Last week offered a highlight in the debate over the law proposed by Education Minister José Ignacio Wert. Josep Antoni Duran i Lleida, one of the leaders of the Catalan nationalist CiU bloc, revealed in a speech to the Spanish parliament that in Catalonia, “often the majority language in the schoolyards is not Catalan, it regrettably continues to be Spanish”. How much Spanish would not be cause for regret? Or should no Spanish-speaking children use their native language? In the schoolyard, i.e. during recess. During lessons they already cannot use it, except in Spanish language class. Certainly, there are shades of grey, but this is the overall policy that is being implemented in … [Read more...] about The argument for Spanish in Catalan schools
La Vanguardia
Spain’s evictions push the defenceless over the edge
On November 9, as the police and bailiffs opened the door of a flat in Barakaldo, Gipuzkoa, to execute a mortgage repossession, 53-year-old Amaia Egaña climbed up onto a chair on her fourth-floor balcony and leapt to her death. Hers was the third suicide in as many weeks shortly before the moment of eviction, and it has apparently triggered a dramatic response on the part of Mariano Rajoy’s government, which announced its intention to suspend all evictions of “vulnerable families”, pending a reform of the mortgage law. It may surprise the more than 300 households evicted every day in Spain that their constitutional rights are being violated, but among the many promises of social justice … [Read more...] about Spain’s evictions push the defenceless over the edge
The brains behind Levante’s La Liga fairytale
The most appealing story in Spanish football this season so far has been the almost unbelievable success of Levante. The heart-warming tale of the little side on a shoestring budget socking it to La Liga’s all-conquering duopoly was catnip for the Spanish and global media – with even The New York Times sending a reporter to find out what was going on. A run of seven successive wins including 1-0 over Real Madrid and 3-0s against both big-spending Málaga and local rivals Villarreal lifted Levante to be the shock leader of the Primera División (until last weekend). The little Valencia-based club has only been in Spain's top division for seven of its 102 years and has never won a major … [Read more...] about The brains behind Levante’s La Liga fairytale