshaping perceptions, and cultivating pride in African heritage within Spain’s diverse cultural landscape.

In tech news, a recent article by Startups shows how Spain has become a top choice for digital nomads, particularly since introducing its digital nomad visa in January twenty twenty-three.

The visa allows remote work and residence for twelve months, with the option to extend to five years.

Major destinations include cities like Valencia, in the Eastern coast, offering 300 days of sunshine and eco-friendly urban spaces. Other coastal spots like Tarifa, in the South and Javea, in the East, provide beachside communities with a strong co-working infrastructure, while Almeria, in the South, attracts workers with its low costs.

While Spain may be a great place for digital nomads, its increasing hostility towards tourism may see the culture shift in years to come.

From tech to food. On Wednesday the 30th, Spanish media publication the Olive Press highlighted Calpe on Costa Blanca in the southeast as the nation’s top destination for Michelin-starred dining per capita, with three acclaimed restaurants: Audrey’s, Beat, and Orobianco.

This gives Calpe one Michelin star per 8,500 residents, the highest density of starred establishments in Spain. Chef Rafa Soler and Audrey’s kitchen staff earned their Michelin star in twenty seventeen for their innovative Mediterranean dishes made with local seafood, notably the renowned white prawn of Calpe.

Orobianco, an Italian restaurant, regained a star under Chef Paolo Casagrande and Beat, located in The Cookbook Gastro Boutique Hotel, and is ranked third in the Marina Alta region in the northeast.

And to wrap up this edition… Universal Music Group has released a Spanish version of Brenda Lee’s famous nineteen fifty-eight holiday hit, Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree, retitled Noche Buena y Navidad.

Produced by Auero Baqueiro, this version retains the original music but features newly recorded Spanish vocals via SoundLabs' AI tool, MicDrop.

Brenda Lee says she’s thrilled by the adaptation. Check it out, and see if you can spot the AI!

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

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¡Hasta la próxima!