BoT 579

 

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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April 17 2025            Nº 579

 

 

Editorial:

I’m going to have to go shopping again.

I’m clean out of chocolate, bread and marmalade.

Following the Government’s advice (without, I have to say, really knowing why), and braving the Easter holiday traffic, I loaded up on three days of provisions on Monday.

As you know, preparedness and resilience are the key.

To start the ordeal, I found that here were lots of empty water bottles stored haphazardly in the kitchen, so I hauled them off to the Fuente to fill them up. While I was there, I also bought a couple of packs of cigarettes and a bottle of vodka from Isabel’s corner-store (I don’t smoke any more, but while I’m learning to say ‘I surrender’ in Russian, I thought I had better be ready in the event things truly do go pear-shaped).

I still have plenty of toilet tissue. I’m not making that mistake again. Back in the Covid-days the household was woefully short of loo-paper, and I was the only reader. They would have me sit outside and sometimes shout ‘OK, I’ve finished another chapter’.

Try that with a Kindle!

Today, I will buy some soap and toothpaste. One should look one’s best when surrendering.

Other vital supplies must include plenty of canned food, for when the electricity fails.

Also, to keep me in tortillas, another chicken (the dog got the last one).

I’ll need a tin-opener and apparently a Swiss army knife (what, for defence? Or I dunno, maybe it’s to skin a wild boar). An extra bottle of gas, candles, lighter, torch, coffee, aspirin and bandages. Let’s see: A recipe book for garden plants and, just in case I turn feral, a jumbo bottle of HP Sauce.

The reason why we must stock up at least three days in case of emergency seems a bit peculiar – since whether a nuclear winter, an invasion by the Ivans, another Trump-inspired market crash, a plague, a comet or a mass-poisoning from micro-plastics (the most likely of the lot) – it stands to reason that they are all going to take longer than a three-day vacation from work before society can settle down again.

Last Friday, and this is true, I drove over to the barracks of the Spanish Legion, la Legión Española, in Viator, just outside Almería. Joining a few military enthusiasts, I had been invited to visit their on-site museum.

In the first room as you enter, there are a number of portraits of past leaders – including José Millán-Astray (a Samurai enthusiast who founded the Spanish Legion in 1920) and a youthful looking Francisco Franco.

Millán-Astray is described as ‘an able soldier but an eccentric and extreme personality. His style and attitude would become part of the mystique of the Legion. He was notable for his disfigured body: during his time in the army, he lost both his left arm and right eye and was shot several times in the chest and legs’. He is revered by the legionnaires, but thought to have been something of a handful by his enemies.

I don’t know anything much about the other one, Francisco Franco, I think he later went into politics.

Joking aside, the museum is full of what one might expect – arms, uniforms, paintings and history, while the presentation was made by a few junior officers speaking in English – since all NATO officers must use that language. A sensible choice indeed.

Listening to them, I genuinely felt that they would have our backs if it became necessary.  

But, and let’s be practical, they’ll have other duties than looking out for little me. So, who must I turn to if the Armageddon hits?

I was thinking of buttering up my neighbour Juan the Gardener. He has plenty of potatoes and apparently an interesting recipe for cats.

And after all, one never knows…

…...

Housing:

Telecinco has ‘57% of homes in Spain are owned by multi-owners (defined as owning four homes or more) with 42% of all housing in Spain; or by vulture-funds, with a 15% holding’.

Spanish Property Insight brings us ‘Trump just made Spanish property a more attractive investment proposition’. The article begins: ‘The recent antics of Donald Trump have made Spanish property a more appealing investment, not because Spain has changed, but because the US just got riskier. When everything is relative, Spanish bricks and mortar suddenly look like a safer place to park your money...’

An interesting break-down at 20Minutos shows where foreigners prefer to live in Spain, by nationality. Moroccans and Brits in Andalucía and Germans in the Balearics.

‘Amancio Ortega is finalizing his largest real estate transaction in Spain since 2016: he will buy Planeta's headquarters from Blackstone for 240 million euros’. More at El Economista.

