đ Spain Debates Abortion (Again?)
Plus: Mr Handsome and Orange Man shake hands, autĂłnomos get the shaft, and a legendary matador retires.
Madrid | Issue #121
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When in doubt, fight.
đ€Šââïž Letâs scream at each other about abortion and call it a day
Spainâs political class has been screaming so loudly about abortion this week that you could be excused for thinking that somebody was trying to ban the procedureâor make having one obligatory.
How feverish had the debate gotten by the time we wrote these lines? Well, Prime Minister Pedro SĂĄnchez of the center-left PSOE got all solemn and intoned that because some regional governments (*cough*, đ«” Madrid) were not fulfilling the law protecting the right to abortion âfor reasons of ideology, dogmatism, and sectarianismâ, it was imperative for his government to propose a constitutional amendment protecting the right to abortion.
No, you! Madrid regional president Isabel DĂaz Ayuso of the center-right PP hit back by calling upon her authority as a woman whoâd had two miscarriages to dub SĂĄnchez a âlittle macho manâ. Weâre not totally sure what that means, but đ. Letâs dig in!
So how did we get here? Letâs roll back to last week, when we told you about the chaos sparked by Madrid Mayor JosĂ© Luis MartĂnez-Almeidaâs decision to back a far-right Vox motion forcing doctors to warn women about âpost-abortion syndrome.â
The backlash was instant. Scientists dismissed it as junk science, feminists as misogyny, and Almeida sheepishly backtracked. But the controversy opened a political Pandoraâs box. Like, never let a disaster go to waste, right?
So abortion, a supposedly settled issue in Spain, was shoved back on center stage. And this week, the debate went nuclear.
First step. The SĂĄnchez government took the opportunity to remind four communities (most prominently the PP-run Madrid) that a 2023 law required them to guarantee the right to abortion in public health centers, and demanded that they supply the required lists of public system doctors who would not offer abortions (i.e., âconscientious objectorsâ). They had not done this at the time.
Mellow reply to start. PP leader Alberto Nuñez FeijĂło initially said the party would ârespect the lawâ and supply the required lists to avoid re-litigating abortion, but by Monday, he had changed his tune, suggesting that instead of a list of objectors, Spain should have a list of doctors willing to perform abortions, a semantic but telling shift. But anyway, it bears noting that no community (PP or otherwise) was blocking abortions.
Theater time. Not long after the list reminder, PM SĂĄnchez, sensing an opportunity to accentuate the ideological gap between the PSOE and the PP, announced that his government would seek to enshrine the right to abortion in the Constitution, a move designed as much for political theater as for legal protection.
All legal and stuff. Backed by PSOEâs coalition partner Sumar, the reform would add a new clause to Article 43 explicitly guaranteeing âthe right of women to voluntary termination of pregnancy,â and forcing public institutions to ensure equal access across Spain.
Equality and Health ministers Ana Redondo and MĂłnica GarcĂa framed it as a shield against âthe reactionary waveâ threatening womenâs rights worldwide, and as a way to counter âthe privatization of healthcareâ in regions like Madrid and Andalusia, where less than 1% of abortions take place in the public system.
The proposal, of course, is unlikely to wonât pass â it would need three-fifths support in both chambers, meaning the PPâs backing, which is not happening. But itâs a political move â not something meant to actually accomplish anything, silly.
From SĂĄnchezâs point of view, it allows the left to look like the defender of womenâs rights, while making the PP appear confused and divided (which is not hard sometimes).
From some on the right, it was time for a fight. Ayuso, in full culture-warrior mode, accused SĂĄnchez of speaking about abortion like âa little macho manâ â âWho does he think he is, speaking on behalf of all women?â she asked, and wondered aloud if he thought he was god. In a personal turn, she also revealed sheâs had two miscarriages, and called abortion âa dramaâ and âa societal failure.â (Obviously, voluntary abortions and miscarriages are different, but she presumably meant they were both sad.)
While insisting that the procedure should remain âlegal, safe, and rare,â she slammed the idea of compiling any kind of registry and vowed that there would be âno blacklistsâ in Madrid. âWeâve gone from the lessons of Franco to the lessons of SĂĄnchez,â she said, accusing the government of politicizing grief and faith and, we suppose, equating Mr Handsome with the pint-sized dictator.
Even the mild(er)-mannered Almeida bashed SĂĄnchez. Why? Basically, for cynical politicking. âHeâs acting in his own interest,â Almeida said. âFor him, women are a vulgar excuse, in my opinion, to stay in power.â Ouch.
