đ° Spain's top prosecutor is now one step from facing trial
Plus: Ayuso goes rogue, Argentina's Milei is back at it and rich foreigners keep buying property in Spain.
Madrid | Issue #106
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The accuser becomes the accused?
đšđ»ââïž The AG is on the hot seat
The PSOE-led government of Prime Minister Pedro SĂĄnchez canât catch a break. Last weekâs âplumberâ scandal is⊠well, so last week. And this week? On Monday, we learned Spainâs Attorney General, Ălvaro GarcĂa Ortiz, is one step away from trial after a Supreme Court judge said thereâs enough evidence to charge him with the crime of revealing secrets.
Itâd be the first time ever a sitting AG goes to trial (unless he resigns first).
Itâs yet another legal migraine for the PSOE and SĂĄnchez - who we assume at this point is running around the Moncloa yelling âfuck this shit.â
Quick recap. In 2023, Alberto GonzĂĄlez Amador, aka the boyfriend of Madrid regional boss Isabel DĂaz Ayuso, was accused of tax fraud and document forgery. Ayuso is of the opposition PP (i.e. an enemy of the PSOE).
Plea deal. Hacienda, Spainâs tax authority, says he defrauded over âŹ350,000 in 2020â21 using 15 fake invoices. Facing prison time, Amador tried to cut a plea deal with the prosecution.
The leak. Amadorâs plea offer, sent via email on Feb 2, 2024, later leaked to the press - blowing up a narrative promoted by Ayusoâs team and published in El Mundo that it was the prosecution that had offered the deal.
And the leaker? Amador accused the AG of leaking the email, claiming his privacy and presumption of innocence were violated (this conveniently deflected attention from his fiscal peccadilloes). Things escalated when the Supreme Court then opened a criminal investigation into the AG.
Fast forward to this week, when Supreme Court judge Ăngel Hurtado concluded that thereâs enough evidence to prosecute the AG. Not only that, the judge even suggests GarcĂa OrtĂz acted under instructions from the PMâs office (gasp!).
âCoordinated effortâ? Hurtado claims GarcĂa Ortiz asked his colleagues for internal emails to counter the El Mundo piece, then leaked one to Cadena Ser in a âcoordinated effortâ to shift public opinion.
Also charged. Madridâs chief regional prosecutor Pilar RodrĂguez has also been charged for forwarding the email. Investigators have found no direct proof GarcĂa Ortiz leaked that email to the press but RodrĂguez did send it to him that night. And then the AG wiped his phone, leaving that key night untraceable. (Sus đ)
GarcĂa Ortiz says he needed the email to prepare a press release for the morning after and that journalists already had it. The judgeâs not buying it.
Not resigning. While pressure from opposition parties is mounting, GarcĂa Ortiz remains defiant and refuses to resign.
Awkward. PSOEâs long-standing rule is that anyone facing trial should step down. But this time theyâre sticking by GarcĂa Ortiz. Maybe because they think heâs innocent, maybe because having an AG resign looks weak. Either way, they had to explain why.
So they blame the judge. The case is flimsy, they say. The claims? Hurtado ignored journalists who said they had the info before the supposed AG leak - and made weird leaps like claiming it came from the PMâs office. Maybe heâs just a bad judge. Or, hint hint, maybe (just maybe) heâs a PP partisan with an agenda.
But you canât say that! Because if you claim a judge knowingly wrote something false, youâre accusing him of prevaricaciĂłn. And thatâs a crime. (Note: It is true that the Supreme Court is dominated by PP-friendly conservative judges, while the Constitutional Court is dominated by PSOE-friendly left-leaning ones. But there is a leap from having political differences to making up a filing.)
So government spokesperson Pilar AlegrĂa chose her words very carefully. âIt is clear that at this point some judges are doing things that are difficult to understand,â she said. When pressed, she doubled down: âI think the phrase âdifficult to understandâ is clear enough. There's no clear evidence pointing to the AG. Several journalists said they got the info elsewhere, and their testimony hasn't been taken into account.â
But thereâs more. "I categorically deny that there were any instructions from the PMâs officeâ she said. âWe deeply regret that the Supreme Court made these statements without any evidence."
The PP pushed back. In parliamentary question time yesterday, PP spokesman Borja SĂ©mper couldnât resist tweaking AlegrĂa. He went after her, um, cautious phrasing.
Some questions. âWhat's so hard to understand, Madam Spokesperson? Why is it so hard to understand the opening of a trial in the event of a possible criminal offense? Are there judges who commit prevarication in Spain? Which judges are doing this?" AlegrĂa did not answer.
Prolly wonât matter. Ultimately, GarcĂa Ortizâs legal drama probably wonât matter. At Spainâs current judicial pace, a trial wonât start until 2028 - if ever.
More news below. đđ
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đŹ Five things to discuss at dinner parties
1.𧚠Ayuso blows up regional presidentsâ conference
The 28th Conference of Regional Presidents (aka Spainâs regional bosses) took place in Barcelona on Friday, and the sleepy political powwow quickly turned into a spectacle, thanks to a volcanic clash between Health Minister MĂłnica GarcĂa and Madrid President Isabel DĂaz Ayuso.