…...

Tourism:

‘Home-swapping’ appears to have arrived in Spain. ‘Home exchanges will double this Easter, with overnight stays on the platform rising to 116,000 – 59% more than in 2024’. The story is at La Razón here. Home Exchange España is here.

From the Majorca Daily Bulletin here: ‘Ryanair battle with Spain continues. Airline may cut more flights from small Spanish airports’. We read that ‘Ryanair is considering cutting more flights from medium and small Spanish airports next winter and in 2026 if operator Aena does not lower its fees...’

From The Telegraph here (thanks David): ‘The countries with the worst tourists (and what Europeans really think of us). Are visitors from some nations really preferable to others? We asked locals in four of the countries hit hardest by over-tourism’. Spain and the Brits? Not good according to the article. Tourists from the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Australia, America, France and China are rated in Spain, France, Italy and Greece. Good fun!

Idealista has: ‘‘Tourists, go home’: Is Spain really turning against visitors? Spain’s love-hate relationship with tourism: what’s really happening?’ An interesting article.

…...

Seniors:

A third-age residence is summarily closed in Málaga City by the authorities. Described as "a residence of horrors" by CanalSur, we read: ‘The (unnamed) private facility lacked a license despite having been open for ten years. The investigation indicates that the dignity and privacy of the people living there amidst excrement and dampness was violated...’ Apparently, the owners couldn’t keep up with the mortgage and so they cut corners in the accomodation of the residents.

…...

Finance:

From elDiario.es here: ‘The IMF raises Spain's growth to 2.5% in 2025, even assuming the 20% US tariffs’. We read ‘The International Monetary Fund has raised its GDP growth forecast by two-tenths of a percentage point "due to our country's limited direct and indirect trade exposure" to the world's leading power’.

From El Debate here: ‘Chinese motor companies are using Spain as a base of operations for their assault on Europe: they already have 500 dealerships. Following the offensive of Chinese mobile phones, it's now the turn of Chinese cars, which arrive loaded with technology and at a much lower price than European ones’.

‘Spain pushing EU closer to China. President Pedro Sanchez is keen to position Spain as facilitator between Beijing and Brussels amid US tariffs chaos. Spain’s leader has called for Europe to forge closer ties with Beijing during Donald Trump’s assault on global trade. Speaking after a meeting with Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, in Beijing on Friday, Pedro Sanchez said: “Spain sees China as a partner of the EU”’. More at The Telegraph here. Europa Press says: Spain signs trade agreements with China to promote exports of medicines, cosmetics, and pork.

El Mundo warns that ‘The US activates surveillance of the Spanish government: "What it does with China and its military spending is critical for us". Sánchez enters the White House spotlight after his trip to Beijing and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's two warnings’. Indeed, the Spanish Minister for the Economy Carlos Cuerpo was in Washington on Tuesday to patch up any misgivings from the Americans. La Información reports that: ‘The Minister of Economy, Trade, and Business, Carlos Cuerpo, is confident that the European Union and the United States will reach an agreement on tariffs before the end of the 90-day extension the Administration has given itself to impose so-called "reciprocal tariffs" by region or country. The tariff, in the case of the EU-27, would be 20% and would be added to those already set for steel, aluminum, and automobiles. Cuerpo made these comments from Washington after meeting this Tuesday with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The Minister of Economy described the meeting—which addressed issues of interest to both countries in economic, financial, and investment matters—as positive and constructive and emphasized the fact that both parties have shown a willingness to work together to address common challenges...’

El País was less impressed: ‘Washington demands Spain increase military spending and eliminate the "Google Tax" (here) in a harsh and cold summary of the meeting with Cuerpo. The Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent deviated from the usual polite (if empty) expressions used with his interlocutors, including European ministers’.

…...

Politics:

Europa Press reports that President Sánchez returned on Saturday from his brief visit to China with new agreements under his belt and claims of a more balanced relationship between China and the EU.