Where do we stand now? We mentioned that the constitutional amendment wouldnât happen, right? Well, it wonât. And abortions will pretty much go on as before. But we are pretty much assured of lots of yelling and disingenuous arguments, following by some distraction that will move us on to another fight. And Madrid? It will probably supply a list. But not just yet.
In a nutshell, The Simpsons summed up this week pretty well 30 years ago:
More news below. đđ
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đŹ Five things to discuss at dinner parties
1.đïž PM SĂĄnchezâs rollercoaster of a trip to Egypt
It looks like we have peace in Gaza and Israel. Thatâs something to celebrate, along with the return of the Israeli hostages and the ceasefire. But amidst the celebration/long exhale, a peace summit in Egypt meant to celebrate the agreement ended up being overshadowed (at least in Spain) by the curious encounter between PM SĂĄnchez and U.S. President Donald Trump.
The peacemaker. World leaders gathered in Egypt on Monday to witness the signing of the long-awaited deal, largely choreographed by Trump, who made sure to position himself as the star of the show.
Amid the photo ops and political theater? There was SĂĄnchez, whose presence carried particular weight given his governmentâs critical stance toward Israel throughout the Gaza war.
Still mad. SĂĄnchez is one of the few European leaders to have openly referred to Israelâs military campaign as genocide. While he welcomed the peace accord, he is still mad at his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Not over yet. âPeace cannot mean forgetting or impunity,â he said, repeating that Spain will maintain its arms embargo on Israel and support international efforts to investigate war crimes at the International Criminal Court.
But thatâs not the thing. Still, what dominated headlines wasnât Spainâs position on the Middle East, but the unexpected handshake between SĂĄnchez and Trump (see video above).
Whereâs the beef? Letâs remember that only a few days ago, Trump suggested Spain maybe could be kicked out of NATO for refusing to meet a new target of 5% of GDP in defense spending (Spain thinks only 2% is enough).
But theyâre now friends? Yet the yanky handshake, the rictus smiles, and the painful back patting between the two â captured on video â quickly went viral. Were they friends again? Or âfriendsâ? Or âfrenemiesâ? Or just two men who smile but donât like one another?
Reading the Trumpian Rosetta Stone. On top of that, a few moments later, when Trump was addressing the summit, he asked, âWhereâs Spain? Are you guys working on [SĂĄnchez] with respect to the GDP? Weâll get close, but⊠fantastic job youâre doing.â Journalists scrambled to interpret the moment.
Glass half full. Pro-government outlets in Spain framed it as proof of international respect for SĂĄnchez and the countryâs economic progress (the âfantastic jobâ part).
Glass half empty. Conservative media, meanwhile, zeroed in on Trumpâs âGDP comment,â describing it as another public humiliation for Mr. Handsome.
Moncloa described the meeting as âcordial,â and SĂĄnchez later told Cadena SER that relations with the U.S. remain âconstructive,â even if âthere are differences in worldview between a progressive government and the Trump administration.â
But in classic Trump fashion, the dĂ©tente didnât last 24 hours. By Tuesday evening, Trump once again lashed out â calling Spain âvery disrespectful to NATOâ and threatening tariffs for not doing what he wants.
You will pay! He accused Spain of benefiting from U.S. protection without paying its share, insisting the country should be punished economically.
He had to say something. Speaking from China (where he was meeting his Chinese counterpart), Spainâs Foreign Minister, JosĂ© Manuel Albares, defended Spainâs âsolidâ commitment to the Alliance, saying weâre a âreliable allyâ.
Our friends in Brussels. The EU also wasted no time in pushing back against Trumpâs threat yesterday, reminding Washington that negotiating trade policy is an exclusive EU power, meaning that any attempt to target a member state would be met with a collective response from the bloc.
Moving on. By the time you read this, Americaâs Tariff-in-Chief will most likely have moved on to another target. At least Spainâs olive growers are hoping so.
2. đłïž Spainâs polls say the craziest things!
Weâre going to say something wild about political polls. That is, they tend to reflect whoâs footing the bill. Call us cynical â but this weekâs numbers did exactly 0ïžâŁ to prove us wrong. Letâs count the polls.
The CIS public research institute dropped a poll Monday showing the PSOE of PM SĂĄnchez, which faces a raft of scandals from the Koldo and Ăbalos kickback cases to corruption investigations into SĂĄnchezâs wife and brother, pulling away from the PP with a 15-point lead â 35% to 20% âŒïžâ with a rising far-right Vox nipping at the PPâs heels with 18%. The far left (Sumar+Podemos) limped it with a combined 13%.
