ARCHIVED - Murcia and Spanish news round-up week ending 20th October 2017
The Catalunya crisis remains the overriding issue in Murcia and the rest of Spain
It is a shame to report that the main news in Murcia is not the wonderful weather which brought flocks of tourists to the Costa Cálida during the long holiday weekend last week, but the dizzying sequence of events in Catalunya continues to oust almost all local news from the front pages of the regional press.
The crisis in Spain has now reached the point where, for the first time in the 39 years since the Constitution was ratified, the national government, led by Mariano Rajoy, has implemented Article 155 to strip one of the 17 regions of its autonomy. This might not appear to have much direct impact on Murcia, 500 kilometres away as the crow flies, but in fact the whole conflict could turn out to be detrimental in many ways for all of Spain, especially in terms of the economy.
At the same time, there are ways in which the Catalan separatist movement and the recent defiance of court rulings and the authority of the national government are making themselves felt directly in the Costa Cálida. For example, three of the 800 businesses to leave Catalunya this month have relocated to Murcia (two in the tourism sector and one lawyers’ firm), and in addition, anyone living in Jumilla or Yecla will be surprised and perhaps alarmed to learn that some of the more extreme Catalan nationalists believe that these two municipalities in the north of Murcia should by rights belong to the "Catalan nations"!
For a fuller account of the national news this week, see below.
Back in Murcia, though, the news has centred for much of the week on the weather and other environmental issues, with the first rainfall in just over a month coinciding with more regional government initiatives to regenerate the marine environment in the Mar Menor, the first of what promises to be numerous protests by farmers demanding more desalination plants in order to irrigate their crops, and the image of the city of Murcia being tarnished by the appearance of dead fish and a layer of foam on the surface of the River Segura.
More on all of these stories below...
Tourism news
Mar Menor Games hits the bullseye in San Javier!
The huge variety of sporting activities at the Mar Menor Games in San Javier and the success of the 
Surfari 2017 event in Los Alcázares demonstrated last weekend that the Mar Menor and the rest of the Region of Murcia are open for business, particularly tourism-related business, all year round rather than only in the summer!
Fortunately, the weather also played its part in creating a perfect long holiday weekend for those who made the trip to the Costa Cálida, as in San Javier thousands spectated or took part in activities ranging from chess, pigeon fancying and dominoes to jetski racing, pole dancing and rugby!
Mazarrón Town Hall was the first to confirm a bumper October holiday weekend, with the occupancy rate in hotels between 12th and 15th October reaching 80 per cent, and these data were added to later in the week by the regional tourist board in Murcia, who confirmed that the long holiday weekend was a highly successful one for the hotels of La Manga and the rest of the Mar Menor area, with the occupancy rate rising to 85 per cent, boosted not only by the weather but also by the sporting events which were held in and around the Mar Menor.
At the same time the figures reported were 81 per cent in Lorca and Puerto Lumbreras, 74 per cent in Cartagena and 68 per cent in Murcia, while the spa resorts of the region, the most important of which is in Archena, were practically full with an occupancy rate of 97 per cent.
Cruise ship tourism in Cartagena: good for local business, not popular among locals! Cartagena has made a name for itself as one of the top ten cruise ship destinations in Spain, but while bar and restaurant owners are delighted with the extra turnover, residents are upset over the the large “anti-terrorist” flowerpots and police cars which close off central streets to road traffic in the name of security.
Caravaca promoted as religious tourism magnet in Italy: Italy is the third most important source for international hotel guests in Murcia, providing over 16,000 during 2016, and the holy city of Caravaca is an important draw to religious visitors.
Murcia confirms initial funding for Cartagena Roman amphitheatre excavation: the regional government in Murcia is to contribute 100,000 euros to the creation of the first route through the stadium, and the hope is that this might be in operation as soon as the summer of next year.
Environmental news: the Mar Menor and the River Segura
The regional government of Murcia is to seek advice from the scientific committee set up to supervise 
interventions in the Mar Menor regarding the possibility of establishing a “regulating current” of water in order to accelerate the process, a plan which would imply the dredging of the “golas”, the channels which allow water to flow between the Mar Menor and the Mediterranean. Although the main area affected would probably be the Encañizadas in the north of La Manga it could also affect the Gola de Marchamalo and the Gola del Estacio.
But experts also warn that “indiscriminate” dredging could be counter-productive, as the regeneration of the Mar Menor should come from within rather than from the Mediterranean if it is to be completed. Rather than widening the Encañizadas, the solution proposed by some is simply to ensure that they are adequately maintained, otherwise the effect could be to reduce the salinity of the lagoon and substantially alter conditions, allowing non-native species to make themselves at home and displace those which have always characterized the ecosystem in the past.
