Business over Tapas Nº 589

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 Business over Tapas:

The political season is more or less over, with holidays for the deputies and their families until the next emergency comes along, or – with luck – until September.

Politics, or course, continues the year round, and the PP will be having their XXI National Congress from July 4th to the 6th (with the special presence of both José María Aznar and Mariano Rajoy). The Partido Popular says in a statement: ‘…While the Popular Party's conclave "will be one of unity" and will take place "in a context of absolute normality," the PSOE will hold its Federal Committee in a "diametrically opposite" situation, as a party that is "bleeding itself dry internally and cornered by countless cases of corruption".

Because, yes, the PSOE will be holding their own meeting on Saturday in their headquarters in Madrid, having changed the venue at the last minute from Seville. They will need to discuss the ongoing problems and corruption issues, plus find a substitute for the departed Santos Cerdán, who was abruptly jailed by Order of the Court on Monday.  

This week, Seville was the host for the United Nations Conference on Financing Development. At least fifty world leaders gathered in Seville to address global concerns, including hunger, climate change and healthcare. The Americans (having closed down most of their USAID programs) gave it a miss this time. The smiling quartet of Pedro Sánchez and his wife, Felipe VI and his wife, welcomed the attendees. Spare a thought for Seville, which has been locked down with 6,000 extra police, drones and whatever version of robocop is currently in use.

The guests will be sure to notice that it’s bloody hot outside (42ºC on Tuesday). Perhaps some of those present will connect the dots and say: Eureka! Global Warming!

Then, finally, along comes the hols. Unless there’s a parliamentary recall of course. The senior politicians still have a way to go, since July is a kind of half-way month.

Normally, Pedro Sánchez and his family would be looking forward to their August break in the Government-owned estate of La Moreta in Lanzarote, and who could blame them, but the conservative president of the island Astrid Pérez has said (while no doubt playing to the gallery) that he’s not welcome there this year.

Not to worry. Around 2014, Pedro’s wife Begoña Gomez bought a flat in Mojácar Pueblo – and frankly, we don’t see enough of them here.

Mind you, taking a breather when you’re the boss is always tricky, even when the thermometers are shattering and, if there’s no one else, we can see that the Americans remain on the case. Right now, as Trump cooks up some fresh idiocy or other, General Greenway says he wants to transfer the 3,250 US military service-folk from Rota and Morón (plus their families) in favour of Morocco.

Público says that it’s not just Trump who is angry with Spain, there’s also the colourful Argentinian leader Javier Milei, and the bloodthirsty leader of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu. Between the three of them, plus their friend the Vox leader Santiago Abascal, maybe Sánchez would be wise to play it safe and remain in La Moncloa, the presidential palace in Madrid. Maybe hide under the bed. It’s also clear that he will be having to work (and plan) through his holiday if his government is going to continue until 2027.

…...

Housing:

From Spanish Property Insight here: ‘Tourist rentals clash with housing access in Spain’s coastal hot spots, says new report’. We read ‘A growing number of Spanish sun-and-beach destinations are waking up to the reality that booming tourist rentals are fuelling a housing crisis for locals—but many still aren’t doing much about it.

According to the Observatorio de Turismo Sostenible en España), 61% of surveyed destinations have identified a clear link between the rise of holiday rentals (VUTs) and deteriorating access to housing for permanent residents. Yet 35% of those municipalities currently have no plans to regulate this market...’. As we see from the Express piece below, there’s too much easy money at stake...

From The Express here: ‘Holiday rental properties available to tourists in the Majorcan capital of Palma generate more income for their owners than any other Spanish city, a new study has revealed. Rent Economics indicates an average gross income of €48,100 per annum.  Only the Catalan capital of Barcelona comes close, with €47,000 per year, while Ibiza, with €41,500, came third...’

Sur in English says that the ‘National tourist property register went live in Spain on Wednesday with only a third of rental properties in Andalucía listed. Government figures suggest that seven out of ten tourist dwellings in the region will have to be taken off the online holiday rental platforms for non-compliance with the new requirement’.

From CNA here: ‘Spain makes Booking.com scrap 4,000 tourist rental ads. A tourism boom has driven the buoyant Spanish economy but fuelled local concern about increasingly scarce and unaffordable housing, a top priority for the minority coalition government.

