The last few weeks have seen commemorations, mainly in the Basque Country, of the 75th anniversary of the bombing by German and Italian warplanes of the historic town of Gernika at the behest of General Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War. Around 4.30 in the afternoon of April 26, 1937, a joint squadron of 23 German and Italian planes appeared in the skies over the historic, and undefended, Basque town. Over the next five hours they dropped a total of 22 tons of high explosives and incendiary devices that burned for days, destroying 70 percent of the town, and killing and wounding at least 1,600 people, around a third of the population. Gernika remains a powerful symbol of … [Read more...] about Remember Gernika – but don’t forget Chaouen
Politics
Catalonia’s immigrants face lonely road ahead
Sitting across the table from Xavier Alonso Calderón, Catalonia’s head of Immigration and Labour Relations, it was hard not to feel for everyone within a hundred paces of his office. In one of many sweeping cuts to government spending since coming into office late last year, the Partido Popular-led national government had slashed Spain’s immigration and integration fund to nearly nothing. Established under the Zapatero government in 2005, the fund had set aside up to €200 million to be distributed to Spain’s autonomous communities to help finance programs aimed at reporting, educating and integrating the country’s foreign-born population – a group that had exploded over the past decade, … [Read more...] about Catalonia’s immigrants face lonely road ahead
Is Catalonia going the way of Slovenia?
When, at his party's congress on March 28-29, the former Catalan president Jordi Pujol exclaimed that "we live in a state that has no Constitution", he touched the nerve of a Catalan nationalism that has become increasingly belligerent. It’s a nationalism that openly defies court sentences it believes threaten the nation it claims to represent, such as the Constitutional Court's ruling on the region’s Statute of Autonomy (or Estatut) in 2010 or more recent ones by the Supreme Court related to language use in Catalonia. No wonder that at the same congress, Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya (CDC) adopted a strategy that, even though it avoids the word "independence", strongly argues for … [Read more...] about Is Catalonia going the way of Slovenia?
Spanish government seeks to muzzle protest with reforms
“Our judicial system is not frightening enough ”, said Felip Puig, the Catalan interior chief, a few days after the March 29 general strike. In the wake of that protest, the Spanish government has unveiled a series of changes to the Criminal Code that it hopes will be approved by June and which would criminalise the actions of movements such as 15-M (or indignados), despite their peaceful nature. Last week, Interior Minister Jorge Fernández gave more details: peaceful resistance will be deemed a form of illegal undermining of authority, punishable with one to three years in jail; the punishment for civil disobedience, which is currently six months to one year in jail, will be increased … [Read more...] about Spanish government seeks to muzzle protest with reforms
Rubber bullet ban won’t solve Spain’s policing problem
As Spain’s Basque Country continued to reel from the death of 28-year-old Iñigo Cabacas, the region's interior department announced plans to restrict the use of rubber bullets as of January 1, 2013. An autopsy revealed that Cabacas died after receiving a rubber bullet to the head during riots following Athletic Bilbao's Europa League victory against Schalke 04 on April 5. The claim by the Ertzaintza, the Basque regional police, that no rounds were fired from a distance of less than 22 metres is contradicted by the conclusions of the autopsy report, which shows the fatal shot to have been fired from a much smaller distance. The rubber bullet restriction announcement by Basque interior … [Read more...] about Rubber bullet ban won’t solve Spain’s policing problem
Spain’s Freedom of Information Act? Not by a long chalk…
On March 22, to muted fanfare, the Spanish government announced a new law supposedly giving the public access to official documents and records. Announcing the Transparency and Good Government Law, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said his aim was to tackle the country’s chronic corruption by allowing people to know “who is spending their money.” The new legislation would see the creation of a website with all public administrations’ and ministries’ financial details, including salaries and contracts, along with rules guaranteeing the public’s right to access information on public spending and a best practices code. Let’s be clear about this, the government’s proposals are not, by any … [Read more...] about Spain’s Freedom of Information Act? Not by a long chalk…
Pepe Reina’s “racist” blunder: a question of black and white?
Liverpool FC recently found themselves embroiled in a racism controversy for the second time in the last few months. Their goalie, Spanish national squad player Pepe Reina, came under fire from British anti-racism group Operation Black Vote for starring in a TV ad which they deemed to be racially offensive. The advert - for insurance company Groupama – depicts Reina meeting with the “king” of an African tribe who decides to take the goalie for his “queen”, a joke on his surname. Following complaints lodged by OBV, the campaign was pulled from Spanish television. Unfortunately for Reina and Liverpool, the ad in question came right on the tail of huge controversy caused by their … [Read more...] about Pepe Reina’s “racist” blunder: a question of black and white?
Rajoy’s smoke and mirrors have worked – for now, at least
If we have learnt anything about Spain’s new prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, since he took power in December, it’s that his reputation for being anything but straightforward when conveying his intentions is well deserved. Rajoy has often been portrayed as the embodiment of retranca, a tendency his fellow Galicians are known for to answer questions with ambiguity and multiple meanings. The first two months of his tenure have seen Rajoy behave every bit like the stereotypical Galician. An early example of this was when the prime minister deployed his front-line ministers to announce a major tax increase, just days after himself announcing that “my intention is not to raise taxes.” And now … [Read more...] about Rajoy’s smoke and mirrors have worked – for now, at least
Spain’s Socialists will get a new leader, but will they get new ideas?
The Socialist conference in Seville, where a new leader will be chosen this weekend, is supposed to set the tone for the party for the next few years. But the weeks leading up to the event have been dominated more by rumour and intrigue than ideas. This hearsay and speculation has focused in great part on which of the two candidates certain heavyweight party figures will put their weight behind. For example, whether José Antonio Griñán, Socialist leader in the party’s stronghold of Andalusia, will support Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba or Carme Chacón. Reports suggest he will back the latter, but former Prime Minister Felipe González, by contrast, has come out in favour of the veteran Rubalcaba … [Read more...] about Spain’s Socialists will get a new leader, but will they get new ideas?
Spain’s Syrian efforts received US backing
In 2006, the United States was optimistic about the Spanish government’s initiative to act as a mediator between the Syrian government of Bashar Assad and Hizballah over the latter’s disarmament. Then-Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos made a series of trips to Damascus, which the United States saw as a positive sign to try to defuse the volatile situation in the Middle East. In a series of cables sent by the US Embassy in Madrid and released by the Wikileaks website, American diplomats advised Washington that Spain could play a constructive role in the region. On August 3, 2006, the US Ambassador in Madrid at the time, Eduardo Aguirre, reported Moratinos as saying that Syria had … [Read more...] about Spain’s Syrian efforts received US backing