Business over Tapas Nº 577

A digest of this week's Spanish financial, political and social news aimed primarily at Foreign Property Owners:

Prepared by Lenox Napier.  Consultant: José Antonio Sierra

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Editorial:

There used to be a nice Canadian show on the television about the delightful critters that live quietly in the garden. A slow and amiable voice helped us as we wandered around a giant estate in far-off Newfoundland looking under leaves and behind rocks. Pleasant-looking bees worked feverishly to please the cameraman as the plant-life went through its various routines: flowers, seeds and pods. Small rodents galloped aimlessly about in the undergrowth as some muted music accompanied the friendly talk. Oh! to live near a Canadian garden and to follow the dragonflies!

Here in Mojácar, we use a Californian gardening book. It has most of our flowers and shrubs, but it is understandably light regarding the local fauna that flitter from bush to bush, or in the case of some of our guests, from root to root.

Such are the wild boar, those large pigs which appear to have joined our society recently. They are not particularly dangerous, although they can weigh anything up to 150 kilos and have an impressive collection of teeth. There’s the story of one of them taking a lamb from its mother. Another, that we’ve all seen, has a jabalí grabbing somebody’s picnic and running off along the beach, with the irate owner, he must have been a Frenchman, chasing along behind.

Could they attack a human, me for example? It’s possible.

My late-wife and I once had a wild boar as a companion (I think, rather than a ‘pet’). He would follow along behind when we went horseback riding. Theodore would eat anything, and we had persuaded one of the local restaurants to save scraps from the diners’ plates: vegetables, well-chewed bits of gristle, bones and even lobster-shells.

My garden though – a wasteland with some stunted fruit-trees I’ve been trying to bring back to life – has recently attracted the attention of a sounder of wild boars. They drop by every night and dig up the ground (it’s relatively soft now after the rains) and search for the roots which the indulgent orange-trees have shyly put forth, once again, thanks to a combination of the recent floods, plus my attentive husbandry.

I come out every morning to see if anything has budded yet, and find huge holes in the earth, or even in the track that leads to my property. Rocks have been rolled away from their place, and even the stone-terraces have been attacked, as the piggies search for something choice under the earth. They are after the rootlets: fresh, juicy, crisp, tasty rootlets. I may not have a green finger, or is it a thumb, but even I know these fellows need to go.

So, down to the shop in the nearby town, which has everything for hunters, riders, pet-owners, prospective pet-owners, gardeners and I haven't even made it to the upstairs yet, where there are kitchen goods, televisions, flytraps and screwdrivers galore. It's a sort of Settlers' Dream. Anyhow, they gave me a Jumbo-sized box of what turned out to be rat poison. Stick a bit down and stand back. Yah, I don’t think so. The last thing I want is a dozen dead pigs cluttering up the orchard.

You may be surprised to learn that I have found the answer to this – forget the blast from a hunter’s shotgun or the services of a large hound, and above all, ignore the local recommendation of strewing human hair taken from the barber’s floor onto your land (imagine a shred of that being caught by the wind and blowing into your face). My solution is to simply scatter around some powdered cayenne pepper. Honestly, it works out cheaper than buying dogfood.

Understandably, the boars don’t care for that spicy kick to their enlarged sinuses, (although, on the other hand, it’s true to say that a pinch of something picante does wonders to a good pork goulash).  

Thus encouraged, they will leave me and mine alone and go and dig up the neighbour’s garden instead while I can return to my daily visit to the citrus trees and to counting the blossoms.

…...

Housing:

From Jacobin here: ‘How housing speculation created an environmental crisis in Spain. The floods that hit Spain last year were more than just a natural disaster. They were exacerbated by housing developers who built homes in the most flood-prone areas’.

The New York Times features another concern with Spanish property. ‘...Spain is confronting a housing crisis that has rapidly become one of the most acute in Europe. Since 2015, nearly one-tenth of the country’s housing stock has been plucked by investors or converted to tourist rentals. The scarcity has helped drive up prices much faster than wages, making affordable homes out of reach for many’.

‘Forty cities in Spain brace for mass housing protests on Saturday’ says The Local here.

‘On Thursday April 3, a reform to the Spanish Criminal Procedure Law will come into effect that will expedite evictions. Specifically, what comes into effect this week is an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law so that the crimes of usurpación de morada (trespass on an empty and unused home) and allanamiento de morada (breaking and entering) – a legal definition is here – be processed through the abbreviated procedure for judicial proceedings, the so-called ‘fast-track trials’, which will expedite their resolution and any evictions that may be ordered...’ More on the okupa rules at 20Minutos here.