From Europa Press here: ‘The Government approves reform to dissolve Francoist associations, with Vox voting against’.

A fuss this week as the Minister of Education Pilar Alegría reveals that she has been the victim of extreme machismo with a multitude of social media sexual insults. ‘I’m speaking out for those women who also suffer, but don’t have a similar platform to the one I hold as a politician’, she says.

Podemos is at odds with its far-left brethren: Izquierda Unida, Sumar, Más Madrid, Compromis and others (ERC, Bildu and so on). elDiario.es says that ‘Podemos is dynamiting its relationship with all its natural allies and jeopardizing the spending ceiling for 2026’. El Mundo says that ‘Sumar deputies are warning that Podemos is unsettling a "useful vote" for the PSOE, and the socialists are hoping that the IU will mediate: "It's crazy that they don't go together". Mónica García's "enough is enough" expressed the "general sentiment" of Yolanda Díaz's group’. What was that joke from The Life of Brian? – there’s the People's Front of Judea, the Judean People's Front… and nobody talks to the Judean Popular People's Front (YouTube).

Another poll. This one says that the PSOE is increasing its lead over the PP (32.6% to 26.1%), but both are falling slightly at the expense of Vox, now at 15.2%.

…...

Europe:

The number of people travelling from Europe to the US in recent weeks has plummeted by as much as 35%, as travellers have cancelled plans in response to Trump’s policies and rhetoric, and horror stories from the border. Graphs and text from the FT here.

El País (opinion) here: ‘Von der Leyen's apparent weakness in the face of Trump weakens Europe. The caution is understandable, but the EU's cowering passivity in responding to the US president lends a veneer of normalcy to what amounts to nothing more than blackmail and a violation of global norms…’ From YouTube here, Spain's economy minister Carlos Cuerpo explains the EU's perspective on US tariffs in an English-language interview with CNN. Cuerpo was in Washington earlier this week to discuss the commercial issues at hand.

From The Irish Times here: ‘The EU dismisses US demands on food standards and ties to China. EU standards on food health and safety will never be part of the negotiation ‘with the US or anyone else’, the European Commission says’.

From La Vanguardia here: ‘The Vatican dissolves Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, a branch of the Church that acts as an "abusive sect": punishments, sexual abuse, and sadism’. We read that ‘On Monday, the Vatican classified it as a sect. Not only because of its pyramidal power structure, but also because of its international ties to far-right groups such as Hazte Oír and the Spanish Falange, as well as its connections to groups close to Donald Trump, who are directly opposed to the pontificate of Francis…’

…...

Corruption:

The previous mayor of Madrid Manuela Carmena, speaking on Judge Peinado: "He's a disaster. He's determined to find what he can't seem to find". The former mayor of Madrid laments in a statement to ElPlural that the judge handling the case against Begoña Gómez acts from a "personal" and "politicized" perspective.

Judge Peinado was at La Moncloa on Wednesday, quizzing the Minister Bolaños for two hours (under a media storm outside) about Begoña. Another minister – Luis Planas – said later ‘He’s spent about a year on this quest so far, without finding anything at all, but on the other hand he still has another 48 million suspects to interrogate’.

‘Spain is in the crosshairs of pro-Russian cyber-attackers, ahead even of the United States. According to Hackmanac data, the Iberian country accounted for 22.6% of all cyberattacks detected worldwide in the first week of March alone. This represents a disturbing increase in hacks within our borders of 750% compared to before…’ Item from ADSLZone here. The article continues: ‘…They cite groups such as NoName057(16), which directs its offensive against Spanish public administrations in response to the Spanish government's military support for Ukraine. This includes groups ranging from ministries and city councils to private companies…’

…...

Courts:

The colourful (and crusading) judge Juan Carlos Peinado has fined both Vox and Hazte Oir 500€ apiece for publicising part of his exhaustive investigation into the wife of Pedro Sánchez, Begoña Gómez, to the media. To keep things balanced, says El Independiente here, he also fined Begoña’s lawyer Antonio Camacho 5,000€ for the same reason. 