"We have deleted a very small number of adverts in Spain at the request of the consumer ministry for supplying valid licences," Booking.com said in a statement...’.

…...

Tourism:

From El Economista here: ‘While hoteliers and the tourism sector in Spain and Europe are rubbing their hands with glee at the approaching wave of Americans; citizens and residents are fearfully watching the arrival of all these tourists crowding into hotels and airports to enjoy the beauty of Europe, that Old Continent that increasingly resembles a "tourist theme park". The positive side is that Americans have one of the highest per capita incomes in the world and their propensity to consume seems endless (they don't monitor budgets), which could leave hundreds of millions of euros in the accounts of retailers, hotels, and hoteliers, in what is expected to be a historic summer for Spain and Europe in general...’

From HostelTur here: ‘Spain supports a tax on first-class flights and private jets. France has promoted this initiative that seeks to tax airline tickets’.

…...

Finance:

‘Employment hits a new record, approaching 21.9 million workers in June. Unemployment falls by 48,920 to 2.4 million, the lowest figure in 17 years, the number of self-employed workers remains at a record high, and more women are employed than ever before’. elDiario.es has the story here.

From 20Minutes here: The Banco de Sabadell will sell its British subsidiary TSB to the Banco de Santander for 3,100 million euros and raise its dividend to stop the threat of the BBVA's takeover bid.

…...

Politics:

We are snowed by some adverts – panicked into buying a service or a gadget following some well-written copy from an advertiser. From LaSexta here: ‘The Consumer Ministry will regulate "fear advertising" and require the inclusion of statistics in ads to assess the real risk. "La publicidad del miedo" exploits consumers' fears, creating a misperception about the danger they face if they don't buy a product. The Ministry cites the advertising used by security companies as an example…’ (Which is why we see so many column inches about the dreaded okupas).

From Telecinco here: ‘Mariano Rajoy on Pedro Sánchez's government: "Their only goal is to resist, and their partners' goal is to continue extorting"’. Rajoy was being interviewed by Ana Rosa Quintana on her TV show. Sánchez should call for fresh elections says Rajoy

From The Guardian here: ‘…So why does this keep happening in Spain? Part of the answer lies in the lack of strong rules and independent oversight to hold politicians and other public officials accountable. Parliamentary checks are weak; transparency standards are low and the sanctions against companies complicit in corruption are insufficient. Oversight bodies are frequently toothless or politicised, and ethical codes are either vague or unenforced. This vacuum creates fertile ground for impunity…’

El Mundo says that ‘Corruption costs Sánchez his biggest drop in voting intention since the general election, and the PP now leads by 41 seats over the PSOE’. Their poll is here.

From La CadenaSer here: ‘Carlos Cuerpo defends on CNN that Spain will contribute "its fair share" to defence while "preserving our welfare state". The Minister of Economy (who speaks fluent English) has been interviewed on the American television channel’ (with video).

Felipe Gonzalez was saying on the radio that "…neither the PSOE nor any party that supported the amnesty law" could count on his vote. However, he acknowledged that he won't vote for the PP because it lacks a national vision: "I see Feijóo scoring points for himself with Mazón or with Abascal only yesterday". These statements reached the ear of journalist Javier Aroca, who in a few words delivered the final blow to Felipe González: "I don't think he's ever voted in his life".

One of the most acerbic of the Partido Popular, the parliamentarian spokesperson Cuca Gamarra is taking a step backwards. The announcement came just days before the PP’s XXI National Congress. She probably smelt a rat… From Spanish Revolution here, we read of a purge within the PP, moving it further to the right. The article says that ‘…These moves are no coincidence. The PP National Congress, to be held this weekend, will consolidate a slow, sustained, and effective internal coup. It has allowed Miguel Tellado—the face of daily insults in Congress—to rise to become the official voice of the party. It has left Isabel Díaz Ayuso as the true ideological leader of the Spanish right. And it has transformed Feijóo into the formal leader of a party he no longer leads…’

Later: Miguel Tellado becomes the new party General Secretary says 20Minutos here. 

