BoT 599
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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September 11 2025 Nº 599
Editorial:
A friend from Germany has been staying with me, and last Wednesday, along with my daughter and her husband (and my laptop), we drove up to Granada.
It’s just a couple of hours away, and it is without doubt Spain’s greatest city.
I’ve been many times over the years, but my son-in-law was born and raised there and knows all the oddest and most scenic spots – to say nothing of the best eateries and bars.
We started at a likely looking caff next to the Airbnb apartments we had reserved just off the city hall square. In many places in Granada, a drink comes with a tapa, but it will be something chosen by the house. We had three drinks (it’s thirsty work driving to Granada) and they came out with three plates – and if someone at the table doesn’t like baby octopus, then it’s all the more for me.
We have all seen the sites over the years, gone to the flamenco shows in the Sacromonte and been approached by beggars outside the cathedral; indeed the first time I was in the Patio de los Leones in the Alhambra Palace, I was sixteen. I’ve even got the photo somewhere…
So, limited site-seeing this time, and maybe just a selfie or two.
There comes a time, after a few glasses of wine and a belly-full of food, when one must wander on to look for a jolly late-night joint for a schnapps or, um, a tequila!
We went to find an old mate called Sebastian, who used to run a place in Mojácar but has now moved to adventures new in the city. Seba, wearing a tatty-looking Mexican hat, greeted us with every sign of affection in his tiny bar, the Reina Linda. Margaritas and tacos ¡por favor!
The students are now returning to Granada, a university city, and the scruffy, cheaper places like this one do a good trade in the season. There’s nothing – I think you will agree – like writing your thesis or studying those heavy medical books armed with a lightly-chewed pencil and a cocktail.
The next morning, we dropped by to see the parents – mis consuegros – of my son in law. This time, in a residential and passingly more modern part of the city (there were plenty of blocks of apartments in the barrio with the arrows and yoke featured on the walls – that’s to say, built during the Franco years).
I’ll leave the parents in peace, save to note that the first bar, where we met the old dad, was the tiniest bar I have ever seen, crammed only with men, and with the shortest barman in the world. In fact, one has to lean over the counter to be sure that he is there at all.
Again, the tapas chosen by the kitchen were delicious.
And now, we are back in Mojácar, and my friend will soon be flying back to Germany for a few weeks before she returns.
Perhaps we shall do Córdoba then.
…...
Housing:
‘Spain’s National Court has struck down discriminatory tax treatment for non-EU property owners, giving them the right to deduct rental expenses in the same way as EU residents’. Item from Spanish Property Insight here.
‘More than 50,000 homes for sale (8% of all homes sold) ended up in the hands of non-resident foreigners last year. This buyer profile seeks "tourist locations" with "good potential profitability," according to a CaixaBank report, which indicates that they pay an average of 70% more per square metre, consolidating Spain as one of the most attractive destinations for luxury investment…’ Item from elDiario.es here. The article says that these buyers tend towards the coast and islands: ‘…Not surprisingly, the percentage of purchases by non-resident foreigners has soared to 35% in Alicante; 28% in Málaga; 25% in the Balearic Islands; and 22% in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, predominantly tourist areas with evident residential tensions. Precisely, these last three are the provinces where the price per square metre had risen the most year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025, above 12% in all cases, while Alicante stood at 10.3%, compared to 9% for the national total’.
From Sur in English here: ‘Living in a medieval castle is within the reach of anyone with a spare 50,000 euros. That said, it's worth clarifying, the property in question also requires some considerable restoration to make it habitable. This is the castle of Valhermoso de la Fuente, a small village in the La Manchuela area of Cuenca in central Spain with barely 60 registered inhabitants. Its owners have put it up for sale through a real estate agency for the asking price of 50,000 euros…’
…...
