BoT 564

 

Business over Tapas

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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January 2 2025            Nº 564          ¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

 

 

Editorial:

I remember enjoying the children’s comic called Century 21, and how I would wriggle with pleasure at the thought of that far-off future that awaited me (aliens, teleportation, Life in Spain, and the USA run by an orange lunatic).

Now here we are, all those years later, a quarter of the way towards Century 22.

I’m not sure how to write this, but things aren’t looking too good: global warming, food shortages, Artificial Intelligence and end-time politics.

Even though none of us will make it that far, our grand-children will, poor blighters.

I used to go up to the square outside the church in Mojácar on New Year’s Eve, where the town hall had prepared fireworks, cava, pots of grapes and silly hats.

Someone had underwritten a new system for the church bells, which used to be tugged with a dull clank (when the urge took him) by the resident campanologist, a dim-witted fellow in a dirty smock known as Lumphead. The new system, connected by satellite to some place in Germany, allowed us the dubious treat of a regular carillon on the hour, and a paroxysm of jubilation on certain events, of which la misa del gallo on Christmas Eve, a hundred different occasions during Easter and the village fiestas and of course New Year’s Eve were the foremost.

Thus we find me, with a thousand others, outside the church (few people ever go inside while things are going on there), watching the clock as it winds its way to midnight, on New Year’s Eve 1999 and the turnover from the twentieth to the twenty-first century.

That publication from my childhood was wrong about some stuff, but spot-on about others. Wasn’t it where the notion of the Millennium Bug would first be brought forward, where all the computers in the world would go clunk as the simple programming failed?

Ours did.

The church clock shuddered to a confused halt at precisely 11.59pm. We stared upwards, holding our breath, as absolutely nothing happened.

Around about four minutes into the new century, somebody blew a squib, releasing our doubt.

Huzzahs, champagne corks and fireworks rent the air.

We kissed, embraced and hugged our neighbours, as Mojácar, the only town in Spain to do so, apparently decided by Divine Will to remain firmly in the Twentieth Century (much to the noisy relief of many of the celebrants).

Anyhow, and sorry to relate, Mojácar eventually caught up and even overtook its peers.

But enough of that. Welcome to the Year 2025!

Who’d a thought it?   

…...

Housing:

Madrid to grow – as explained at The Corner here: ‘After 30 years of blockage, the definitive step has just been taken for the largest urban development in Spain and Europe to become a reality. A group made up of the BBVA, Merlin, and Sanjose together with the public railway entities (Adif, Adif Alta Velocidad, Renfe Operadora, and Renfe Ingeniería y Mantenimiento) have formalized before a notary the transfer of the lands of the railway facilities in Chamartín and Fuencarral.

The CreaMNM partnership has acquired approximately 50% of the lands and urban development rights (over one million square metres) that will be transformed to create Madrid Nuevo Norte, a new neighbourhood that will build 10,500 homes, 400,000 m² of green areas, and a new business centre that will change the city’s skyline with 10 new skyscrapers plus a large amount of commercial space…’

From El País here: ‘Housing prices have increasing by more than 4% in the last year. Statistics from appraisal companies indicate that both new and second-hand homes are becoming more unaffordable, a trend that will continue throughout 2025’.

The government wants more regulation on short-term rentals to ease the shortage of normal leases. From Idealista here, ‘…The shortage of rental housing in Spain makes finding a home increasingly difficult and continues to drive up prices. Rent costs are a significant concern, with Spaniards spending an average of 36% of their income on rent. This figure rises sharply in cities like Barcelona (46%), Palma (45%), and Málaga (42%)…’

From Survey Spain here: ‘Off-plan buying: The hidden risks buyers face’. We read:

‘Buying a property off-plan is often promoted as a great investment opportunity, but it comes with a major drawback: buyers are required to pay the full purchase price before thoroughly inspecting the property…’ The article examines the process and issues of “Missing items, Agreed extras, and Defects” (commonly known as snagging), which involves inspecting a new building for:

