ARCHIVED - Murcian and Spanish news round-up week ending 12th February 2016

The warm dry weather boosts tourism but worries Murcia farmers

But never mind.....we've got another weekend of Carnival ahead!!!!!!

In a part of Spain where the economy is so heavily reliant on agriculture and tourism it is almost inevitable that the topic of the weather should so often dominate the news, and the concerns over the prolonged drought being suffered in the Region of Murcia have been prominent this week.

Other problems being faced by Murcia farmers include the constant threat of attacks on transport lorries by French farmers as produce is exported to the rest of Europe and the growing worries over immigrants stowing away in trucks as they cross from northern France to the UK. In the light of these circumstances long-haul transport companies are now implementing strategies to protect both their drivers and their business, contracting insurance policies to cover incidents involving stowaways, and installing security systems into their vehicles. 

One industry not affected by the weather, though, is the manufacture of graphene in Yecla, where a locally-based company is planning to invest 350 million euros in a new factory to produce batteries for electric motor vehicles which will enable them to travel 800 kilometres without recharging. The first production line is due to open in March, and the initial investment of 30 million euros is sufficient for some 80 million batteries to be produced per year. Should agriculture fail Murcia, graphene could turn out to be the product of the future: it is a nanomaterial derived from pure carbon which is almost transparent, is approximately 100 times stronger than top-grade steel, and conducts heat and electricity efficiently, and new uses for it are constantly under investigation in Yecla and elsewhere in the world.

Tourism and infrastructures news

While agriculture suffers from the unusually warm and dry winter, tourism is benefitting, and throughout the Region initiatives are being undertaken to improve tourist services and infrastructures. Cruise ship passengers will be able to begin and end their voyages in the port of Cartagena for the first time this year, rather than simply stopping off for a few hours in the Costa Cálida, and at the same time the efforts to make the Mar Menor area even more attractive to visitors continue.

The extended and refurbished marina of Lo Pagán is set to re-open during the spring, offering 150 new mooring points and improved facilities, and in La Manga del Mar Menor both the regional government and the Town Hall of Cartagena are proposing ways in which the severe summer traffic congestion could be eased. The government in Murcia is studying the possibility of making lanes on the dual carriageway which runs the length of the strip reversible, a move which could contribute significantly to making driving in La Manga a less stressful (and time-consuming) option than it has become over the last few years in the months of July and August, while the Town Hall of Cartagena has announced that the intention is to open a free car park this summer in Cabo de Palos, allowing visitors to park and take public transport as they head north along the strip. The specific location of this car park has not yet been confirmed.

However, other issues along the coastline in the municipality of Cartagena remain unresolved: the project to rid the beach at Los Urrutias of the mud and sludge which have been sporadically deterring bathers in recent years appears to have stalled again, and in Playa Honda the medical centre remains closed. This week it has been announced that temporary porta-cabins are to house a makeshift clinic in neighbouring Playa Paraíso during the summer, but a more permanent solution is still being sought as the council in Cartagena continues to concentrate on improving services in outlying districts.

Meanwhile, in El Portús 3-D photographic techniques are being employed to determine how the cliff-face can be stabilized, but 18 months after the occupants of eleven properties were evacuated in July 2014 following an incident in which a large boulder fell onto the beach, no real progress has been made towards re-housing them.

Cartagena seeks botelleo solution

In what has been a busy week for the Town Hall of Cartagena another topic under scrutiny has been the “botelleo” outdoor drinking sessions of which adolescents and young adults in the Region of Murcia are so fond. Recent surveys suggest that adolescents choose to organize botelleo sessions not in order to over-indulge in alcohol but merely as a way of meeting up with friends, but however social they might be they can still be a nuisance to residents. 

For this reason Mayor José López is intent on finding a solution of compromise: he recognizes that young people will continue to meet in public places no matter what legislation might be designed, and suggests that the best that can be done is to find a place where residents are not affected and encourage them to meet at that venue. Some see this as highly controversial, as it effectively condones the consumption of alcohol by youngsters in public, while others are of the view that it is more practical than polemical.

Environmentalists have this week completed the installation of new information boards along the banks of the River Segura in Calasparra and Cieza, and further downstream in Murcia the successful clean-up of the tenth-century dam and weir of the Contraparada has sparked calls for more regular actions of this kind to be undertaken, preserving a key element in the irrigation system implemented by the Moors nearly a thousand years ago which is still in use today.