‘From January 1, 2030, all homes for sale or rent must have a minimum energy rating of E. Furthermore, by 2033, this requirement will increase to D. This is established by the European Energy Efficiency Directive, which seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the construction sector, which is responsible for more than a third of emissions in the European Union’. The story comes from El Correo Web which notes that an ‘estimated 85% of buildings in Spain will require energy retrofitting to meet decarbonization requirements’.

…...

Tourism:

The Majorca Daily Bulletin notes that the campaign against mas-tourism is getting out of hand. ‘The Mallorca hoteliers president says that tourism is being used as "a punchbag"’.

From the same source here: The UK entry ETA visa is now in force. Twelve euros for non-UK travellers to enter the country from April 2.

…...

Seniors:

From 20Minutos here: ‘This year, the Imserso (Spanish Social Security Institute) will offer nearly 7,500 places for low-income pensioners to travel for a flat rate of €50. It will also allow, for the first time in its 40-year history, the option of traveling with pets.

In total, 7,447 places will be reserved for people whose benefits are equal to or less than the non-contributory pension. The remaining cost of these trips will be covered by the Imserso, according to information provided by the ministry’.

…...

Finance:

From El Plural here: ‘The Banco de España confirms a reduction of more than three percentage points in public debt. The rate stands at 101.8% of GDP, below the commitment made to Brussels’.

From El Economista here: ‘The US is blocking Repsol's $1,590 million project for new oil fields in Venezuela’. Repsol must leave Venezuela by May 27th says the article.

‘At 24% of GDP, Spain is the European country with the third largest underground economy’ says El Economista here. Greece has a black economy of 36%, followed by Italy at 31%. Portugal joins Spain in third place.

…...

Politics:

Santiago Abascal, the leader of Vox, is having a difficult week putting his politics in front of the good of his country. El Infiltrado says ‘Abascal makes a fool of himself in front of his voters by supporting Trump while revoking Repsol's permits’. Indeed, the new American tariffs will be no favour to Spain either. Meanwhile, the conviction in France of Marine le Pen for embezzlement (The Guardian here) sails disturbingly close to the Vox party finance from the Hungarian Magyar Bankholding in 2023 for election expenses worth 9.2 million euros, while failing to inform the Spanish election authority. Spanish election law prohibits both foreign governments and public agencies from bankrolling political parties.

Público takes up the story: ‘Following the European elections in June 2024, a year after the loan was granted, Vox joined Patriots for Europe (Patriotas.eu). This new group was promoted by Victor Orbán's Fidesz and includes Le Pen's party, Matteo Salvini's Italian Lega, the Belgian Vlaams Belang, and the Portuguese Chega.

Last November, Santiago Abascal was elected president of Patriots. This new European party has been characterized by being even more aligned with the far right than Meloni's ECR and by its closeness to Vladimir Putin's Russia’.

…...

Catalonia:

From El Mundo here: ‘CEO, the Catalonian equivalent of the CIS polling agency, boosts the result of the Aliança Catalana (the far-right) at the expense of Junts per Catalunya and maintains the PSC (the Catalonian PSOE) in the lead’.

…...

Europe:

Opinion from Sur in English here: ‘Join the armies. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the EU Commission, has endorsed the idea a defence force "with troops from all 27 member countries, working under a single flag with the same objectives"’.

From Reuters here: ‘American officials have told European allies they want them to keep buying American-made arms, amid recent moves by the EU to limit US manufacturers' participation in weapons tenders, several sources familiar with the matter say. The messages delivered by Washington in recent weeks come as the EU takes steps to boost Europe's weapons industry, while potentially limiting purchases of certain types of US arms…’

From The Huff Post US here (Tuesday): ‘The European Union issues a blunt warning on the eve of Trump's tariff 'Liberation Day'. The world’s biggest trade bloc “holds a lot of cards” and has a good plan to retaliate if forced to, said a top official’.

From Politico here: ‘EU readies counterstrike on Big Tech and US banks over Trump’s mega tariffs. Brussels sees America’s transatlantic trade surplus in services as its Achilles’ heel’.

The likely tariffs (as we wait for the announcement after 10.00pm Wednesday) are here.

…...

Health:

Right now, I’ve been taking a kind of powdered oriental mushroom I found advertised on Facebook to help control my catarrh. I am beginning to think that an antihistamine is the better bet, but there’s still a box of mushroom to go. Silly, of course. An article in Spanish  here looks at ‘alternative medicine’ without coming away at all impressed. It begins: ‘Millions of people in the so-called developed world spend billions of euros each year on pseudo-medical remedies, each one more absurd than the last. And generally, the main result is joining that long list of those scammed by healers, shamans, and "experts" in "alternative" and "natural" medicines…’. Guilty as charged…

…...

