Spain Update –Regional Election Results & more –1st June 2023

st of June: 2023

Election results are in, and the People's Popular Party (or PP) mopped the floor on Sunday, the 28th, with the current Central Government, the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (or PSOE), in the regional and local elections.

d of July instead of December: 2023

Of the twelve regions out of seventeen that held elections on Sunday, only three will retain socialist dominance; the right-leaning People's Party will likely govern the rest, with coalitions and pacts to be discussed with the far-right-leaning party VOX for some of those regions.

How quickly can an entire Spanish village vote for their local candidate?

This Sunday, the 28th, seven out of nine registered voters of Villaroya in the La Rioja region (formally PSOE, changed to PP) beat their previous record of thirty-two seconds by....drumroll, please. Two seconds!

Salvador Perez (PP), one of the oldest mayors in Spain, will remain in position, as seven out of the nine people that populate the town rapidly voted for him, becoming the first village in Spain to finish voting, beating a smaller village of three people, Illán de Vacas in the Castilla-la Mancha region that remains under the PSOE.

While voters flocked to the polls, how many regional and local seats did the right-leaning PP snatch from the left-leaning socialist PSOE?

In the capital, the PP was the party with the most votes in all districts, even in places where the left is historically more supported, like Puente de Vallecas, where the PP got over 26% of votes compared to left-leaning Mas Madrid, with 25%. In the Community of Valencia, the PP swung just over 35% of votes, while the PSOE gained 28%. However, the biggest surprise of Sunday's results was Extremadura, previously a socialist stronghold, the PSOE and PP drew equally, although support from far right-leaning VOX would place the region toward the right.

Regardless of what happens next, Sanchez says “the will of the people” will prevail, as polls and Sunday´s results show the PP has gained popularity.

Speaking of the PP, is Community of Madrid's president Isabel Diaz Ayuso the loose cannon and "asset" of the right-leaning party?

in popularity and hate since: 2019

Since she was elected in: 2022

Late last week, just before the election results, Spain's new housing law came into effect and set new limits to renting and evictions.

On Friday, the 26th of May, Spain stepped onto new ground with its first state housing law in the country's democratic history. The law's primary focus is tax regulation for renters and landlords, with new guidelines being drawn out for what can and can't happen on the renting market.

Landlords will now be considered to have a large amount of property if they own five properties or more; it used to be ten. A regulation improvement to IRPF, or personal income tax, has also been made to determine more affordable housing prices. On top of all that, the new law has also increased the land percentage granted to subsidized housing.

After last week's racism in football news blew up worldwide over the treatment of Real Madrid's winger, Vinicius Jr, at a National Championship Game, a Brazilian organization is looking to sue.

Educafro, an NGO that fights for the rights of black people, led by Franciscan Father David Santos in São Paulo, Brasil, is preparing to file a lawsuit against Spanish football at the EU Court of Human Rights after several serious racial attacks came to light.

Since: 2021

Want to find out more about this story? Link in show notes.

In other news, millions of Spanish speakers move to the Iberian Peninsular every year, and vice-versa. However, the shared lingo isn’t always culturally correct.

Hence the rise of viral social media videos, where people talk about what they wish they had known before living in another country, particularly those who share a language.

Bae Addams, a Venezuelan living in Barcelona, is one of those content creators. Their tips and advice for fellow compatriots to successfully integrate into Spain has given them over a thousand followers. The main tips include avoiding talking about football or politics, as it's a delicate subject, avoid using the colloquial word "ahorita" as Castilian Spanish is much more literal, and forget thinking that Spain is all about Paella, bullfighting, and flamenco.

We would love to hear your thoughts! Is there anything that surprised you when you traveled to another country?

Next up, torrential rain has been affecting much of Europe throughout May, but it looks like it will continue a little while longer in Spain.

The State Meteorological Agency has warned that heavy rain, electrical storms, and hail will affect most of mainland Spain in the next few weeks, as well as the Balearic islands. The agency reports that the heaviest and hardest hit areas will most likely be in the northwest and northeast of the country.

While the storms aren't set to be as extreme as what has occurred in other parts of Europe, such as Italy, travel warnings have been given.

While regions in Spain are on yellow alert for storms and rains, the wind also has a say this week, as it prevents the launch of Spain's first reusable space rocket.

Early on Wednesday, the 31st, Miura 1, a rocket developed by Payload Aerospace Space (or PLD), got the green light to launch. However, an unfavorable weather forecast put the plans on hold.

Miura 1, named after the infamous Spanish breed of bullfighting bulls, was developed by Elche-based company PLD Space. It is one of the few reusable rockets worldwide, the first of its kind in Europe, as 60% of its components will be recovered after each mission. Once it does take flight, it will send small satellites into space for monitoring.

Speaking of monitoring, groups of killer whales have been spotted off the coast of southern Spain and Portugal, and coast authorities are on standby.

Over the last year, dozens of bizarre orca attacks have been recorded on the Iberian Peninsula, particularly in Southern Spain.

On Wednesday, the 24th of May, a British sailor recorded a very similar incident where orcas broke the rudder and pierced the boat's hull after ramming into the boat while on its way to Gibraltar. Their behavior is puzzling experts, saying this group of whales is likely playing around, as orcas are highly playful marine animals, showcased by the fact that once the boats were immobilized, the attacks stopped.

And last but not least, here is one for the external validation file, and so that you know that with Rorshok updates, you are always ahead of the curve, the Guardian had an article on K-Pop tourism in Tossa De Mar. Wanna read it? Link in show notes!

Aaaaaand that's it for this week! You may not know it but we do updates for some other countries too. If you know anybody who might be interested, let them know. Ready? Here they are, West to East: Argentina, Venezuela, Nigeria, Poland, Serbia, Turkey, Malawi, Ethiopia, Georgia, Japan. Think of anybody?

¡Hasta la próxima!