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LIFE IN SPAIN

FOCUS: How soaring prices are fuelling growing social unrest in Spain

A lorry drivers' strike, mass protests by farmers and fishermen, industrial production stoppages: record inflation levels have fuelled growing anger with Spain's left-wing government as energy prices go through the roof.

Published: 23 March 2022 16:41 CET
FOCUS: How soaring prices are fuelling growing social unrest in Spain
Demonstrators applaud as taxi drivers take part in a demonstration protesting the cost of fuel, in Barcelona on March 23, 2022. - A lorry drivers' strike, mass protests by farmers and fishermen, industrial production stoppages: record inflation levels have fuelled growing anger with Spain's left-wing government as energy prices go through the roof. (Photo by Josep LAGO / AFP)

After a weekend which saw tens of thousands hit the streets, demonstrators were to head out again on Wednesday for further rallies.

Under the slogan: “Rein in prices, protect jobs, stop the deterioration in living conditions”, the action has been called by Spain’s top unions, UGT and the CCOO Workers Committees.

Backed by consumer groups, the unrest comes as Spain saw consumer prices surge to their highest level in almost 35 years, with inflation jumping to 7.6 percent in February, against a backdrop of soaring energy costs, worsened by the war in Ukraine.

“We want the EU to take all the necessary measures, and at least let countries regulate prices… it can’t keep nations shackled with prices that are completely misaligned with the cost of electricity production,” said UGT boss Pepe Alvarez.

Rally organisers warn the consequences for both households and businesses are serious.

“Month-by-month, lighting bills, heating bills, the cost of petrol and diesel, food, housing and transport just keep going up. The whole of society is suffering,” they said in a statement.

The protests were called on the eve of a two-day European Council summit, which is likely to focus on measures to protect consumers from record energy prices that have been exacerbated by the Russian invasion.

Spain has been gripped by unrest since March 14th when lorry drivers launched an open-ended strike over mounting fuel prices, staging roadblocks and picket lines and leaving supermarkets with empty shelves and several sectors struggling to cope.

READ MORE: How the truck drivers’ strike is affecting life in Spain

The government is also facing a strike by fishermen who downed tools on Monday following calls by a federation of nearly 9,000 boats which says diesel prices have left many vessels working at a loss.

And there is anger in the livestock and farming sector, which has been hit by rising animal feed costs, with nearly 150,000 protesters demonstrating in Madrid on Sunday.

Customers pick up milk cartons on the shelves of a supermarket in Madrid on March 23th, 2022. (Photo by OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP)

‘EU must act as one’

It is the biggest wave of social unrest since Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez came to power in mid-2018 and is firmly backed by the opposition, notably the far-right Vox which organised Saturday’s anti-government protest in several cities.

Vox, Spain’s third largest party which is seeing a boom in support, has successfully tapped into the widespread discontent, especially in rural areas, accusing the government of being “a misery factory ruining the middle classes and the most underprivileged”.

The government is in a tight spot.

Despite taking various measures in recent months to improve low wages and contain energy prices by lowering VAT and tax on electricity production, its efforts have been all but wiped out by spiralling inflation.

In a bid to appease his critics, Sanchez has pledged to unveil “a major response plan”, set to be approved on March 29, that will include significant tax cuts.

His government has also set aside a 500-million-euro ($550-million) budget to compensate truck drivers for diesel price hikes.

However, details remain sketchy, with Sanchez on Tuesday insisting the EU should “defend its citizens… (and) act together to reduce energy prices and limit the economic harm caused by the war in Ukraine”.

Over the past week, Sanchez toured European capitals to push for a common EU response after months of lobbying for Brussels to change the mechanism which couples electricity prices to the gas market.

So far, Madrid’s pleas have fallen on deaf ears, despite support from Paris but there’s hope that could change in the coming days.

If there’s no agreement, the government has said it would push ahead alone, adopting emergency measures on March 29th.

But protesters say it is too little, too late, pointing to similar measures already in force in France and Germany.