‘British fashion boss Jodie Smart found guilty of fraud after scamming thousands of expats out of their retirement savings in Spain’ says The Olive Press here. We read that ‘Smart – aka Jodie Pearson – will now swap first-class trips to New York’s fashion week for a Spanish jail cell for the next three-and-a-half years for her part in the notorious €35 million Continental Wealth Management fraud. The scammer has also been ordered to pay out a combined €370,000 to just two of the roughly one thousand victims over the next fifteen days…’ Ms Smart also appears in a Euro Weekly criticism on The Olive Press from 2021 here for launching ‘…an unsubstantiated attack on businesswoman Jody Smart of the Oceana Club, Benissa’. “I despise them… (Jodie reputedly told The Weenie) because people do take their own lives from this sort of media hate campaigns. I am one of the lucky ones who is still here to tell the tale”.

…...

Media:

Are young people influenced by what they see on Social Media asks El País disingenuously. Well, that’s certainly the plan...

‘"The UCD (Spain’s fraud squad) discovers millions of euros belonging to Begoña Gómez in her vacation home in Morocco" and there are plenty of other disinformation videos on YouTube’. Maldita trawls through the far-right bulos here.

‘Is Spain banning the use of €50 notes?’ Euro News says, of course not. The alarming piece of fake news came from an article last week in OKDiario (an agressive purveyor of made up stories and far-right schtik).

The Olive Press now has a new Mallorca edition. You can read it here.

Long-time Spanish resident Colin Davies lives in Pontevedra (Galicia) and he publishes a daily blog about live in Spain here (currently, and for the past couple of months, he’s also found space for some enjoyable Trump-ribbing).

…...

Ecology:

There’s a lot of rain about recently – perhaps a kind of (temporary) wet climate change for Spain. From Cadena Ser here, ‘It's not just rain: meteorologists warn that "there will be nowhere to hide" with what's coming down during Holy Week’. MeteoRed says ‘The European model updates its forecast and warns: Spain could once again be the rainiest country in Europe’. For April, anyway.

Looking at the larger picture, La Opinión de Murcia brings the story that ‘Spain will no longer have a Mediterranean climate by 2050 and will become steppe-like and desert-like. A new study worsens climate forecasts for the country due to global warming’.

We plant olive trees all over Spain and it turns out to be a magnet for snakes in the summer months says El Huff Post here. I’ve seen goats in the olive trees, but never snakes. I will have to look harder.

…...

Various:

Opinion at El País in English here: Under the hedline ‘Taking advantage of Trump’s destruction of the US’, we read: ‘Trumpism is inflicting severe damage on both his country and others. However, for Europe, it may present an opportunity to regain ground, restore vitality, and rebuild confidence in itself’.

Más Madrid (a left-wing opposition party in the Madrid regional government) proposes declaring El Pardo a National Park and opening its "private reserve" areas to the public. The reserve, which takes up a quarter of the entire extension of the City of Madrid, is protected for royal use only (see my recent editorial here) and is 16,000 hectares in size. 

Infobae features El Palacio de Buçaco: ‘one of the most beautiful hotels in the world is in Portugal: a 19th-century palace inspired by the country's most important monuments. This building is located in the middle of a beautiful forest and offers visitors a unique experience full of luxury and exclusivity’. The pictures look nice.

When voting in local elections for the Brits was a bit easier (pre Brexit) there was the coincidence of the three councillors in the province of Almería all with the same surname yet unrelated: Simpson. The one from Zurgena has since returned to the UK, another (from Mojácar) has quit politics and the third, Marian Simpson from Bédar, stayed in her town hall as a councillor until this weekend, when she passed away after a short illness. She was a fine person, and will be much missed. The ayuntamiento de Bédar has held two days of mourning.

…...

Finally:

Californian singer Vanessa Rivera with El Crucifijo de Piedra on YouTube here.