There are clearly arguments both for and against dredging the Encañizadas and the Golas, and if the outcome for the environment of the Mar Menor is to be satisfactory, it is of the utmost importance for the scientific advice to take all of the complex factors involved into account.
Still in the Mar Menor, three sunken boats have been salvaged from the bed of the lagoon: the three boats which sank in the first decade of this century were not found until after the torrential rain of December last year, when divers stumbled across them while removing other damaged boats and debris which had been washed into the Mar Menor.
One of the three is the Manitou Enterprise, a former British fishing boat which allegedly took part in the “miracle of Dunkirk” in 1940, when 338,000 Allied troops were evacuated.
In the city of Murcia, meanwhile, fears of pollution re-surfaced as dozens of dead fish appeared in a 
foam-covered River Segura, with the most likely explanation being the run-off of earth and suspended particles following the rain which fell on Wednesday and Thursday. This may well be the case, but the consequence was that on Thursday the sight of the Segura in the centre of Murcia was not a pleasant one, upsetting locals and creating a less than favourable impression for visitors to the regional capital.
Other environmental news this week
Anti-fracking demonstration in Cieza: fracking is permitted on 180,000 hectares of land in Murcia despite strong opposition, and opponents claim that there is a risk of pollution in the aquifer of the Syncline of Calasparra.
Murcia farmers join water protests in Almería as the drought threatens their crops: bar rain dances and prayers, farmers see more desalination plants as the only solution to the fact that Murcia consistently uses more water than it can currently collect in its reservoirs. More protests are likely, and 
it is relevant in this context to pont out that the CHS has officially denied that a massive aquifer lies underneath south-eastern Spain and has not been tapped. This was the claim made recently by Greenpeace, who concluded that if the supposed aquifer were to be used then the Tajo-Segura water supply canal would be unnecesary.
Still on the same topic, Murcia finally received some rainfall this week after a month without a drop! What fell in the Costa Cálida was a mere sprinkling in comparison with the amount which fell in other parts of Spain, but nonetheless it was sufficient to cause problems on the roads and various reports of fallen trees and localized flooding.
Divers remove a ton of rubbish from the Bay of Mazarrón: the 23rd annual seabed cleaning campaign featured around 100 divers from as far afield as Switzerland and Portugal.
Two otter cubs born at Terra Natura wildlife park in Murcia: the facility in Espinardo has been a veritable hive of otter-related activity lately, and having donated two adult otters to the educational program at the El Valle wildlife recovery centre last month the staff are now looking after the two new arrivals and a disabled otter imported from Zaragoza!
Mulberry leaves, from the motor behind the Murcia silk industry to a source of nutrition for humans and animals: the IMIDA Institute in La Alberca investigates how to maximize protein and fibre in mulberry leaves.
Other news items in Murcia this week
Murcia Town Hall fails to deal with aggressive and unauthorized car park attendants: the number of complaints continues to rise, but either the “gorillas” are not paying much attention or, more probably, the complaints are not dealt with by the kind of strict policing which is what most drivers would hope for in response to one of the most annoying aspects of living in the Region of Murcia!
Murcia pilot dies as F-18 fighter jet crashes on take-off in Madrid: the Spanish air force mourns the 
loss of Fernando Pérez Serrano just five days after another pilot died after taking part in the Armed Forces parade fly-past in Madrid last Thursday.
Fernando Pérez Serrano was posthumously awarded the Cross of Aeronautical Merit during his funeral on Wednesday by María Dolores de Cospedal, Spain’s Minister for Defence.
Murcia awakened by seismic tremor in Corvera: various residents in the southern outlying districts of the city of Murcia woke up with a start last Saturday morning as a seismic tremor measuring 2.7 on the Richter scale caused windows to rattle and furniture to shudder.
Waiting times for surgery down by eleven days in public hospitals in Murcia: there is still plenty of room for improvement, but the SMS health service is improving significantly in this respect.
No more room for African migrants as Murcia illegal immigrant detention centre overflows: it is reported that the accumulated total for the year so far has already reached 971, approximately double the figure for the whole of 2016, and this has stretched the resources designed for immigrants in Murcia beyond their limits. As a last resort, some of the immigrants are being housed at the Jesús Abandonado hostel which is normally used by the homeless of Murcia.
Boston the sniffer dog tracks down 54,000 euros in two cars in Librilla: the two Moroccan drivers confessed to having criminal records related to the possession and sale of illegal drugs, but claimed to have no idea how such a large amount of money came to be present in their vehicles.
Former Cartagena Mayoress faces another legal investigation: Senator Pilar Barreiro is accused of misusing public funds in order to put a positive spin on her actions while Mayoress of Cartagena.
