ARCHIVED - Murcia and Spanish news round-up week ending 26th April 2019

The worst April storms for 50 years and the continuing fiestas distract attention from Sunday’s general election!

This has been a rather unusual week in the Region of Murcia, as despite the fact that a general election is being held on Sunday the main talking points have been the weather and, in the regional capital at least, the second consecutive week of parades in the streets as part of the Fiestas de Primavera.

Easter weekend was marked by beautiful weather in the UK, but in the Costa Cálida conditions were among the worst seen over the holiday weekend in living memory, with the worst April storms for half a century causing the cancellation of almost all of the major processions during the second half of Semana Santa. Over 100 millimetres in 12 hours were recorded at various locations in the south and centre of the Region and numerous roads became impassable as traffic was further disrupted by fallen trees brought down by the strong winds.

On the coast there was considerable damage done to beaches, and in Puerto de Mazarrón the inadequacy of the drainage system in the residential area of Bahía was once again made evident as the streets became more reminiscent of Venice than of the Region of Murcia, and not far away in La Azohía the Policía Local of Cartagena were called out to rescue a married couple from their motor home after they unwisely parked for the night in the “rambla” (floodwater channel).

After the clouds had cleared Aemet, the Spanish meteorological agency, described the episode as “unprecedented” in terms not only of the amount of precipitation but also of the extent of the area in which it fell, clarifying that in some coastal areas of Murcia and the province of Alicante the amount of rain which fell in just 5 days was the equivalent of 5 times the historical average for the whole of the month of April, and double the amount which normally falls in the whole of spring. The weather stations at Alicante-Elche airport, Torrevieja and Jávea have already recorded their wettest April on record, and at one point in Jávea over 300 millimetres of rain fell in just 24 hours!

The rain was welcomed with almost unbridled joy by crop farmers in Murcia, but of course such conditions are never to the liking of everyone, and inevitably hotel and restaurant owners reported a disappointing Easter as they struggled to suggest alternatives to visitors who had arrived hoping to soak up some sunshine on the beach. In Cartagena the local hotels report 10 per cent less occupancy than in Semana Santa 2018, while bars and restaurants are lamenting “lost” revenue of between 30 and 40 per cent.

Nonetheless, for those intending to watch the spectacular Entierro de la Sardina parade in Murcia on Saturday the weather appears to be set fair, (although allow plenty of time for parking as all carparks will be full at least an hour before the parade starts) and with another public holiday next Wednesday (1^st May), followed by more fiestas in Caravaca, Alhama and various other places, those in the tourism sector will be hoping to make up for their disappointing Easter as soon as possible!

Tourism and airport news

This week saw what appears to be the end of a saga at the new Region of Murcia International Airpot in Corvera which has lasted over a decade, when the former management consortium Aeromur entered liquidation proceedings.

The consortium built the airport but failed to open it and entered a series of appeals against the rescission of its management contract in 2013, and finally the successive failures to find favour with the courts have led to the consortium, led by construction giant Sacyr, being placed in liquidation with accumulated debts of around 200 million euros. Aeromur was formally constituted in 2007 with a capital of 14.7 million euros but its continual finance problems led to loans having to be guaranteed by the regional government, and in the end the management contract was rescinded and a second contract eventually awarded to Aena late in 2017: after that, it was just 13 months later that the first flights landed and took off in Corvera in January of this year.

Also this week there were signs that the tourist sector may be feeling the Brexit effect more in Murcia than in the rest of Spain, with a decrease in sales to UK nationals of 4.7 per cent (according to Exceltur). Only in the Canaries and the Balearics is it reported that sales have been worse affected, and the figure for Murcia is higher than those in Comunidad Valenciana, which includes the Costa Blanca (4.3 per cent) and Andalucía (4.6 per cent).

Visitor numbers up during Semana Santa in Lorca despite the rain: 365 tons of extra sand on the streets allowed the spectacular Good Friday procession to go ahead.

Cartagena Roman Theatre Museum welcomed 27 per cent more visitors this Easter: no negative effect was noted during the extraordinarily wet Semana Santa in the Costa Cálida.

March hotel occupancy down by 6.4 per cent in the Costa Cálida: it is tempting to explain the fall in terms of the fact that last year Easter fell at the end of March rather than in April, but in Spain as a whole there were only 1.8 per cent fewer guests and in Andalucía, where the Easter effect is generally held to be even greater, the March figures were higher both for foreign visitors and for guests from elsewhere in Spain.

Senator take over the Intercontinental hotel in Mar Menor Golf Resort: this will be the second Senator hotel in the Costa Cálida after the acquisition of the Hotel Serena Golf, while Intercontinental end their involvement in the Region of Murcia.

The Costa Cálida aims to attract 13,700 British golfers this year: the attractions of year-round golf in Murcia are being promoted in London this week.