Tourism:
Aena has replied to Ryanair’s threats to abandon some airports and diminish their number of passengers in Spain. ‘Ryanair's insolence and lack of inhibition in its public demands on democratic governments in the countries where it operates its planes, to obtain economic advantages, reveal two deep-rooted and unedifying characteristics of this airline. The first is that Ryanair has a disturbingly plutocratic conception of the political system. That is, it frightens the public by grounding its planes, demands the resignation of ministers from across half of Europe and the President of the European Commission, mocks democratically elected politicians, and calls for laws to be changed in its favour because it believes government decision-making should be subservient to the interests of the most powerful companies, like Ryanair, rather than protecting the "general interest." The second characteristic is Ryanair's communications and institutional relations policy, which is constantly and deliberately at odds with objective facts and truth…’ Sur in English says ‘the war between Ryanair and Spain's airport operator escalates, as Aena manager accuses airline of 'scaring' people. Aena president Lucena states that the airline is decreasing routes in Spain not because fares are expensive, but to 'set higher prices at major Spanish airports'’.
‘Spain moderates tourism growth forecast despite record visitor numbers: "The ceiling is very high; it's not easy to continue growing at the same pace". Visits in July increased by 1.6% while tourist spending increased by 6.1%. These figures are smaller than those recorded in the same month last year…’ From El Mundo here.
From Infobae here: ‘British tourists are resorting to eating in their hotel rooms due to the high prices of Spanish restaurants: "We've saved a little by having picnics". Restaurant owners expect their income to be reduced this summer, despite data pointing to a record number of visitors to Spain in 2025’.
…...
Finance:
‘The wealth tax, which taxes fortunes above two million euros, saw a total of 7,190 more wealthy taxpayers pay the tax in 2023. This increase in contributors, along with the increased wealth amassed by the wealthiest group in our country, now approaching one billion (Sp.) euros, boosted tax revenue for the year by 58%, to 1,978 million euros, as reflected in the tax filing statistics published last week by the Tax Agency…’ The story comes from El Economista here.
…...
Politics:
Pedro Sánchez immediately responded to Miguel Tellado's controversial statement against the government. "Here we can begin to dig the grave where the remains of a government that should never have existed in our country will rest," said the PP general secretary’. The unfortunate allusion to Civil War murders brought this response from the President: ‘An insult to the thousands of Spaniards whose relatives lay or still lie in a hidden grave. A covert appeal to violence. A questioning of democracy. Further proof that the PP has surrendered to the hatred of the far right and has nothing positive to contribute to our country’. More on this at El Huff Post here (with video and Twitter response).
The Partido Popular unites with its regional governments and is heading into a full-throttle confrontation with the PSOE over debt relief, justice, and the climate pact says 20Minutos.
El Huff Post reports that ‘The moderate wing of the PP is concerned by Feijóo's new hardline stance: "We're neglecting the centre," they say. Some members of the party believe this is a counterproductive strategy at the electoral level: "We'll never be able to beat Vox in terms of virulence"’.
El Plural quotes the Sigma Dos pollsters: ‘More than a million former Feijóo voters would now opt for Abascal, they say. Antena3 says ‘Vox soars in the election polls with its best result since the June 2023 elections. Abascal's party has gained three points. Together with the PP, they would add up to 200 seats’.
El Mundo presents: ‘Núcleo Nacional, the neo-Nazis with a new "premium" office (a fancy lair in a wealthy part of Madrid), cheering on attacks on unaccompanied minors: "We are testosterone in a feminized world", they say’.
Murcia: El Mundo here says ‘The Partido Popular complies with the agreement with Vox in Murcia and eliminates Arabic language teaching in schools. This extracurricular program, which ran in seven schools with 348 students and was funded by the Ministry of Education, was launched in 2012. The closure of a juvenile centre and the revision of the Mar Menor Law are the next objectives’.
‘For the former president of Cantabria, Miguel Ángel Revilla, the political climate in Spain is worrying: "The period we're going to experience from now until the elections, which I predict won't be more than six or seven months from now because the situation is unbearable, there's going to be a kind of campaign that horrifies me". He states that he has been in politics for more than forty years and has never seen anything like this: "We're going to witness a lamentable spectacle for all Spaniards. It seems that the parties, especially those in the opposition now, are holding a casting call to see who can say the most outrageous things and insults to win their place in the next elections," he added…’ El Huff Post is here.
Whether the general elections will be in 2027 as Sánchez promises, or before (as most of us think), here’s the PP leader at 20Minutos: ‘Feijóo reiterates his intention to govern alone and advises against voting for Vox’. Quite!
