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
More information on Business over Tapas
May 8 2025 Nº 581
Editorial:
Much has been written and said about the power cut last week which affected almost all of Spain and lasted anything up to a full day (and night). The government says it has called for an investigation, and there was even talk - now rather less, but one must keep up with the times - of some cyber sabotage.
It's called 'El Apagón' - the Shut Down, and it evidently inconvenienced a nation, from stalled lifts to inoperative traffic-lights, with no cell-phones and no news (unless one has a radio with a battery). The panic however was generally light and there were no reports of looting. We read that some virtuous citizens were helping the police to direct the traffic, while others benevolent folk were even prepared to drink beer at room temperature!
Commercial losses due to the incident were around 1,600 million euros according to figures from the CEOE as quoted by the BBC.
Of course, the Opposition in its usual helpful way is trying to blame the Government for what must obviously and inevitably be a technical issue from within the electric companies themselves.
While the EWN stridently complained about the black-out (they had a paper to print) and furiously blamed the politicians in their topical edition (no doubt the Government trembled), I was lucky enough to be found that day cycling in Germany on an e-bike equipped, I have to say, with a full charge.
The Weenie, by the way, following the lead from La Razón and its 'Caos Total' front-page.
Other agencies also put the blame firmly on the Government - although it's clear enough that the singularity was a technical one, emerging in some as yet unexplained manner from the electric companies, whether through some failure or other between the renewables and the standard polluters (although there was no particular rise or fall either in the sun or the wind on that day).
But let's blame Sánchez anyway. The PP, which is bearing up well under the Mazón Crisis (where, after six months, we still don't know what he was up to - besides not answering his phone - in the Ventorro restaurant on the day of the Valencia flood), lasted almost three hours following the restoration of power nationwide before declaring that there was an information black-out by the Government - we demand answers (and so on).
The President stated that 'Citizens must know that the government will get to the bottom of this. Measures will be taken, and all private operators will be held accountable. To this end, the Spanish government has concluded a commission of inquiry led by the Ministry for Ecological Transition'.
So, who are the power companies - and who owns them?
Much of the energy industry has been privatised over the years, with the Red Eléctrica Española - which operates the national grid - currently having only 20% public participation (although the president of the REE, Beatriz Corredor, is a government appointee). The largest private investor in the Redeia (a holding which includes the REE) is the Galician billionaire Amancio Ortega. Endesa, Naturgy and Iberdrola are private entities (Endesa is 70% held by the Italian Enel). We read of a 'lack of investment and prevention in the energy system', where profit-driven companies look to their shareholders. An irate article at Canarias-Semanal asks 'What silent mechanisms protect the dominance of the power companies? For decades, electricity was a public service. Today, it is a commodity controlled by foreign funds, recycled former politicians, and corporate giants'. Today's 'eléctricas' are not just companies that sell electricity, but are also large financial groups with tentacles in politics, the media and the economic structures of the State - and the term 'revolving doors', where politicians retire from active service and end up on the boards of power companies - or elsewhere - is a sure-fire protection for them. Furthermore, with their generous publicity campaigns, who will criticise them in the media?'
We must still wait for the answer to the power-cut, and the Government is anxious to know both the details and the solution as soon as possible. Are the renewables insecure and should we rely more on nuclear power? The Guardian notes that 'Blackouts can happen regardless of what type of energy powers the grid'.
Thus, it wasn't a cyber-attack by some aggressive foreign agency - but it could be the next time. Measures must be taken and maybe a few heads must roll. It's the nature of things.
...
Housing:
From Levante here. 'An investment firm buys 134 apartments in Valencia for 67,000 each for rentals. Ktesios Real Estate acquires a subsidized housing building with 76 parking spaces and 60 storage rooms for 9 million'. In the free market, those apartments would be worth 150,000 or more (here). However, a later story from El País says 'Twenty-five organizations call for a halt to the sale of a block of 134 social housing apartments in Valencia to an investment fund. The Valencia Mayor María José Catalá, of the Partido Popular, says that the City Council will "consider" the purchase of the building currently owned by the La Caixa Foundation'.