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SPANISH TRADITIONS

Everything you need to know about Mother’s Day in Spain

Here's how and when in May Mother's Day is celebrated in Spain, and why it owes its roots to religion and a Valencian poet.

Published: 3 May 2024 13:37 CEST
Everything you need to know about Mother's Day in Spain

This year, Mother’s Day (El Día de la Madre) is celebrated in Spain on Sunday May 5th. It’s always celebrated on the first Sunday of the month of May.

On this day, young children in Spain give their mothers manualidades (crafts) they’ve made at school as a token of their love.

Husbands and older sons and daughters may buy their wives/mothers a present to say thanks for all that they do as matriarchs, which usually takes the form of a detalle (smaller present than for a birthday or Christmas), and will come accompanied by a message such as te quiero, mamá (I love you, mum).

According to experiences website Aladinia, the average Spaniards spends €65 on gifts on Mother’s Day. 

Other mums may send out text messages to wish each other ¡Feliz Día de la Madre! (Happy Mother’s Day!).

As it’s always celebrated on a Sunday, many shops will be closed but you can expect plenty of restaurants to be open for lunch and perhaps dinner. 

Depending where you’re from, the first Sunday of May may or may not be when you’re used to celebrating Mother’s Day in your home country.

Around the world over 100 countries celebrate Mother’s Day (or Mothering Sunday, more on the difference below) – 77 in May, 13 in March, and 14 at other times during the year.

Some countries, like the UK, celebrate Mothering Sunday on the fourth Sunday during Lent, meaning that the date changes each year. This is because Mothering Sunday was originally a Christian holiday in some European countries.

READ ALSO: How a female teacher campaigned for Spain to have a Father’s Day

Spain, however, celebrates Mother’s Day on the first Sunday in May each year, meaning that it doesn’t have a fixed date either. But it wasn’t always like that.

The history of Mother’s Day in Spain

The first Mother’s Day in Spain was celebrated in Madrid all the way back on October 4th, 1926. Much of the impetus for establishing a day to celebrate mothers came, rather fittingly, from a poet.

Julio Menéndez García, a Valencian poet and public servant, pushed for a special day to celebrate mothers. Spanish newspaper La Libertad published a short section on Garcìa’s efforts in October 1925:

“A Levantine poet, Julio Menéndez García, has had the happy initiative that in Spain and in the Spanish-speaking nations a day should be consecrated to extol the love of mothers. The establishment of Mother’s Day is something tender and sympathetic, which deserves to be welcomed by governments, the press and public opinion, as it involves the highest tribute to women in their most august representation.”

After the Civil War, the church moved the date to December 8th to coincide with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a key holiday among Catholics. 

Civil War-era poster urging Madrid mothers to leave the Spanish capital with their children before the arrival of Franco’s troops. (Photo by AFP)

But it wasn’t until 1965 that Mother’s Day was celebrated in May in Spain. The reason for this change of date was to separate the celebrations (both were considered important enough to have their own day) but also the influence of other countries, namely the United States.

The campaign for a Mother’s Day was originally started by Anna Jarvis, an American wanting to honour her mother, in 1908. By 1914, US President Woodrow Wilson officially signed it into law, establishing a May date. 

However, for many years in Spain department store El Corte Inglés maintained the date of 8th December, meaning that Spain Mother’s Day was celebrated twice a year for a while, commercially speaking at least.

In 1936 a local council in Breña Baja, on the Canary island of La Palma, became the first in Spain to move Mother’s Day to May.

However, in 1965 the church authorities officially decided to move Mother’s Day to May, a month consecrated to the Virgin Mary. May is also the month of female gods in the classical world, and in Catholicism is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Interestingly, Jarvis herself later campaigned against the day, arguing it had become overly commercialised, something Spaniards often bemoan about other imported American customs like Halloween and Valentine’s Day. 

READ ALSO: How a female teacher campaigned for Spain to have a Father’s Day

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