 Items missing from the original specification

 Extras that were agreed upon but not delivered

 Any visible defects within the property’

The Majorca Daily Bulletin says that ‘The Balearics become 'Nomadland': Homelessness swallows the working-class. The majority of people without housing resources are European, with 40% being native to the region’. We read that, ‘In Spain, more than 29,000 people are homeless, according to the INE, equating to 71.3 per 100,000 inhabitants’. The article, focusing on Palma's neighbourhoods, ‘…reveals what organisations like Sapiència, Sojorn, and Càritas Mallorca confirm: "New profiles are emerging among the homeless population—working people who, despite earning a salary, cannot access decent housing”’.

From DiariLaVeu (in Valenciano) here: ‘Carlos Mazón wants to take advantage of the shock caused by the DANA to facilitate urban speculation’. The article begins ‘La Ley de l’Horta protects more than 11,000 hectares in flood-prone areas from being urbanised, which will not only reduce damage and danger to people in future floods, but will also act as a natural drain, and absorb a large part of the overflowing water. The PP would be taking advantage of the situation to dismantle the legislation that protects us from similar situations…’ We read that the regional PP wants to ease the land laws.

From La Voz de Ibiza (in English): ‘Six tips to prevent squatters in your home. Delays in the legal process and the complexity of the complaints make prevention more effective’.

…...

Tourism:

El Economista reckons that ‘Tourism is not slowing down and is going to wind up close to 100 million visitors in Spain for 2024’. Reservations for 2025 are also higher than ever. 82,900,000 foreign tourists visited Spain through October says EPData here. Then of course, there’s domestic tourism to figure in as well. In late January, the FITUR tourist fair is once again celebrated in Madrid.

From Sur in English here: ‘Costa del Sol's 'chiringuito' beach bar and restaurant owners are on the warpath in the face of the EU's warning to Spain. At the last count, there were some 467 such businesses that generate around 20,000 jobs across Málaga province, and many of them could be under threat’. From the Majorca Daily Bulletin, a similar story here: ‘The EU threatens the future of Mallorca beach bars’.

A warning at El Huff Post – the pickpockets are very professional in Tenerife, especially on ‘the Golden Mile’.

…...

Seniors:

The Imserso organises subsidised domestic holidays for the Over-65s. The program is certainly available also to some foreign residents. Here, the Imserso advises how to reserve a place online and enjoy the Social Tourism Program.

…...

Finance:

An indignant article from Laboro here: ‘On January 1st, the age of retirement rises to 66 years and eight months, thanks to a reform agreed by the ‘unions’ (sic) CCOO and UGT back in 2011. Back then, retirement age was 65. Next year, the marker will be 66 and ten months and in 2027 it will be 67 years, because the agreement was to rise to 67 but with a bit of sleight-of-hand. This reform, apart from a large bung to the two ‘unions’, was in exchange for nothing – no improvement on workers’ rights. Raising the retirement age means lowering the gross cost to the State of pensions…’

From El País in English here: ‘Family holidays, Rolex and luxury yachts on company expenses: How the rich evade tax. The Spanish Treasury monitors more than 170,000 uber-wealthy individuals to prevent them from charging undue expenses to their companies. The Tax Agency recovered more than 502 million euros in 2023 through almost 1,000 audits’.

…...

Politics:

The Government intends to recall the 50th anniversary of the death of General Franco in 1975 with a number of acts during 2025. For the first of these, why, in an act of whimsy, they’ve invited the King. Felipe VI says his busy schedule for January 8th wouldn’t allow him time to be present at the Reina Sofía art museum ‘celebración’. More at El Huff Post here (it was one of Franco’s decisions – crowning Felipe’s father Juan Carlos and making him Spain’s Head of State following the dictator’s eventual passing). Here’s Time in 1971 on the subject – ‘Spain: A Crown for Juan Carlos?’ 