El Cronista here has 'Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni has told the tourist rental platform Airbnb that his decision to phase out the licenses for the city's 10,000 temporary homes by 2028 and to end the concept of tourist apartments in Barcelona is "firm". This disappearance of tourist apartments in Barcelona will jeopardize a contribution of more than 1,900 million to the city's GDP and more than 40,000 jobs, according to a report by PwC, which disassociates rising rents from tourist housing (my italics)...'
The "big business" of fear of squatters (okupas) explained by journalist Javier Ruiz: "This brings in a whole lot of money", he says in a television program called Mañaneros (TVE1). "These are the figures. In Spain, squatting is practically nonexistent. There are 16,000 homes with squatters out of a total of 27 million," he explained, before going on to note that the figure is also getting smaller and smaller. "But this generates a lot of money, especially for the alarm companies, which, needless to say, flood all those television channels and newspapers with juicy advertising". The story is at Público here.
From Spanish Property Insight here: 'Grid over-reliance on wind and solar may have played a role in the Iberian blackout, but for homeowners, the lesson is clear: investing in self-consumption is the smart path to greater energy resilience'.
Housing prices in Madrid's most expensive areas have risen by up to 36% in just one year saysc El Economista here.
A garage space for sale in a smart area of Palma in Mallorca for a trim 185,000!
...
Tourism:
From 20Minutos here: 'Spain has been a world leader in Blue Flags for nearly four decades: this summer, 642 beaches will display them, four more than in 2024'.
Well... OK - a story from iNews here. 'I'm a Briton living in Tenerife - but I organise protests against horrific mass tourism'. Brian Harrison, 57, who has lived in Tenerife for 35 years, explains why more protests are needed as the sheer level of tourism has ruined the once beautiful island'. In the winter, we residents can distinguish ourselves from the tourists by wearing sweaters and long trousers, but comes the warmer season, and we are unable to show ourselves apart from the visitors; and while this bothers us, the local Spanish no doubt wouldn't notice the difference. Oh, woe! The article ends with:'Another mass protest is planned on 18 May as a collective outcry against the collapse of the Canary Islands'.
Following on from the blackout of last week, now 'High-speed trains hit by major delays as cable thefts 'sabotage' services between Madrid and south of Spain' said Sur in English on Monday. Around 15,000 travellers were affected, all, says a Government spokesperson, for a co-ordinated attack at five different points along the line for copper wiring with a street value of something like 300 euros!
...
Finance:
From Público here: 'Employment hits a historic high with 21,580,000 registered workers after adding 230,993 in April. Almost half of the new Social Security registrations were in the hospitality sector due to the Easter season, making it the second-best April in the entire series after 2023'. Unemployment now stands at '2,512,718, marking the lowest figure since July 2008'.
From elDiario.es here: 'The Government has given all companies until the end of the year to reduce the working week for employees to 37.5 hours (with no corresponding drop in salary). The bill is headed to Congress with some new features, such as this flexibility for all companies, not just those with collective bargaining agreements, in a process negotiated with workers'. The future law still needs parliamentary approval.
elDiario.es says that 'Spain will allocate 40,457 million euros to military spending this year, almost half a percentage point more than the government estimates'.
Both Felipe González and José María Aznar privitised vast swathes of public-owned companies during their tenures as president, including SEAT, Marsans, Repsol, Telefónica, Endesa, Tabacalera and Gas Natural according to information from 20Minutos dated 2014.
...
Politics:
'Sánchez criticizes the PP for its "zero" commitment to Spain in all the crises it has suffered'. The item come from La Vanguardia here. "What is so serious," the president insists, "is no longer their lack of a national project, but their absolute submission to the particular interests of those at the top versus the interests of the majority". He adds: "This fact is nothing new. In each and every one of the crises that Spain has suffered in recent years, our beloved country has not once enjoyed the support of the main opposition party".
