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PROTESTS

Thousands protest in Madrid over Catalan amnesty bill

Thousands of people on Saturday protested in Madrid against an amnesty bill the Spanish government reached this week with Catalan independence parties, demanding the resignation of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

Published: 9 March 2024 19:06 CET
A protestor holds a banner reading
A protestor holds a banner reading "Pedro (Sanchez), traitor" and "Spain is not for sale" during a demonstration called by Foro Libertad y Alternativa with other unionist associations against the government's amnesty law for people involved in Catalonia's failed 2017 independence bid, in Cibeles square in Madrid, on March 9, 2024. (Photo by Pierre-Philippe MARCOU / AFP)

Sanchez pledged last year to pass an amnesty exonerating people prosecuted for their role in Catalonia’s failed 2017 independence bid — in exchange for crucial parliamentary support from hardline Catalan separatist party JxCat.

Around 15,000 flocked to Cibeles Square in the historic centre of Madrid, waving Spanish flags and chanting “Sanchez resign”. 

Some carried a large banner depicting Sanchez with a Hitler moustache that said in English: “Spain is no longer a democracy. It’s beginning to be a dictatorship. SOS Europe.”

Civil groups called the protest, which was attended by right-wing and far-right parties, when the draft amnesty law was approved on Thursday by the parliament’s justice committee.

MPs are expected to vote on it on March 14.

Sanchez’s Socialists failed to secure a majority in the inconclusive general election in July and his fragile left-wing minority government needs support from other parties to pass legislation.

MPs rejected a first amnesty bill in January, with JxCat MPs saying it did not protect all the relevant people, starting with exiled ex-Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont.

The Socialists and the Catalan parties advocating independence for the wealthy northeastern region agreed on Wednesday on a strengthened bill that they said complied with “the constitution, the law and European
jurisprudence”.

But the right and far right say it is unconstitutional.

Ester Munoz, an MP for the main right-wing opposition Popular Party, accused the government of engaging in a “corrupt deal” to swap “impunity” for separatists in return for votes in parliament.

The far-right Vox party, the third largest group in parliament, branded the government as “evil”.

However, Sanchez defended the bill during a party meeting in the northwestern city of Bilbao and insisted it would “strengthen” democracy.

Sanchez said the bill would smooth “the path of reconciliation” in Catalonia.

Protester Ana Garcia, a 50-year-old lawyer who declined to say which political party she supported, said the amnesty law “made some Spaniards more equal than others”.

“Our democracy is in trouble (because) Sanchez has no limits,” she told AFP.

Meanwhile, Sanchez announced that he would push Congress to recognise a Palestinian state before the end of his mandate in 2027.

“We will do it because of moral conviction, because it’s a just cause, but also because it is the only way that two states — Israel and Palestine — can live together and coexist in peace and security,” said Sanchez.

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TOURISM

‘It’s become unliveable’: Spain’s Málaga plans protests against mass tourism

After recent protests in the Canaries and seemingly growing anti-tourism sentiment across Spain, locals in the Costa del Sol city of Málaga are also planning demonstrations in June against the 'touristification' of their city.

Published: 2 May 2024 11:20 CEST
'It's become unliveable': Spain's Málaga plans protests against mass tourism

Locals in Málaga are set to take to the streets in protest against mass-tourism in June, demanding an end to the ‘touristification’ of their city.

This comes after large protests in the Canary Islands in recent weeks and growing anti-tourist sentiment around the country.

Tension among locals in places such as Barcelona, Valencia, the Balearic and Canary Islands, as well as Málaga, stems from frustration with the mass tourism model and its impact on their cities.

READ ALSO: Why Spain is a cheap mass tourism destination

Often, it is also about the post-pandemic influx of remote workers and digital nomads from abroad, many of whom come to Spain to enjoy a (relatively speaking) cheaper cost of living with high foreign wages and purchasing power than many local Spaniards struggle to compete with.

READ ALSO: Mass protests in Spain’s Canary Islands decry overtourism

In this sense, much of the building anti-mass tourism sentiment brewing in Spain is bundled up in a more general (and at times somewhat confused or misplaced) anti-foreigner feeling that views outsiders, whether it be traditional tourists or digital nomads, as exploiting Spain and the expense of Spaniards.

In cities such as Málaga, locals are being priced out of their own neighbourhoods as more and more properties are turned into short-term tourist rentals owned by landlords (many of them Spaniards or commercial multi-property owners) wanting to cash in.

A growing number of Malagueños have had enough and will take to the streets on June 29th under the slogan ‘for decent housing and against the processes of touristification and precariousness of life’.

The event’s aim is to protest the tourist model in the city: ‘Málaga has become an unliveable city for those of us who live there. It is over! For a Málaga to live in and not to survive’ are among the catchphrases expected to be used at the demonstration.

Organised by the Málaga Tenants Union, the protest will challenge the ‘exploitation of housing, work and life’ in the Andalusian city.

Locals would say this has been a long time coming. In many ways, Málaga has become a victim of its own success, particularly after it was voted as the best city for foreign residents in the InterNations Expat City Ranking 2023. In the post-pandemic period, scores of foreigners have moved to the city.

READ ALSO:  Why Spain’s Málaga is becoming a victim of its own success

So much so that eight out of 10 new residents moving to Málaga are currently foreigners, according to recent data from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE). Stats show that in 2022 Málaga welcomed a total of 56,242 inhabitants, of which 44,656 were foreigners and 11,586 were Spanish nationals.

In recent months the city has become inundated with anti-tourist stickers.

“This used to be my home” (antes esta era mi casa) , “go f*cking home” (a tu puta casa), “stinking of tourist” (apestando a turista), “this used to be the city centre” (antes esto era el centro) and “Your dead loved ones, mayor” (Alcalde tus muertos) are some of the hostile messages recently adorning walls and doors in Málaga.

READ ALSO: ‘Get the f*ck out of here’: Spain’s Málaga plastered with anti-tourism stickers

The growing foreign population, combined with the pre-existing mass tourist model, has inflated the local property market. Rental prices have increased by 16.5 percent compared since the end of 2022 and have now reached an average of €15.5/m2, stats from property portal Idealista show, while the cost to buy a home in Málaga has increased by 11 percent to an average of €3,049/m2, reaching a new historic high.

According to a study by HelloSafe, Málaga is the second most expensive province in the country when compared to the average salary, just behind Barcelona. It estimates that 81 percent of the average salary in Málaga is used on living and rent.

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