During a recent radio interview, says El Confidencial here, ‘Transport Minister Oscar Puente calls the Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso "toxic" and complained that "the whole country, including the Supreme Court, dances to her tune". The minister considers that the level of "toxicity" that Ayuso and her Chief of Staff, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, have reached is "terrible" and has led to nine months of "madness"’. The long story revolves around the boy-friend of Ayuso, who had admitted to a major fraud against Hacienda back in March, being made the victim by the PP, the conservative media and parts of the judiciary.

Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso says in her end of year message that ‘…she will not remain silent "in the face of abuse or totalitarianism in any of its forms. Madrid does not give in to indignity". El Mundo reports here.

One of my favourite politicians these days is this same Oscar Puente above (once the mayor of Valladolid, now the Minister of Transport), who managed to get the trains and roads back in action after the Valencia floods ‘in record time’. He is a gifted public-speaker too, recently voted by PSOE supporters as ‘the scourge of the opposition’.

…...

Europe:

Romania and Bulgaria joined the Schengen Area on New Year's Day.

…...

Health:

The farmacias will soon be able to extend prescriptions without the need to return to one’s doctor says La Cope here (saving time for all concerned).

Problems with Muface. From DKV (in English) here: ‘MUFACE is an acronym for the General State Civil Servant Mutual Society (Mutualidad de los Funcionarios Civiles del Estado in Spanish). It has its own system and organisation. The Muface is a public organisation with independent public legal personality, which is responsible for processing everything related to the Social Security for civil servants’. The agency is backed by various private health providers who are currently calling for major increases in their funding. The reaction from El Periódico here: Public health associations attack Muface insurers: "Their desire for profit is insatiable"’. We read that the current negotiations between the Ministry of Health and the insurers ‘…has gone from an increase of 17% to 35%, which is not enough for the insurer Adeslas, which aims to achieve a rise of 47% (a 70% increase compared to the current situation)…’

…...

Corruption:

If your mobile phone suddenly goes ‘dead’, the Guardia Civil says that it could be down to a scammer that has taken over control, and could even be accessing your bank. He does it by phishing and noting your details to ask your phone-provider for a fresh SIM-card.

Using famous people and AI to create adverts for financial scams is becoming more popular with the hackers. Twitter is apparently a good place to find these, and it is now under investigation by the CNMV.  I recently received a number of these (Amancio Ortega, for example, telling me I could make a fortune if I followed his instructions) on Facebook. When I complained, they sent me a note saying ‘We didn’t remove the ad. Thanks again for your report. This information helps us improve the integrity and relevance of advertising on Facebook’. Mark Zuckerberg must need the money.

From Haaretz here: ‘'Expulsion to Spain': Israeli hackers flock to Barcelona in big spyware shift. Squeezed between the war and tough restrictions at home, elite Israeli hackers are moving to the EU and Spain to set up or join a new crop of firms selling exploit (malicious software), now the hottest item in the world of cyber surveillance’. More at La Marea here.

…...

Courts:

Pedro Sánchez's brother complains that the judge treats him worse than "those arrested for flagrant crimes". David Sánchez revolts against his "surprising" accusation due to the "evident lack" of evidence against him and denounces defencelessness’. La Razón here.

From Cadena Ser here: ‘The Judiciary opens a new investigation into the judge who got away with calling Pedro Sánchez a "psychopath without ethical limits". Manuel Ruiz de Lara, who was promoted by the governing body of judges in one of its first agreements, has once again attacked the President of the Government on social networks and insulted Begoña Gómez’. ‘He was only being ironic’, says Confilegal, as Ruiz de Lara posted on Twitter a picture of a Barbi-Begoña doll.

Perhaps 2025 will see a cease and desist on Lawfare. Then again, perhaps not.

…...