Mula Town Hall edges closer to a majority shareholding in the castle: the council now owns 44.44 per cent of the Castillo de los Vélez, and hopes to reach 50 per cent soon in order to undertake the major restoration work which is needed.
Dutch marijuana growers arrested in Lorca: two macro-plantations of marijuana were accessible only by stepladder in warehouses in Lorca as the hydroponic gardeners made every effort to conceal their activity.
Murcia and Spanish property news
Construction kickstarts into life in Murcia as the property market recovers: the excess stock of new 
housing which resulted from the end of the speculative property boom in 2007 and 2008 has now been reduced sufficiently for demand to exceed supply, and part of the upward trend is due to sales to non-Spaniards rising by almost 25 per cent.
Spanish notaries report 17 per cent increase in August property sales: the notaries report the eighth successive year-on-year increases in property market activity this year, with the only category in which negative figures occurred being that of new-build homes, although at the same time they calculate a mean price per square metre of 1,160 euros during August. This is only 0.3 per cent higher than in the same month last year, and by far the lowest figure in 2017: clearly the purchase of low-budget homes was the flavour of the month!
Spanish national news: Rajoy stands firm and moves to establish direct rule in Catalunya while wild fires ravage Galicia and Asturias
It’s been a long time coming – too long, some might argue – but as another week ends, Mariano Rajoy, the President of the Spanish government, has finally made the decision to implement Article 155 of the Constitution and assume control of the government of Catalunya.
This follows the failure by Catalan president Carles Puigdemont to respond appropriately to the two deadlines he was set this week; one on Monday to clarify whether or not his ambiguous speech on 10th October constituted a declaration of independence from Spain, and the other on Thursday to “rectify” his position and that of his government in order to bring them back in line with Spanish law. On both occasions Sr Puigdemont responded in writing, but on Monday he simply reiterated his calls for “dialogue” and an end to the “repression” of the Catalan people, while on Thursday he issued a threat to hold a vote in the regional parliament on whether or not to declare a separate Catalan republic.
On Saturday Sr Rajoy is holding a full Cabinet meeting to finalize the plans for implementing Article 155, which has never been activated before, and it is possible that by next Friday they will have gained the approval of the Senate, the upper house of the Spanish parliament. In the meantime, it has been leaked that among the planned moves is the holding of a regional election in Catalunya in January.
At the same time, the Catalan separatist movement continues to be undermined by the negative response from the business community and the rest of the EU. It is now estimated that of the 900 largest companies in Catalunya at least 700 have changed their registered addresses to elsewhere in Spain in the last three weeks, and even the administrator of the country’s busiest lottery office has found himself obliged to up sticks to Navarra, while in Europe both Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron have joined Theresa May in making it clear that they will offer no support to the independence process. In the words of Antonio Tajani, the president of the European parliament, “no-one in Europe will accept” a proclamation of independence in Catalunya, and he adds that if Sr Puigdemont makes such a declaration, the Catalans “will be on their own”.
However, another upsurge in opposition to the Spanish government was brought about during the week by the imprisonment of “the two Jordis”. Jordi Sánchez and Jordi Cuixart, the leaders of the ANC and Ómnium separatist groups, were sent to jail this week while awaiting charges related to their alleged orchestration of mob violence in Barcelona on 20th September, and high-profile figures such as Ada Colau, the Mayoress of Barcelona, are among those referring to the leaders of the ANC and Ómnium groups as “political prisoners”. Mass protests ensued, and more are planned over the weekend against the Article 155 decision.
Meanwhile, as the tension and uncertainty persist in Catalunya and the rest of Spain, spare a 
thought for the 2,000 or so police and Guardia Civil reinforcements who were sent to Catalunya prior to the partial holding of the independence referendum on 1st October, and have been lodged on board three cruise ships in the ports of Barcelona and Tarragona for the last three weeks.
Initially there was considerable interest in the fact that liners had been commissioned to house the forces of law and order, but the novelty has now worn off and unions representing the officers, have requested that the current turn of duty be brought to an end. “Accumulated tension and fatigue” are cited as the reasons for the request, and with most of those housed on the ships being members of the riot squad it is not hard to believe that the stress of the last few weeks must be beginning to cause friction.
Elsewhere in Spain the exceptionally warm weather and strong winds in the north-west provided perfect conditions for arsonists in Galicia and Asturias, and a series of wild fires ravaged over 35,000 hectares of land. The regional president of Galicia referred to the setting of these fires as “bordering on homicide” after at least four people lost their lives, while in Asturias, apart from the material damages to the environment, conservationists were worried that the natural habitat of Spain’s largest wild bear population may have been seriously affected.
But even a disaster of this scale has been unable to dislodge the crisis in Catalunya from the headlines, and there is little likelihood that this will cease to be the case over the next seven days…
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