"Pedro Sánchez has been hit by a pandemic, a volcano, a DANA, and a national blackout. I don't know if he's president or the star of 'Jumanji'".
'The two MEPs on Alvise Pérez' list declare themselves independent and break with SALF. Both representatives now appear as "independent" on their profiles on the European Parliament website and are presenting themselves as MEPs for the Spanish delegation of the European Conservatives and Reformists group (wiki)'. Item from El Debate here. Should they have resigned from their seats and not just the Se Acabó la Fiesta party? A comment says: 'Of course - but they won't give up the desirable and well-paid position of MEPs, which they secured thanks to Alvise's nerve, because they were then complete unknowns'.
...
Catalonia:
From elDiario.es here. 'A Barcelona sea-side bar raises its price of un café based on the amount of time customers spend on the terrace. The rate goes from 1.30 to 2.50 if you spend more than half an hour on a single drink, and the price can reach more than 4 if you stay for more than an hour'. We have a feeling that this idea is going to catch on
...
Europe:
From EuroNews here: 'Portugal to expel some 18,000 illegal migrants ahead of a snap national election. The announcement comes in the build-up to the country's early general election scheduled for 18 May'.
From elDiario.es here: 'The European Commission, on the blackout: "There is no reason to believe it was due to renewables." The Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen, from the Socialist family, congratulates the governments of Spain and Portugal for their management of the crisis and points out that the inclusion of nuclear energy in the energy mix is a decision that falls to the member states'.
From El Huff Post here: 'The German secret service declares the AfD extremists to be "unconstitutional" and "extremist", and opens the door to outlawing them'. In the general elections held on February 23, they were the second-largest party, with 20.8% of the vote. The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Twitter here: 'Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition. that's not democracy - that's tyranny in disguise
' The German Foreign Office reply reads: 'This is democracy. This decision is the result of a thorough and independent investigation to protect our Constitution and the rule of law. It is independent courts who will have the final say. We have learnt from our history that right-wing extremism needs to be stopped' (N.B America!).
The story is also covered at The Huff Post (US) here.
...
Courts:
From Cadena Ser here: 'The Supreme Court finds no relevant information in the Attorney General's emails and WhatsApp messages. The judge lifts the confidentiality of the separate files after the UCO (Guardia Civil fraud squad) reported that they found no messages of interest'.
Opinion from El País here: 'The trial of the State Attorney General, Álvaro García Ortiz, is steeped in infamy. The main asset of the investigating judge, Ángel Hurtado, who so helped the criminals in the Caso Gürtel, has just evaporated. The Guardia Civil has found nothing of relevance in the devices belonging to García Ortiz, seized by Hurtado during a "search" of his office, according to the Supreme Court Prosecutor's Office
'
García Ortíz was (is?) under investigation for releasing court information to the media regarding the investigation into Ayuso's boyfriend - an investigation which has been creeping remarkably slowly through the system. Should the Supreme Court now investigate Judge Hurtado for partiality in his investigations? Maybe.
'Judge Peinado indicts the Government delegate to Madrid for hiring Begoña Gómez's advisor. The judge investigating the case against Pedro Sánchez' wife has accepted the latest complaint coming from Vox against Francisco Martín Aguirre, says El Plural here. The Minister of Justice Félix Bolaños admits he is more concerned about Peinado's impartiality than any accusation against the government delegate in Madrid' says 20Minutos here.
There's little doubt but that Judge Peinado is a handful. El Plural lists some of his rulings along the way here. Their sub-heading reads: 'The controversial history of the judge investigating Begoña Gómez has once again raised alarm bells about lawfare'. Some wag posts on Twitter (via Público) - 'Is he going by DNI numbers these days or by the alphabet? - I ask to calculate when it's my turn'.
...
Media:
From The Huff Post (US) here: 'Pedro Almodóvar Deems Trump 'Greatest Mistake Of Our Time' In Fiery Speech. The legendary filmmaker said the president "will go down in history as a catastrophe" while comparing him to Spanish dictator Francisco Franco'.