Other items in the news over the last seven days have included a brief visit by King Felipe VI to the air base of Alcantarilla, where he took time off from attempting to encourage the formation of a national government to visit the paratroopers unit as he had planned to do in December. That trip was postponed when the news broke of two Spanish policemen having lost their lives in a terrorist attack in Kabul. 

But for lots of locals the best news of the week is that Newcastle United will be playing a friendly against Lillestrom at the La Manga Club Resort during their training camp on the 20th February and entry is free!

All welcome!

Carnival draws to a close

The first half of the week now ending was dominated by the continuing celebrations of Carnival throughout the Region of Murcia, and while as usual the most popular and spectacular of these events was in Águilas (where representatives from Notting Hill were in attendance to learn from their counterparts in south-west Murcia), other examples of fun, noise, colour and glamour were found elsewhere, Santiago de la Ribera and Mazarrón being just two examples, and the burning of Don Carnal in Cartagena provided some eye-catching images. 

Now that Carnival is practically over (although there are more events this weekend) Valentine’s Day is upon us, and within a little over a month the Easter Week processions begin. It’s not true to say that Murcia is constantly in fiesta season, but it does sometimes feel that way!

Click for the Murcia Today What's on bulletin for Carnival programmes and many other events across the region this coming week.

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Property news in Murcia

The latest government figures regarding residential property sales, which were published on Wednesday morning, showed a continuation in December 2015 of the rising trend in the number of transactions registered both in Spain as a whole and in the Region of Murcia specifically.

During 2015 the total of property transactions in Murcia reached 11,072, an increase of 12.6% on the 2014 equivalent. The fact that the monthly sales figures of close to 1,000 in Murcia are nowhere near those which were recorded in 2007, at the end of the property boom, is not worrying analysts, who forecast that the market will continue to recover buoyancy during 2016.

Meanwhile, the tourism authorities are promoting certified tourist apartments in an attempt to present an image of quality accommodation in the Costa Cálida and clamp down on clandestine rentals. At present representatives of the construction and property development sector welcome the initiative, and work is now under way to establish classification criteria for rental properties.

See a wide range of properties for sale or rent in Murcia:

Currency Exchange Rate this week

It's important to keep an eye on the exchange rate if buying a property or transferring your pension

Anyone exchanging their pension from Pound Sterling to Euros or buying a property will be aware of just how much difference the rate can make to the amount they will have to spend and for major purchases, such as a property, transferring cash at the right moment can make a difference of several thousand Euros.

Spanish news round-up, week ending 12th February 2016

Political deadlock and the Nóos trial dominate the Spanish headlines

Once again the dominant topic in the Spanish news this week has been the difficulties facing Pedro Sánchez of the PSOE as he struggles to form a workable government following last December’s general election, with the four-way deadlock between the main political parties showing no signs of being broken.

On Friday Sr Sánchez is meeting current President Mariano Rajoy of the PP, who turned down an opportunity to try to form a government after the party won 123 of the 350 seats in parliament, and one of the least unlikely scenarios being suggested by analysts is a “grand coalition” between the two parties who have been in opposition to each other practically since the return of democracy to Spain after the death of General Franco. The challenge for Sr Rajoy and Sr Sánchez will be to focus on the common ground shared by their parties, having spent so many years concentrating on the differences between them and the faults of their traditional opponents. 

This might seem improbable, but other doors appear to be even more firmly closed, with all parties drawing up “red lines” which they are not prepared to cross.

On occasions it seems that the political leaders cannot agree even on what to wear, and the normally informally-attired Pablo Iglesias (jeans and checked shirts even for formal occasions) stunned everyone at the weekend by turning up at the Goya film awards ceremony in Madrid wearing a dinner jacket and bow tie. This time the least formally dressed of the political leaders present was Pedro Sánchez, whose open-collared shirt made him look rather under-dressed, a shock for commentators and photographers as he is usually the snappiest dresser present.

In the light of so many disagreements some analysts are viewing a repeat of the general election as increasingly likely, among them former President Felipe González. On the other hand, though, so much is at stake that there is always a chance that a multi-party agreement can be forged which would avoid this scenario, and that Spanish politicians are adept at finding common ground at the last possible moment is attested to by the events last year in Andalucía and in January of this year in Catalunya. 

Caught up in all the political manoeuvring is the figure of King Felipe VI, who is treading a fine line between remaining impartial and encouraging the formation of a government, while at the same time dealing with the negative publicity being brought upon the Monarchy by the Nóos Case trial in which his sister Princess Cristina is among the accused. 