‘The leaders from numerous countries convened in the Andalusian city of Seville on Monday to address the widening disparity between wealthy and developing nations and to rally support for raising trillions of dollars needed to bridge that divide. Notably absent from the gathering was the United States. Over 70 heads of state and other delegates are attending the UN’s 4th International Conference on Financing for Development running from 30 June until 3 July in Seville…’ Spain in English has the story here.

…...

Europe:

NATO: ‘Feijóo pledges to comply with the 5% military spending imposed by Trump if he takes office’. That, plus his proposed tax cuts, should leave the Spanish Welfare State in tatters. Elsewhere, we read that ‘The Partido Popular warns that it will not "accept Trump's threats" against Spain’. Presumably, by immediately caving in...

In case anyone hasn't done the math on what the 5% defence spending represents (i.e., 3% more than the agreed 2%), Spain's GDP in 2023 was around 1.46 trillion.

So 3% = 43.8 billion (that’s to say: 43,800 million euros annually).

From elDiario.es here. ‘A trade war against Spain would force the entire EU to respond. The US president says Spain will "pay" in trade for its refusal to increase military spending. The threat comes in the midst of tariff negotiations, and the response to any actions would come from the entire EU, which has trade powers, as happened when Algeria threatened to freeze relations with Madrid after the shift in its position on the Sahara’.

……

‘British citizens in the EU five years on from Brexit’. From a blog called UKandEU, we read: ‘For the 1.2 million British citizens living in the EU, EEA and EFTA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland), Brexit led to changes to their status and rights. We are now approaching five years since the end of the Brexit transition period. That means many British citizens in the EU who were beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement, will be transitioning from temporary to permanent residence…’.

‘Spain swims against the tide. At a time when much of Europe is grappling with economic crises, caving in to populist anti-aid narratives and slashing development budgets, the country is increasing its financial support for the global south. Instead of planning future aid cuts, Spain has put ambitious goals for 2030 into law…’ Item from The Guardian here.

From Xataca here: ‘Years ago, Lisbon set out to become a tourist capital. Now it's become Europe's biggest tourist hellhole’. We read, ‘…The Lisbon of today has little (or nothing) to do with the one of two decades ago, before the financial crisis. The Portuguese capital has managed to enter the international investment map and establish itself as a tourist destination, but it hasn't come without a price. Along the way, it has become the most "unaffordable" city in Europe, with a real estate market more focused on expats or tourists than on its native residents...’

…...

Health:

From El Economista here: ‘A study warns of the dangers of non-alcoholic beer: it could increase the risk of developing diabetes’.

From EuropaPress here. ‘Pedro Sánchez has announced an increase of €130 million to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization for the years 2026-2030, which represents a 30% increase compared to the previous period, thus renewing Spain's commitment to "investment in health and, particularly, in prevention and immunization"’.

…...

Corruption:

From VozPópuli here: ‘The judge raises the bribes paid out in the 'Caso Cerdán' to five million euros and believes that more people benefited. The judge points out that the total amount of the works awarded to the company Acciona Construcción through their apparent inducements amounts to 537,271,000 euros’. Santos Cerdán is now being held in the Soto del Real prison.

20Minutos has the list of ‘famosos’ who have enjoyed the hospitality of the Soto del Real.

From Diario Red here: ‘Criminal organization, bribery, the falsification of public and private documents, influence peddling, false accusation and denunciation, disclosure of secrets, concealment of funds, and money laundering. These are the crimes for which Judge Santiago Pedraz of the National Court has ordered the opening of proceedings against the president of La Razón and director of Atresmedia, Mauricio Casals; the director and presenter of La Sexta, Antonio García Ferreras; businessman Adrián de la Joya; and police commissioners José Manuel Villarejo and José Luis Olivera; the former Deputy Director of Operations of the Police; and the former Minister of the Interior, Jorge Fernández Díaz…’

An apparent Russian group of hackers has emptied and closed down the government of Melilla’s data system, including information on all residents and tourists to the enclave and, say the hackers, some rather disturbing links on the pcs of several local dignitaries (Whoops!). In a slightly happier story, two 19-year-old hackers who were mining information on Pedro Sánchez and his ministers have been arrested in Las Palmas.

…...