Media:

From El País here: ‘The disinformation industry is under siege. The EU is preparing an offensive against the hoax business’. One problem is that more and more people get their TV entertainment from Netflix rather than the traditional channels, and thus see less ‘News’ than before, relying instead on Social Media and YouTube for their information. From the article: ‘…The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, warned at the beginning of December that in the past year we have experienced “a tsunami of disinformation on all kinds of platforms, including social media”. In the European environment, Brussels is accelerating the production of legislation against it. The European Law on Media Freedom, many of whose measures are included in the Action Plan for Democracy (here) approved by the Spanish Government, will be mandatory in the Member States from August 2025…’

In an interview at ctxt here titled ‘“Most disinformation comes from the right or the far-right”, the question is posed: ‘According to the latest Digital News Report from the Reuters Institute, only 33% of the Spanish population trusts the news, a figure lower than in the Nordic countries, Germany or Portugal, but similar to that of France and Italy. Why is trust in the media so low?’ The answer, we read, is that political influence is obvious and evident.

…...

Ecology:

From Sur in English here: ‘A global study finds winters in Spain are now warmer and shorter. Twelve Spanish cities were included among the 901 analysed in 123 countries throughout the world. They were: Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Zaragoza, Valencia, Pamplona, Seville, Granada, Málaga, Almería, Huelva and Cádiz’.

‘The drought advances in Almería: a large part of the province is in a “state of emergency” due to the severe water shortage. The lack of rain brings an increasingly arid picture to the province of Almería; while desalination systems, key for an area with little rainfall, emerge as the first solution to a future in which rain may become rarer still…’ With graphic.

‘Environmental hypocrisy: from banning hunting in national parks to complaining that wild boars are destroying protected birds’. La Gaceta brings us this one.

…...

Various:

‘More than 10,000 migrants died in 2024 trying to reach Spain by sea, aid group says. The migration route that connects West African nations with Spain had its deadliest year on record, according to a report by the aid group Caminando Fronteras’. More at NPR here.

A blip in the traffic laws – apparently, the Guardia Civil traffic police can stop and search your car, but can’t search a caravan being towed by your vehicle – this because it is considered as ‘una vivienda habitual’: a travelling home. They’ll need a court order.

From CBS News here: ‘Spanish archaeologists have successfully removed a 2,600-year-old shipwreck from waters off the country's south-eastern coast, two decades after the relic was initially found, officials said.. The ancient Phoenician shipwreck dates back to the 7th century BC. It was discovered in 1994 off the coast of Murcia in south-eastern Spain, near the town of Mazarrón, according to Spain's Ministry of Culture’.

‘'A Fala', the language spoken by only three towns in Spain (it’s known as el gallego de Extremadura) and which is still used more than five centuries later: "It is a source of pride" say the locals’. 20Minutos has the story here. Wiki says: ‘Fala ("speech", also called Xalimego) is a Western Romance language commonly classified in the Galician-Portuguese subgroup, with some traits from Leonese, spoken in Spain by about 10,500 people, of whom 5,500 live in a valley of the north-western part of Extremadura near the border with Portugal. The speakers of Fala live in the towns of Valverde del Fresno (Valverdi du Fresnu), Eljas (As Ellas) and San Martín de Trevejo (Sa Martín de Trevellu). These are within the valley of Jálama, in the comarca of Sierra de Gata…’

National and Local Holidays in Spain for 2025 at Eye on Spain here.

…...

See Spain:

50kms north-west of Madrid, there’s the magnificent El Escorial. From The Guardian here: ‘The testament to Spain’s golden age is to open up its secret spaces after a €6m revamp. The Unesco-listed San Lorenzo de El Escorial was the fulfilment of Philip II’s dream of raising a monastery in a ‘desert’’.

From El Periódico here: ‘The most spectacular village in Spain is located inside a fortified castle. This village is one of the most beautiful corners of Cádiz and one of the most incredible medieval wonders in all of Spain’. Some nice photos of Castellar de la Frontera.

The editor of The Olive Press samples the skiing in the Sierra Nevada and writes of his stay in the luxury El Lodge hotel.

Mapping Spain asks: ‘What’s it like living the high-life in Marbella?’

…...

Finally:

Isabel Aaiún (known as La Potra Salvaje) with Puñales on YouTube here.