The trial began on Tuesday, and since then evidence given by the former regional president of the Balearics seems to have incriminated Cristina’s husband, Iñaki Urdangarín, still further. The Princess is accused of being a knowing accomplice to her husband’s misappropriation of public funds and tax evasion, as a result of which he faces a number of years in jail if found guilty, but she has appeared relaxed in court and will now declare on 19th February, a week earlier than was originally scheduled. 

The CIvil War still causes controversy

While these are the main topics preoccupying the Spanish press at the moment, other conflicts from Spain’s recent past refuse to go away. The Civil War may have ended 77 years ago but it still causes furious debate, especially regarding the implementation of the controversial Historical Memory Law, and this has been one of the constantly recurring news themes in Madrid over the last couple of weeks. 

The Town Hall in Madrid contracted Mirta Núñez, a professor at the Universidad Complutense, to compile a list of street names which could be viewed as glorifying or exalting the regime of General Franco and the repression during and after the Spanish Civil War with a view to changing them, and her suggestions contained some surprising items, including streets named after surrealist artist Salvador Dalí and bullfighter Manolete. Criticism rained in on her, and despite receiving support from eminent historians such as Ian Gibson and Paul Preston Sra Núñez resigned her commission later in the week.

Basque separatism and Madrid puppeteers

Another long-lasting internal conflict in Spain concerns the issue of Basque separatism, which despite the fact that some are anticipating the imminent disbanding of the ETA terrorist group was once again on the front pages. Standing trial in Madrid, former ETA leader Eneko Gogeaskoetxea denied attempting to assassinate King Juan Carlos I of Spain at the inauguration ceremony of Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum in 1997, maintaining that the intention of the ETA commando group on 18th October 1997 was to cause damage to the building rather than to kill the King. 

However, even more controversial was the furore over the arrests of two Carnival puppeteers in Madrid last Friday. Their satirical show for adults was mistakenly billed as family entertainment, but in fact included scenes of rape, violence and an apparent glorification of Basque separatist terrorism, and in consequence they were held in custody until this Wednesday when their release was welcomed in almost all quarters.

But if the events so in Madrid demonstrate that satirists run the risk of being misunderstood and imprisoned, then in Ourense it seems that the risk extends even to those who satirize the satirists. So quickly did the news of the puppeteers’ arrest spread throughout Spain that in the early hours of Tuesday morning a young man dressed up as a puppeteer for the night’s Carnival celebrations, even sporting a banner with the same slogan as the one which led to the arrests in Madrid.

To his dismay, though, he was spotted by seven or eight eagle-eyed local policeman who ushered him to a police van, confiscated the placard and took down details of his name and identity number. If charges are pressed he could yet find himself in the national courts facing accusations of exalting terrorism.

Severe weather greeted Carnival in northern Spain

Elsewhere in Spain the Carnival celebrations were a good deal less controversial, with some of the least conventional ones involving the bear of Salcedo who terrorizes residents of A Pobra de Brollón in Galicia and the antics of Miel Otxin, Zaldiko and Ziripot in Lantz, in Navarra. What relation these characters have to the start of Lent is not clear, but when it comes down to it they are just as good an excuse to enjoy a rowdy and noisy fiesta as those which occur in the rest of Spain!

As winter weather spread over much of Spain the waves of over ten metres on the northern coast claimed one life, when a 20-month-old baby was swept out to sea while walking with his father and grandfather on a beach in Asturias. At least the rain was welcomed in Barcelona after a record period of drought, clearing the air so effectively that Mallorca was visible on the horizon, but even the south-east is bracing itself for a cold spell next week as winter finally takes hold. 

Environment and wildlife news

A number of environment and wildlife stories hit the news during the week, including that of a Galicia cattle farmer who is on the run after maltreating his cows to such an extent that 90 died on his small farm in the tiny village of Cezar. 

Similar outrage was caused by the massacre of 50 goats on the small island of Es Vedrà, just off the coast of Ibiza. The reason for the cull was to protect the 166 plant species on the island, 12 of which are endemic, but needless to say animal rights activists were unimpressed. 

In Andalucía, meanwhile, environmentalists were appalled by the fires which were started deliberately and devastated approximately 130 hectares in the Alpujarras mountains of the provinces of Granada and Almería, but at the same delighted with the decision by the regional government to withdraw plans for a beach bar and restaurant on the Playa de Mónsul in Cabo de Gata. For the time being the old Guardia Civil building on the beach will remain unused, and Mónsul will continue to be admired as a completely unspoilt stretch of the Almería coastline.

At the same time, another aspect of the environment in Spain is being studied at first hand by scientists who are voyaging 400 metres below the surface of the Atlantic to examine the underwater volcano off the island of El Hierro, where gases are still being emitted following the eruptions of 2011 and 2012.