Courts:

From El Independiente here: ‘The Supreme Court judge remands Santos Cerdán, the former number three of the PSOE, to pretrial detention. Judge Leopoldo Puente accuses him of organized crime, bribery, and influence peddling, and grants the Anti-Corruption Office's prison request’. It’s a little odd how fast Cerdán went to clink – as Ayuso’s boyfriend continues to enjoy freedom a year after he admitted fraud, with Zaplana enjoying his freedom in Benidorm, or Aldama quietly at home, or the ex-minister Jorge Fernández Díaz facing fifteen years giving interviews, or Francisco Camps (Wiki) in campaign against a Carlos Mazón who just won’t quit… 

From Sur in English here: ‘Public prosecution asks for 18-year prison sentence for Marbella mayor's stepson. Some 30 people, among them Joakim Broberg, are accused of belonging to an organisation (known as the Mocromafia) led by Swedish citizens who allegedly exported large quantities of drugs to Scandinavia’.

After fifteen months of pointless inquiry, from El País here: ‘Judge Peinado leaves a trail of victims in the investigation into Begoña Gómez. The Provincial Court annuls searches, vetoes investigations based on mere speculation and withdraws charges against those who hired the president's wife’.

…...

Media:

From elDiario.es here: ‘The president of RTVE (the State TV and Radio) denounces the latest case of harassment against a 'Telediario' crew and warns of an increase in these attacks. José Pablo López shows the video of the incident during the demonstrations called by several judicial associations outside the Supreme Court’ (with video).

…...

Ecology:

‘Spain breaks its record for highest temperature for a June month since records began: Huelva reaches 46°C’. 20Minutos has the story.

La CadenaSer has: ‘Mediterranean water temperatures will reach 30 degrees this summer, putting species and the marine ecosystem at risk. UPV professor Miguel Rodilla warns of the need to implement "urgent measures" because "there will be no turning back"’. We read: ‘The Mediterranean Sea temperature is already, on average, two degrees above normal for this time of year, reaching 26 degrees. The forecast is for 28 degrees in July, and as summer progresses, up to 29 or 30 degrees...’ Infobae is in even more of a panic: ‘The AEMET (Mediterranean Meteorological Agency) warns of a temperature increase of more than six degrees Celsius, setting off meteorological alarms’. Meanwhile, The Olive Press reports that ‘A Spanish weather forecaster has slammed the ‘terrifying’ online backlash her organisation has received to its reporting on Spain’s early summer heat’ (we are all familiar with the ‘don’t listen to the experts’ nonsense found on Facebook and eksewhere).

A London-based private equity platform has destroyed roads and irrigation ditches in Pina de Ebro (Zaragoza) to plant an illegal almond tree plantation. The Government of Aragon is preparing a harsh disciplinary action against Prunus Nuts, a company owned by Cibus Capital, for carrying out irrigation conversion works in protected areas without any environmental permits’. The story here.

…...

Various:

Under the heading of ‘Bestiario Ultra’, ctxt brings us ‘Daniel Esteve, a thug for hire. The founder of Desokupa (wiki) has built a career based on directing his violence against people in vulnerable situations’. Esteve runs a group of heavies who will empty your apartment of okupas in double-quick time, or perform other services if the price is right.

From El País in English here: ‘A repeat of the 1829 Torrevieja earthquake could kill thousands due to the area’s tourism boom. A study analyzes the enormous impact of earthquakes on the Mediterranean city, where the population has multiplied sixfold’.

‘The former Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias announced on social media this Tuesday that he is closing the Taberna Garibaldi in Madrid's Lavapiés neighborhood, in order to open another one "in a bigger place with more opportunities to do things".

In a video posted on social media, Iglesias announced that the current location, which opened on March 19, 2024, as "an anti-fascist space for beers, but also for book presentations and political discussions," according to the former Podemos leader himself, is closing to be replaced by a new one, about which he says he will provide details later on...’

From Jaén Hoy here: ‘One of the largest Roman coliseums in Hispania is being restored: "It's going to be a huge attraction". This amphitheater, discovered in a village in Jaén called Porcuna (the Roman town of Obulco), had a capacity for more than 15,000 spectators. It dates back to the 1st century BC and will be open to visitors this summer’.

…...

Finally:

Los Benders with Rosas Negras (Mexican ‘Rackinrol’) on YouTube here.