Agriculture and the environment

More incomprehensible plant vandalism at the beaches of Calnegre

The difference in opinion between some of the local population close to the beaches of Calnegre in the municipality of Lorca on the one hand, and the local and regional governments on the other, is beginning to reach baffling proportions in respect of the need to protect the native plant life at the coves which are reached by a winding track from the village of Puntas de Calnegre, with the latest development being that 350 plants which were planted recently have been removed in another disappointing act of vandalism.

The new plants were installed in an area of 5,000 square metres at the beaches of Calnegre, Baño de las Mujeres and Siscal to replace those which were destroyed by tractor vandals in late March, but it seems that some residents of Puntas de Calnegre or Ramonete are determined that neither they nor wooden posts should be allowed to prevent motor vehicles parking on the sand, and they have already been removed. Unfortunately, this kind of vandalism, or sabotage, occurred on more than one occasion last year, as residents of the villages of Ramonete and Calnegre caused damage to the barrier preventing vehicles from progressing along the track and the booth where tickets to board the minibus are sold and in the end the service had to be scrapped.

At the beaches of Calnegre the situation is described in the regional press as being one of “open warfare” between the Murcia government and some elements of the population.

All of this is in marked contrast to the situation at the beaches of Calblanque, where it has been announced that on top of the motor vehicle access restrictions dogs are to be banned to protect loggerhead sea turtles in the hope that they will lay eggs on the beaches of the regional park this summer: and not a murmur of discontent from the locals!

Cartagena fishermen kept in port by high winds: the bad weather this week is affecting the livelihoods of 150 families in Cartagena and Cabo de Palos.

Over 2,500 tortoises taken in at the Wildlife Recovery Centre in El Valle since 2015: ownership of tortoises is illegal in the Region of Murcia, and any being kept as pets should be delivered to the centre!

First black truffle harvest at experimental plot in Caravaca: périgord truffles can fetch over 1,000 euros per kilo and the first crop is being gathered after 5 years of preparation.

Murcia government calls for fast track fruit and veg customs to protect exports after Brexit: Murcia farmers exported 628 million euros of fruit and veg to the UK last year.

Concerns over fuel leakage at Repsol plant just outside Cartagena: ANSE claim the spillage in Escombreras is more serious than the company has reported.

Heavy rain and careless farmers blamed for plastic on the beach of Puntas de Calnegre; the local IU party also bemoan inaction on the part of local and regional authorities.

Other items in the Murcia news this week

It would never happen to Leo Messi – Alhama footballer could miss crucial match due to general election: polling station duty weakens Alhama Ladies in their bid to reach the Spanish football first division.

New ITV vehicle roadworthiness test centre for Alhama de Murcia: the new facility is being prepared in the Las Salinas industrial estate.

Controversy surrounds meat pie celebration in Murcia on Wednesday: unrest among master pie-makers over their exclusion from an event which they inaugurated a few years ago during the Fiestas de Primavera.

Candidate for Mayor of Librilla caught attempting to buy votes: Francisco Alcón of the PP has stood down to be replaced by Francisco Rubio on the ballot papers on 26^th May.

Minor earthquakes in Lorca and off the coast of Torrevieja: tremors of 1.9 and 2.4 mbLg caused no damage on Friday morning.

Lidl to open second supermarket in San Javier next month: the new store opens in May in the Dos Mares shopping centre.

Mula shopkeeper charged with selling Viagra over the counter: police raided 16 shops and found staff working without contracts as well as the unauthorized sale of erectile dysfunction medication.

A fall from a bridge over the river among the emergency incidents at the Bando de la Huerta in Murcia: 457 incidents during the day, many of them involving intoxicated young people, and three field hospitals in the streets.

Jumilla celebrates declaration of esparto grass culture as Intangible Cultural Heritage: esparto grass was a mainstay of the Jumilla economy until the mid-20^th century, as it was in many other parts of Murcia.

First quarter unemployment figures up in Spain but down in Murcia: the figures in Murcia and Spain have fallen to around half the level of six years ago!

362 expropriations planned in Lorca to build Murcia-Almería high-speed rail line: decisions have yet to be made regarding underground approaches to the main station of Lorca.

Edible crickets and worms to be produced at new premises in Lorca: house crickets and mealworms are proven to be important sources of protein.

Leroy Merlin taking on 33 more staff in the Region of Murcia: 700 more jobs at the 136 Leroy Merlin stores throughout Spain and a new store opening in San Pedro del Pinatar.

American Staffordshire Terrier found strangled in La Unión: the tortured dog was found under a bridge by children playing nearby.

Murcia and Spanish property news

The latest figures published by leading Spanish property valuation firm Tinsa regarding the market value of housing across the country last week show that in March the on-going recovery in prices across the country continued, although less spectacularly than has sometimes been the case.

An increase of 3.9 per cent was the lowest observed since April 2018, and the firm reports that after remaining steady during the month their index is still 13.8 per cent higher than when the market bottomed out in February 2015 (although still 34.7 per cent lower than at the height of the boom in late 2007). The staggered nature of this recovery can be seen in the breakdown of the figures, which shows that in Spain’s regional capitals and other large cities market values have risen by over 23 per cent in the last three and a half years, while elsewhere there are increases of 22.2 per cent in the Balearic and Canary Islands and 16.5 per cent in Mediterranean coastal areas, but only 4.2 per cent in the catch-all category of “other municipalities”.