Should you believe it?. Take the numbers with a grain (or 100) of salt. the CIS director JosĂ© FĂ©lix Tezanos is a former PSOE party exec who was handpicked by SĂĄnchez. Since his arrival in 2018, the CIS has grown a lot more PSOE friendly. đ€Ł
Then came polls from SocioMĂ©trica (for El Español) and SigmaDos (for El Mundo). Both showed the mirror image: PP crushing PSOE đ„ â roughly 34% to 27% â with Vox steady near 16%. Their seat projections? Enough for the PP to govern, with a little help from Vox.
And the lean? Letâs just say neither of the right-leaning (or at least âliberalâ) El Español and El Mundo are exactly SĂĄnchez fan clubs.
GESOP and 40dB also published polls, and they fellâŠin the middle. The PP won the elections in both, but only by a point, while Vox made great strides, and the left faded. The GESOP poll offered seat predictions, and they found that PP could form a government, but only with major help from (and probably a coalition with) Vox.
Their sponsors? The GESOP poll was performed for Prensa IbĂ©rica, which owns El PeriĂłdico de Catalunya, while the 40dB poll came from El PaĂs, both of which are PSOE-friendly papers, though not quite Tezanos-level loyal.
So whatâs actually happening? Strip away the spin and the PP still leads â but by less. Voxâs anti-bipartidismo rhetoric is eating into its base, especially among young voters who see the establishment (left and right) as hopelessly out of touch.
The moral of the story. In Spain, as elsewhere, polls often double as wish-fulfillment for whoeverâs footing the bill.
3. đ§ The Tax Man cometh (again) for the self-employed
Are you an autĂłnomo (self-employed) worker in Spain? Well, you may see your social security payment (cuota) jump. A lot. Like crazy lots. Why?
The government presented its proposal for monthly cuotas for 2026-8. Their tentative plan, released this week, would raise the monthly pay-in to the social security system between 4% and 35% (depending on how much you earn) in 2026. And then by similar percentages the next two yearsâŠ
And by the end of this rise? The self-employed in Spain would be paying between 20% and 38% of their income in social security cuotas. Which sounds not so cray-cray đ€Ș until you realize they also have to pay IRPF income tax that runs from 19% to 47% of net earnings. Which, when you add them together, is a lot, right? (Yes, we know there are deductions that reduce those percentages, butâŠjeez.)
Whatâs going on? Until 2022, autĂłnomos could get away with paying âŹ200-300 a month, on the understanding that the low pay-in meant their pension upon retirement would be very small. But then the government and various unions (note: including the autĂłnomos union) agreed to slowly raise them until autĂłnomos were paying cuotas based on their actual income. Which sounds all well and good, until you realizeâŠ
Salary Man doesnât pay nearly that much. People with a regular j-o-b only pay about 6-7% in social security because their employer covers the rest, around 30% (this, in part, is why workers are so expensive in Spain).
And retirees get a good bit of money. Recently, new retireesâ average monthly pension surpassed the average salary of someone under 35 (âŹ1,760 vs. âŹ1,670). Which seems sorta backwards, right?
So thatâs the issue. With fairly high pension payments and an aging population (i.e., lots more retirees in the pipeline), Spain needs money to finance its unsustainable social security system. And where can you find loose change? You got it: autĂłnomos. The increased cuotas would raise some âŹ5.8bn, the autĂłnomo union ATA calculates.
Now people are unhappy. Upon seeing the proposal, the ATA boss Lorenzo Amor called it a sablazoâthat is, a cut of a sword âïž, slashing autĂłnomos.
Whatâs next? No one wants to be the Tax Man here, and every party from the PP and Vox to PSOE coalition partner Sumar have rejected the hikes. And that matters, because they need to pass parliament to become law. So expect horse trading. And if it fails? The 2025 payment levels might just be rolled over. Oops! đ€
4. đ Morante, the bullfighter who wore his heart on his sleeve, calls it quits
This will shock you to hear, but no one at The Bubble spends any time watching bullfighting (donât call us woke, please. Itâs very reductive). However, some tauromachy stories are worth covering because of how culturally relevant they are. This is one of them.
In one of the most emotional (if youâre into that kind of stuff) and unexpected moments in recent Spanish bullfighting history, the bullfighter Morante de la Puebla announced his retirement this Sunday after nearly three decades in the ring.