The proposal to reduce the working week from 40 to 37.5 hours for 12.5 million workers was voted down on Wednesday with the PP, Vox and the Junts per Catalunya voting against. El Plural asks its readers’ opinion and gets 94% in favour of the proposal. Unsurprisingly. ‘“…Some defeats are won in the streets," asserted the disappointed Second Vice President and Minister of Labour Yolanda Díaz, who called on citizens to join the union rallies being held across the country to "defend their rights"’. Extra reporting from the Spanish international news agency EFE here.
…...
Valencia:
‘After ten months of silence, the journalist Maribel Vilaplana claims that her dining partner Carlos Mazón received numerous calls during the lunch at El Ventorro’. Cadena Ser here.
‘Carlos Mazón faces the anniversary of the floods in Valencia with Maribel Vilaplana's confirmation that he has deceived both the victims and his boss Feijóo. Maribel Vilaplana's open letter refutes the Valencian leader's previous statements: the (lengthy) lunch at the El Ventorro restaurant ended "between 6:30 and 6:45 p.m.," and not at 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. as the Valencian Government had previously stated’. elDiario.es is here. Resigning when you are clearly in the wrong is not one of the strengths of the Partido Popular.
…...
Europe:
‘Even the European Central Bank acknowledges that with rearmament, we will be poorer for decades’ says Canarias Semenal here. ‘Brussels' brilliant plan: more debt and fewer social budgets. Who wins and who loses with the rearmament bill? The European Central Bank has acknowledged what until now had been hinted at with euphemisms: increased military spending in the European Union will be financed, to a large extent, with new debt. According to the ECB, this process "will burden public finances beyond the short and medium term," with higher deficits, higher interest rates, and less room to sustain social services…’
We should hurry up: ‘Poland downs Russian drones in first time a NATO member has fired during Ukraine war’ said Reuters on Wednesday here…
From La Moncloa (official government website – in English) here: ‘Spain and the United Kingdom sign a Strategic Bilateral Framework that strengthens economic, political and social cooperation between the two countries. The agreement provides for the creation of a common economic forum for investment and innovation opportunities. The two countries will collaborate on foreign and development policies, strengthen relations to make progress on climate policy and coordinate on security and defence’.
From RTVE here: Pedro Sánchez has announced nine measures against the "genocide in Gaza" to ensure that "Spain is on the right side of history." This includes no Spanish arms may be sold to the Israelis, and also no arms going to Israel via Spanish stop-overs (unless, uh, they arrive and leave by the US bases of Rota or Morón). The Israeli government trots out the usual accusation of ‘antisemitism’. The Americans aren’t pleased either: ‘The US accuses Spain of "emboldening terrorists" with its measures against Israel’. From elDiario.es, opinion here: ‘Why the correct word is genocide. Israeli scholars, some of them Holocaust scholars, have no doubt that the crimes Israel is committing in Gaza fit the definition of genocide as adopted by the United Nations in 1948’.
Wednesday: From EuroNews here: ‘Ursula Von der Leyen announces suspension of EU payments and trade partnership with Israel’.
…...
Health:
The Government is tightening smoking laws says 20Minutos. Terraces and open-air concerts to become smoke-free. Also, smoking to be banned for minors and fines for the parents of those who smoke. The Guardian also runs with this item: ‘Spanish government moves to ban smoking on bar terraces’. As always, there are two different opinions on smoking – ours and theirs.
…...
Corruption:
elDiario.es has ‘Eight construction companies linked to PP corruption paid 4.1 million to the firm founded by Cristóbal Montoro. Notable among these are the Madrid-based Grupo Ortiz y Dico and the Valencia-based Gesfesa and Bertolín, in addition to Cleop and three major companies in the sector: OHL, Sacyr, and FCC. In 2020, the AEAT (Spanish Tax Agency) requested a "deeper" investigation into the relationship between Equipo Económico and a company owned by Jesús Merino, convicted in the Caso Gürtel’.
In answer to Judge Peinado’s latest fishing expedition, ‘Begoña Gómez appeals the judge's decision to request all her emails from the Moncloa Palace since 2018. Sánchez's wife's defence team is asking the Court to overturn Peinado's request, considering it unfounded’. The story is at El País here. Gómez was also in court with Judge Peinado on another pointless inquiry on Wednesday.