Crime, punishment and the slowness of justice

Various stories crime-related issues have also caught the eye over recent days. In Cádiz a Town Hall employee has been ordered to return 30,000 euros to the council after a court ruled that he had effectively done absolutely nothing to justify his salary for “at least” six years, while in Madrid statistics were published showing that over 10% of the city’s rubbish containers had to be replaced in only six months due to vandalism. 

In Girona a woman has been arrested for selling non-existent airline tickets and pocketing the deposits paid, and in Andalucía the brother of a would-be illegal immigrant who died while hiding in a suitcase on the back seat of his car on the ferry to Almería last year received a suspended two-year prison sentence. The court pronounced the man guilty of homicide by negligence. 

As the fight against Jihadism continues seven members of a group which was shipping arms and other supplies to Daesh were arrested, five of them in Alicante, bringing the total of such arrests in Spain up to 83 since January 2015, but one of the most widely reported crime stories of the week concerns a man who was found not guilty.

For Romano van der Dussen, Thursday marked the end of a twelve-year nightmare, as he walked free from prison in Palma de Mallorca after serving most of a sentence for three sex crimes, one of which has since been attributed to a British man with the other two almost certainly having been committed by the same person. Mr van der Dussen was sentenced in 2003, but DNA evidence proving that he was not the murderer of 18-year-old Sally Bowman emerged in 2007, and it is hard to comprehend how over 8 years have been necessary for this to be translated into his exoneration.

On the day of his release, far from being joyful, the Dutchman remained stern-faced, asserting that nothing can make up for the 12 lost years he has suffered. During that period his mother has died and his daughter has grown up and now, aged 43, he says that he has been set free with 33 euros and a plastic bag containing three items of clothing. He has no plans, no job, no money and no aim, he says, other than to clear his name of the other two crimes with which he is still associated. 

A survey carried out late last year concluded that the vast majority of the Spanish public believe that the justice system in this country is too slow and is in need of an in-depth review, and cases such as this one clearly highlight the need for reforms.

 “And now they wish me luck?” Romano van der Dussen is reported to have asked rhetorically in a media interview, and few would dispute his right to feel bitter.

Spanish property news 

The news in the Spanish property market this week was dominated by the publication of the provisional year-end sales figures for 2015, which showed that the number of residential property transactions for the year reached 354,132, an increase of 11.1% on the 2014 figure. This consolidates the trend towards steady growth, and since March 2014 the year-on-year comparison has been positive in 21 out of 22 months.

While of course sales figures at the moment are not even approaching the levels of activity seen in 2007, at the end of the property boom, this should not give cause for concern: a gradual growth in activity is preferable, and as the first data related to 2016 are awaited there is some confidence that the recovery of the property market in Spain will continue along sustainable lines.

The most active regional property markets in December were once again reported to be in the Balearics and the Comunidad Valenciana, followed by Andalucía, Murcia and Madrid. As usual, the Valencia figures are boosted by the very buoyant situation in the Costa Blanca province of Alicante, where there were approximately 150 sales registered per 100,000 inhabitants, and a similar level of activity is reported in the province of Málaga, home of the Costa del Sol.

In Barcelona, meanwhile, the revolutionary housing policies adopted by Mayoress Ada Colau continue to make the front pages. The latest development in the city is that squatters could be made legal residents of the social housing properties they occupy if they meet certain requirements, according to proposed new regulations concerning the adjudication of social housing to families in need. 

New draft regulations propose that if a family has been occupying a property illegally for two years it will only be necessary for them to obtain a favourable report from the housing authorities and to show that they have not been “conflictive” neighbours in order to be allowed to continue in residence, and only slightly less restrictive conditions apply to those who have been living illegally in apartments for less time. 

Elsewhere in the property news an interesting interpretation has been published regarding data which were published last November by Eurostat, showing that more people live in apartments rather than houses in Spain than in any other EU country. Among various reasons for this, apparently, is the fact that in Spain the constant conflicts of the Middle Ages died out much later than elsewhere in Europe, and as a result most large towns and cities were surrounded by walled fortifications. This necessarily meant that a large number of people were crowded into a small area, and as the population grew and more housing was required, for builders, quite literally, the only way was up.

It is no exaggeration to state that in past centuries, for reasons of security, Spaniards ended up living on top of one another, and while in most of western Europe conflicts died out and towns spread outside the walls, in Spain they continued to be frequent and bloody. A fascinating theory!

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