Corruption:

As the Iberian Funeral Plan issue escalates, here’s a piece at Eye on Spain.

‘In Spain, ninety cars are stolen every day, and only four out of ten are recovered: The thieves don't look for high-end vehicles. Most are committed by organized gangs who take the vehicle out of Spain and sell it for spare-parts’. 20Minutos says that the favourite car for los cacos to pinch is a Seat Ibiza followed in second place by a VW Golf.

…...

Courts:

A prospective investigation (‘Investigación prospectiva’): what it is and why the government uses this term so often to criticize the judges Hurtado and Peinado (one is ceaselessly investigating the Attorney General, the other has been after the President’s wife Begoña Gómez for almost a year without anything to show for it).

El Plural notes that ‘This type of procedure is illegal in Spain because it is not based on existing criminal acts, but rather on investigating in the hope of discovering them’.

A court orders a graffiti artist to pay Renfe €155,487 in compensation for vandalism against 34 trains says La Vanguardia here.

…...

Media:

Platfo in a beta version (testing) is ‘The past, present and future of Spanish audiovisuals in one place’. Here.

The social media reactions to the downfall of both Marine Le Pen and Spain’s Alvise Pérez.

An article on the evident connection between wealth and fascism at ctxt here begins with: ‘There are two ways to lead fascist movements. The first is to be a millionaire, and the second is to want to be one. In the case of Marine Le Pen, heiress of at least two million euros that her father hid in Swiss accounts and convicted of embezzling some four million euros, we find both virtues. It's no coincidence that one of them becomes the ultimate European reference for those who wave flags for the sake of fundraising. If Santiago Abascal, owner and sole administrator of the Fundación Disenso bank account, with more than nine million euros, a very Spanish man, enthusiastically applauded Le Pen's political proposals, which promised to ban Spanish agricultural products, it's because what separates patriots is trivial compared to what truly unites them. Fascism has been like this since its founding. There has never been a better roadmap than to amass fortunes through the fruitful method of using flags as vending machines…’ (All good stuff!) 

…...

Various:

‘Accidents with electric scooters, patinetes, now runs to 400 annually, with 240 injuries and 14 deaths in 2024. The high accident rate is due to collisions with other vehicles (65%), falls (22%), and impacting pedestrians (10%)’. Diario de Sevilla has the story.

From elDiario.es here: ‘The Guardia Civil opened an investigation earlier this week into the Asociación Núcleo Nacional following a video released on March 30 by the group on its Twitter feed, in which it urged associations and organizations to "actively defend" the streets and "jointly fight against the invasion" (they mean immigrants and okupas)’ (with video). The far-right nationalist group has its webpage here.

From Eye on Spain here: ‘Deep in the heart of Barcelona's El Raval district lies a veritable time capsule, a watering hole that has witnessed nearly two centuries of history unfold within its walls. The Bar Marsella, founded in 1820, stands proudly as the oldest bar in the Catalan capital, offering patrons a glimpse into a bygone era whilst serving up its infamous house speciality: absinthe...’

…...

See Spain:

From Eye on Spain here: ‘In Aranjuez, a historic city just south of Madrid, lies a museum that offers a unique glimpse into one of Spain's most controversial cultural traditions: bullfighting. The Aranjuez Bullfighting Museum, housed within an 18th-century bullring, stands as a testament to the enduring legacy of this contentious spectacle. Whether you're an aficionado of the sport or simply curious about its history, this museum provides a fascinating journey through the world of la tauromaquia, the art of bullfighting…’

From La Opinión de Málaga here: ‘El Acebuchal, the hidden village in Málaga, considered to be the most beautiful in Spain was abandoned for more than fifty years. This village is full of charming corners, cobblestone streets, and flowerpots that make it a "little hidden treasure" that allows visitors to travel back in time’.

Eye on Spain again: ‘In the heart of Spain, hidden within the winding cobblestone streets of Toledo, lies a peculiar architectural wonder that has captured the imagination of locals and tourists alike. This minuscule marvel, barely visible to the untrained eye, holds the prestigious title of "The Smallest Window in the World." But what makes this diminutive opening so special, and why has it become such a captivating attraction in a city already brimming with historical treasures?’

…...

Finally:

Julieta Venegas with Andar Conmigo on YouTube here.