…...
Courts:
The notice of the week must be the campaign against the Attorney General Álvaro García Ortiz for an imprisonable offence. From 20Minutos here. ‘The Supreme Court's Ángel Hurtado will try the Attorney General for allegedly disclosing an email in which the lawyer for the partner of Madrid President Isabel Díaz Ayuso admitted that his client had committed two counts of tax fraud. This is an unprecedented situation in the history of Spanish democracy: the head of the Public Prosecutor's Office will go to trial and faces sentences of up to six years in prison. The Criminal Division has yet to appoint the court that will conduct the trial against García Ortiz. The intention is for the trial to take place this year, according to Supreme Court sources. The Attorney General, for his part, does not plan to resign and believes that remaining in office is the best way to defend the institution…’ elDiario.es notes ‘We've told you a thousand times: there is testimony that refutes that accusation, and there is no evidence whatsoever to support it’.
The judge has placed a steep bail of 150,000€ on García Ortiz to be satisfied by Friday. What, they’re worried that he’s going to do a runner?
El Plural has: ‘The secret operation against Pedro Sánchez: personal surveillance, hacking, and political espionage since 2014, when Rajoy was president. The Prosecutor's Office is investigating a complaint alleging an illegal operation against the then PSOE candidate: the secret operation that put him, his family, and his future in La Moncloa under scrutiny’. We read that ‘The so-called "Operación Pedro Sánchez" began just a week after he was appointed Socialist leader more than 11 years ago. The operation included the "direct participation" of the National Police's Deputy Directorate of Operations (DAO), then headed by Commissioner Eugenio Pino…’
There’s been a fuss since Pedro Sánchez said in a TVE interview that sometimes, some judges were more influenced by the conservative rulebook that the unopened judicial one that stays on the shelf – or as Sánchez said last week: "some judges are playing politics."
‘Jurist Martín Pallín is outspoken in denouncing the collusion of judges with the political right in Spain. The Supreme Court Justice Emeritus maintains that some judges act in collusion with the right, not only out of ideological affinity, but also out of personal and power interests’.
Antena3 says that ‘Yolanda Díaz asserts that there are judges who "interfere in politics" and accuses the PP of "hacking institutions."
‘Judge Peinado knows perfectly well, says LaSexta, there are judges who act out of political motivations: "The prospective case of Judge Juan Carlos Peinado, with direct and family ties to the Popular Party in Madrid, is unquestionable’.
‘Vox files a complaint against Sánchez, three ministers, and five regional presidents from the PP and PSOE for "reckless homicide" in the handling of the fires. It allocates responsibility between the Socialists and the Popular Party and accuses them of "acting negligently"’. A story from El Mundo here.
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Media:
CadenaSer opinion here: ‘…Peinado is a judge, and from what we're seeing, he's persistent. And he's decided that if they close one door on him, he'll open another. And now he's going all out with Begoña Gómez's emails. Seven years of emails, inbox and outbox. Raw. All of them. But no one dares to call this prospective research, no, please not...’
ctxt opinion here: ‘…Because only the people save the people, and because, after taking testimony from 33 witnesses, indicting five of them, trampling on the line of prevarication day in and day out, and writing 15 volumes of a summary as confusing as it is at times amusing, if you ask around on the street, many will tell you that Begoña Gómez's case is a clear case of corruption, but no one will be able to explain quite what she did. If the judge doesn't care, determined to move forward with a case that began without evidence and continues to endure without it, why should the average Spaniard care about the specific crime?’
La Nueva Tribuna opinion (regarding Alberto Núñez Feijóo) here: ‘…The thing is, when a political opponent wants to be a governing alternative, they have to make positive proposals to inspire the electorate in order to gain their support. And, in Feijóo's case, 24 hours a day are enough, as we know, for nothing more than to oppose what Sánchez is doing, and there’s no time left to propose anything of his own.