The 46-year-old torero from Seville stunned the crowd at Madridâs Las Ventas ring during the Corrida de la Hispanidad when, after earning two ears and leaving through the Puerta Grande (i.e., being celebrated for leading an amazing duel), he walked calmly to the center of the arena and cut off his coleta â the small ponytail that symbolizes a bullfighterâs career. And, unexpectedly, retired. đ
Morante (born José Antonio Morante Camacho) has long been considered one of the last true artists of bullfighting. He debuted as a novillero (an aspiring bullfighter who has not yet attained the rank of matador) in Madrid in 1995 and went on to achieve legendary status for his old-school style.
His 2021 National Bullfighting Prize and his performance in the 2023 Feria de Abril in Seville â where he received the first tail awarded to a matador in 52 years â sealed his place among the greats.
Whispers of retirement had circled for months, but the timing still shocked fans. Morante has often hinted at disillusionment with modern bullfighting, lamenting that todayâs bulls are âtoo bigâ for toreo de arte (an artistic bullfighter) and admitting he sometimes felt âboredâ by the profession.
Relatably vulnerable. But mostly, Morante also revealed he has been battling a dissociative disorder, a mental health condition that, in his words, âdisconnects the emotions from the body.â After decades of struggling with the illness, which he described as âvery complex, sad, and painful,â he decided to step away and prioritize his health.
His final acts were as theatrical as his career. Morante dedicated his first bull to Madrid regional president Isabel DĂaz Ayuso, from the center-right PP, and his fourth to far-right Vox leader Santiago Abascal, two of bullfightingâs most vocal political defenders.
When the fight ended, he knelt, cut his ponytail, and left the arena in tears as fans chanted ÂĄTorero, torero! and showered him with applause.
But the night didnât end there. Surrounded by a crowd of hundreds outside the Hotel Wellington (where he was staying), Morante later appeared on his balcony â wearing a bathrobe, holding a glass of champagne, and kissing the Spanish flag â a farewell both absurd and poetic, perfectly in keeping with his flair for the dramatic.
Mic drop. With that, Morante de la Puebla â bullfightingâs last great romantic â exited the ring for good.
5.đ Antonio died in his apartment 15 years ago. Nobody noticed until now
Prepare to be sad. Valencia was shaken this week by the discovery of Antonio, a man who had been dead inside his apartment for 15 years â without anyone realizing it.
His mummified body was found over the weekend after firefighters entered his apartment to deal with flooding caused by recent rains. What they found inside left even seasoned officers speechless.
Antonio, who would have been 86 this year, lived alone in a modest unit on Calle Luis Fenollet, in the working-class Fuensanta neighborhood.
He had two children but hadnât spoken to them in more than 30 years. Neighbors described him as polite but reserved (the usual description for the tragically deceased and serial killers) â a man who kept to himself, went for walks, and occasionally stopped at the local bar. When he disappeared, everyone assumed heâd moved to a nursing home or gone to live with family. But nobody thought to check.
The signs of his absence went unnoticed for 15 years (sorry for the italics, but we just had to say, like, wow). His bills and community fees continued to be paid through direct debit. Even his pension was still being deposited each month.
The building administrator had taken him to court over unpaid fees years agoâ but after a bank embargo, the debt was automatically settled, and the payments resumed as if nothing had happened.
Not even the local authorities realized anything was wrong, since Antonio wasnât registered for municipal assistance programs like telecare or elder support.
The discovery came by accident. Heavy rain had clogged a drain on the rooftop terrace, flooding the top floor and leaking into the apartments below.
When firefighters entered Antonioâs home to fix the issue, they found years of accumulated filth, dead pigeons, and the skeletal remains of a man who, by all appearances, had died of natural causes. Neighbors recall that around 2014, there was a strong smell in the building, but they assumed it came from pigeon poo.
Now, neighbors are left stunned â and angry. âWeâve been living with a dead man above us for fifteen years, and no one knew,â said one. Others have raised concerns about health hazards and demanded that the city clean the apartment.
Police are investigating how Antonioâs pension kept being paid for so long and whether the bank or public institutions could have detected his death earlier. (Also, who gets the money?)
Antonioâs story has captured national attention not just because of its mystery, but because of what it reveals about modern isolation â a man so alone that his death went unnoticed for over a decade.
In a country that prides itself on community and family, the case is forcing a painful question: how many Antonios are out there, invisible behind closed doors? đ„ș
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Weâll be back next week with more.