The Telegraph has 'Why nothing can sink Europe's Teflon PM. Pedro Sánchez survives because he is prepared to give way on anything to stay in power, says one commentator'.
ctxt brings us the story of 'A Big Fish called Javier Negre'. Negre is the son of an erstwhile Fuengirola councilman who rose, via a tenure in El Mundo, to his current position as the main propagandist for the far-right through his EDATV Consulting agency of fake news subsidised by political parties and other players. He is active in both Spain and Argentina.
From Público, we read that when Donald Trump dresses up as the new Pope, with Pope Francisco barely buried, and posts the AI result on the White House twitter account, 'Vox and Abogados Cristianos don't have anything to say about it'.
An amusing if somber remark regarding the PP out there on Social Media: 'When the right loses an election, it tries to destroy the country. When it wins, it succeeds'.
...
Ecology:
From Gizmodo here: 'The Biggest Hoax in History: how the myth of plastic recycling has put billions of lives at risk. For decades, we were led to believe that recycling was the solution to the environmental crisis, but recent revelations expose a devastating truth. We show how this global hoax has cost millions of lives and worsened the ecological disaster'. The article begins: 'More than 90% of the plastics produced between 1950 and 2015 ended up either incinerated, or in landfills, or abandoned in natural environments, from rivers to entire cities. This waste has become an invisible threat: every week, the average person consumes about five grams of microplastics...' Much of the used plastic waste is stored in large dumps which sometimes end up in an accidental fire. Actually, come to think of it, quite often...
...
Various:
The May Day worker's map provided by the PP in some promotion of their's featured an odd mistake. The Canary Islands to the lower left of the map had been switched for the Hawaiian Islands. It was apparently an error coming from AI!
This one is fun (and thanks to reader Charles): Until 1924, different municipalities in Spain decided on which side of the road the traffic went. From COPE here, we read - 'Nowadays, driving on the right seems like the most normal thing in the world in Spain. It's what we learn in driving school, what all the signs indicate, and what we do almost instinctively. However, it hasn't always been this way. In fact, until 1924, people in Madrid drove on the left, while in other cities, like Barcelona, they drove on the right. A chaos that's hard to imagine today, but it was real during the early years of the 20th century.
The situation was so confusing that you could even leave a city driving on one side and have to change to the other as soon as you crossed a municipal boundary...'
Fifty years ago this week, a change in the Civil Code allowed women to open their own bank accounts and to drive a car without the necessity of a husband's written permission.
In 1873, a city declared its independence from Spain for a year and sought to become part of the United States. Cartagena, in the Region of Murcia, declared its secession in the midst of the chaos of the First Spanish Republic. The Canton of Cartagena had an army and money because it had a port. It prohibited religious education, recognized divorce, abolished the death penalty, and established an 8-hour workday. 185 days later, Spain defeated the rebellion, and that was pretty much the end of it.
El Confidencial says that 'Castilian Spanish was born in two tiny towns in Spain (and you should take a trip to visit both). The birthplace of our language isn't in just one place, but these two towns are worth a visit, especially for those seeking tranquility and nature on their travels'. These are San Millán de la Cogolla (La Rioja) and Valpuesta in Burgos.
This one caught my eye... 'Tattoo artists on Costa del Sol are needled by the proliferation of illegal competition'. From Sur in English here.
...
See Spain:
The little-known town of Olite (Navarra) hides the most beautiful castle in Spain: it looks like a palace and has gardens and secret passageways together with Renaissance and Baroque buildings, cobblestone streets, and one of the most luxurious Gothic castles in all of Europe. Viajar has the story and some nice photos here.
From The Olive Press here: 'Noche en Blanco 2025: Jaen's Noche Blanca returns with over sixty free cultural events on May 16'.
...
Finally:
This one is different: Latin native hip hop with Xiuhtezcatl and Renata Flores with Sigueme on YouTube. Nice.