Because, as it turns out, Feijóo has opposed, among other things, improving working conditions for Spaniards, cheaper energy for them than the rest of Europe, and more income for those who earn less. He is against that those who profited the most during the recent crises, banks and energy companies, would more evenly distribute their profits to the public treasury. That Europe would transfer recovery funds to Spain, and even that the regions governed by the People's Party would cancel part of their public debt free of charge. And this series of decisions is just a small part of his denialist activity in Spanish politics…’
On Miguel Tellado’s gaff – the PP spokesperson saying that the PSOE Government needs to be dumped in the ditch. Opinion here: ‘…Do you realize the insult to the victims? In this country, there are more than 100,000 people still missing in ditches, shot in a coup d'état your party never condemned. And you use the word "fosa" (a common grave) as if you were talking about an after-dinner joke. It's obscene, it's indecent, it's disgusting…
…...
Ecology:
‘The Aemet (national weather agency) confirms that the last two Augusts have been the hottest on record. This year's heat wave has been particularly intense, with temperatures up to 6°C above normal across the country’. From Público here.
‘Top fire experts urge politicians to listen to their proposals: "What's coming will be far worse"’. elDiario.es reporting here.
…...
Various:
‘Carob pods: The Mediterranean chocolate alternative with surprising health benefits’. From HealthPlan Spain here.
From The Olive Press here: ‘A Málaga man is fined for drawing a giant phallus to highlight a longstanding pothole – which is then fixed’. Proving that sometimes, one must take matters into one’s own hands.
From Público, a newly-discovered grave in Madrid: ‘Theodor Adrian von Renteln, the Third Reich's General Commissioner for Lithuania between 1941 and 1944, who was in charge of the extermination machinery of nearly 200,000 Jews, did not die by hanging at the hands of the Russians in 1946, as historians had assumed, but died in 1960 in a Madrid hospital under the false identity of Karl Jacobson’.
‘The 300 towns Franco invented to repopulate the devastated post-war Spain. Between 1940 and 1970, the Franco dictatorship built hundreds of new towns in 27 provinces, mostly in Andalucía and Extremadura, to house 55,000 families’. From elDiario.es here.
The writer remembers his childhood visits by train or bus to the small nearby towns of Ávila. He recalls above all the dogs – wild, or tame, filthy or groomed – that would haunt the streets and countryside. He remembers seeing a sign which reads ‘Beware of the Human’, signed with a pawprint. From Todo Literatura here: ‘Medieval dogs, trains, and the nameless train-station in Ávila’.
…...
See Spain:
From Eye on Spain here: ‘Castellón's Enchanting Medieval Villages: A Journey Through Time. In the heart of Spain's Castellón province lie eight remarkable medieval villages, each a testament to a rich and storied past. These enchanting destinations offer a captivating glimpse into history, with their ancient stone walls, winding cobblestone streets, and stunning architecture. Whether you're a history buff, a lover of picturesque landscapes, or simply seeking an escape from the modern world, these villages are a must-visit…’
Those of us who have driven up to Granada from Almería might have seen that astonishing castle in La Calahorra just a little south of Guadix. It was in private hands but now belongs to the State and will soon be opened for visits says El Mundo here.
La Alberca (Salamanca). The first town to be declared an Historic-Artistic Site in Spain: a medieval gem of cobblestone streets, fountains, and flower-filled balconies. Item found at El Periódico here.
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Letters:
Hi Lenox,
I can't agree with you about the cause of these fires. Global warming may help exacerbate the fires but the majority are not accidental. Greenpeace has published an interesting article called "Incendios en España", according to which 96% of all fires, with a known cause, are occasioned by human action. The recent serious fire in Tarifa is a case in point, with arson being cited by the Regional Government Minister in Andalucia. And there have been dozens of arrests this year again all over Spain for fire raising. Don't keep knocking the PP for everything.
Miguel
There’s a difference between arson and accidents (such as ground clearance or campfires). Also, says Newtral here, there are cases or fires rekindling, lightning strikes and so on.
…...
Finally:
‘A groundbreaking new mix promises to shock our brains with its peculiar way of uniting the music of Oasis' "Wonderwall" and the lyrics of Camilo Sesto's "Morir de amor", fitting together perfectly as if those lyrics were made for that melody. Camiloasis from Calambres on YouTube here.
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