With much of Murcia enjoying a second week of fiestas there has been little news specifically related to the Region, but it is reported in regional newspaper La Verdad that over ten years after the property market bubble burst there are still almost 20,000 completed but unsold residential properties in the Region of Murcia. This figure was quoted in the context of the news that Solvia, the property wing of Banco Sabadell and the administrators of around half of those homes, has been taken over by the Intrum Holding Spain group, a Swedish company specializing in in debt recovery, following the acquisition of 80 per cent of the company for 241 million euros.

8 per cent of the properties on the books of Solvia are in the Region of Murcia, and La Verdad reports that the process of selling off the excess homes built in the speculative frenzy of the early years of the millennium is still far from complete. As well as the 10,400 assets held in the Region by Solvia, another 8,600 were still on the books of Spain’s “bad bank” Sareb last November (7.5 per cent of the bank’s portfolio throughout Spain).

Spanish news summary: opinion polls indicate no clear winner in Sunday’s general election

Just two days before Spain’s third general election in just over three years there is no doubt which story is dominating the national news, with the latest opinion polls making interesting reading as campaigning ends on Friday before the theoretical “day of reflection” on Saturday.

The latest poll published on Monday appears to strengthen the feeling that the PSOE party which is currently in government is likely to enjoy a significant increase in the number of seats won, but will still be forced to enter a pact, alliance or coalition in order to achieve a parliamentary majority. The GAD3 survey forecasts a total of between 134 and 139 of the 350 seats for the PSOE, whereas for a majority the requirement is 176, while the figure for the PP conservative party is expected to fall drastically from 137 to between 81 and 86. Much of this is due to the emergence of the radical right-wing Vox party, which is expected to be represented by between 30 and 32 MPs in the new parliament, having never won representation before the regional election in Andalucía last December.

Interestingly, the PSOE is reported to be the potential winner in all 17 regions of Spain except Murcia (PP), the Basque Country and Navarra (regional parties PNV and Navarra Suma): even in Catalunya no single nationalist group polls better than the socialists.

But even if these results are replicated on Sunday, it will still not be possible for current Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to form a majority government without entering an alliance with either Ciudadanos or Unidas Podemos and the nationalist MPs elected in Catalunya, the Basque Country, Navarra and the Canaries. On the other hand, though, the conservative PP is facing its worst electoral result since it was first represented in 1989, and would find it impossible to form a majority even with the support of both Ciudadanos and Vox.

In other words, another hung parliament is a strong possibility – but in recent years opinion polls have been shown to be unreliable indicators on many occasions. Come Monday morning, the likelihood is that inter-party negotiations will take place before the next government is formed, but you never know…

Meanwhile, the postal voting system has been slammed in the press as “belonging to the third world” as 4-hour queues formed at post offices during the week, with over a quarter of a million people handing in their ballot papers in 24 hours, and the situation for Spaniards wishing to vote from overseas being an almost impossible one. For anyone living in Princeton in the USA it is reported to be “not humanly possible” to take part in the election, while a Cadena Ser correspondent in Washington DC reports that in order for her to register her vote she has to do so either in person at the consulate or find an antique fax machine!

In the light of this it is perhaps not surprising to read on Friday that of the 32,725 people entitled to vote from abroad in the Region of Murcia only 2,992, or 9 per cent, have asked to do so!

Away from the election campaigning, though, there has been plenty to discuss elsewhere in the Spanish news over the last few days. For example, the former president of FC Barcelona football club, Sandro Rossell, was absolved of any guilt in relation to money-laundering and freed from jail after almost 2 years behind bars, sparking debate over whether preventative imprisonment is always the right course of action while cases are investigated.

There has also been great interest in various other stories: the crew of a Spanish tuna fishing boat managed to repel a pirate grenade attack in the Indian Ocean, a 6--year-old boy named Álvaro from Alicante appears to have been cured of acute B-cell lymphoblastic leukemia after receiving a new genetic treatment referred to as CAR-T 19, marking a major breakthrough in treatment of the disease, a 13-year-old driver was caught at the wheel in Elche with his parents in the car as passengers, Spain remains on terror alert after a Jihadist massacre at the Sevilla Easter processions was averted, the man who helped his wife end her suffering in the terminal phase of multiple sclerosis will not face a charge of gender violence, and a woman in Madrid lay dead in her flat for 5 years before the body was found, once again raising the issue of loneliness in major cities.

Aguably most shocking, though, is the news that a 43-year-old German man has been arrested in in Adeje, on the island of Tenerife, after he brutally beat his wife and elder son to death and left their bodies in a cave, with the search for the victims and their killer having been mounted only after the murderer’s 5-year-old son somehow managed to escape, roam the mountainside for five hours and raise the alarm. The traumatized youngster will now be looked after by his maternal grandparents, after initially no relatives came forward to offer help.

For more on these and other stories in the Spanish news, scroll down below...

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