Wait⊠the what now? Itâs a once-a-year forum where the PM meets with the presidents (aka governors) of Spainâs 17 autonomous communities (plus Ceuta and Melilla) to coordinate on national issues. This year? A mess.
Why? The conservative PP controls way more regions than the governing PSOE - and is demanding snap elections. So yeah⊠tension, gridlock, and drama. Or as we like to say: fun times.
The star of the show. Madridâs Ayuso, naturally.
(Donât) smile for the cameras. Things got off to a rough start during what should have been a routine protocol greeting. When GarcĂa approached Ayuso for the traditional two kisses, Ayuso turned away, offered a handshake, and asked: âAre you really going to kiss a murderer?â
Theyâve got history. GarcĂa, from MĂĄs Madrid, was Ayusoâs
nemesismain rival in the Madrid Assembly before becoming Health Minister.But the proximate cause? Ayusoâs camp says her snub was a reaction to statements made the previous day by a MĂĄs Madrid lawmaker, who accused Ayusoâs government of orchestrating a âmacabre plan that condemned 7,291 elderly people to death" during COVID, and signing their âdeath sentences.â
Whatâs that about? During the first pandemic wave, Madrid issued internal guidelines barring thousands of nursing home residents from being transferred to hospitals based on disability status.
Shocked! GarcĂa appeared surprised and responded by denying that she or her party had called Ayuso a murderer. Now, itâs true they didnât use the word âmurdererâ. But, they did sorta suggest it, right?
So bad they needed a chaperone. The GarcĂa-Ayuso clash became hot enough that a protocol staffer had to physically separate them. And yes, it was all caught on camera (see video above).
Guilt showing through. GarcĂa later took to X to call Ayusoâs reaction âdisproportionateâ and suggest it was driven by a âsense of guiltâ.
But wait thereâs more. Before the conference, Ayuso had warned sheâd refuse to wear a translation earpiece and leave the room if any of the regional presidents gave their speeches in a language other than Spanish (she doesnât agree with the whole âSpain is a plurinational stateâ thing).
Like this. When Imanol Pradales, leader of the Basque Country, began speaking in Euskera (aka Basque) she made good on her threat.
Offensive! Pradales, who belongs to the nationalist, center-right PNV party, said her actions were âdisrespectful and offensiveâ to the Basque language and culture. (Other PP leaders refused to use headsets but stayed in their seats.)
Ayuso later said that speaking regional languages (like Basque, Catalan etc.) promoted separatism and that she had a right to protest by walking out.
The conference ended in deadlock (shocker), with SĂĄnchezâs government blaming the PP, and the PP demanding elections.
But it was Ayusoâs performance that stole the spotlight.
People keep asking us, âDoes she want to be the next PM?â. Our response: Sheâs just waiting for her moment.
2. đ Housing market: Extranjeros? SĂ. JĂłvenes? Not so much
Youths not welcome here. Spainâs housing crisis is as famous as BelĂ©n Esteban these days (if you donât know her yet, how dare you), but even we didnât know it was this bad for the young (or this good for the foreigners).
How bad? As in, foreign buyersâ share of the real estate market has tripled since 2007, while the share of young Spanish buyers has dropped by more than 50%. đ± The reason? Affordability, duh.
The numbers. New data from Spainâs notaries shows just how tilted the playing field has become. In 2007, foreigners made up 7.5% of homebuyers. In 2024? 20.9%. Young Spaniards (18-30) made up 24% of buyers in 2007. Now? Just 10.4%.
And thatâs only the average. In hotspots like Ibiza (35%), Alicante (33%), and Barcelona (25%), one in four or more homes are snapped up by extranjerosâresidents and non-residents alike.
This is not your grandmaâs market. Unless your grandma is a Danish pension fund đ€Ł.
So whatâs changed? A lot. Housing prices crashed after 2008, drawing in waves of foreign investment, some looking for holiday homes, others for rental yield, and plenty just for a place to live (the percentage of foreigners who live in the Spanish homes they buy has tripled). At the same time, as prices recoveredâtheyâre up 54% since 2013)âSpanish wages⊠didnât.
The result? A market where those with foreign incomes (and no need to live near a Metro stop) can afford to buy, and where locals under 30 are expected to rent, inherit or⊠wait (for a miracle, basically). đ
Perfect storm! đ©ïž Albert MartĂnez Lacambra, director of the Centro TecnolĂłgico del Notariado (and the guy who put together this study), calls it a âperfect stormâ: low supply, high foreign demand, and no coordinated response. Thereâs no bubble, he insists (except for us). Itâs âjust a slow squeezeâ.
Blame the outsiders. "It's clear that the entry of foreign buyers into the market has contributed to the issue," says MartĂnez Lacambra. So, there.
But donât give up hope! MartĂnez Lacambra has ideas about how to fix this (i.e. âfixâ in terms of helping the youths; foreigners might consider his ideas a way to âbreakâ it).
Delay taxes. Let young buyers pay taxes like IVA or ITP over time (say, 15 years).
More loans. Expand ICO-backed mortgage guarantees for under-35s with kids.
Public housing, man. Rebuild Spainâs gutted public housing sector (2023 had just 12,300 units plannedâone-tenth of 1995 levels).
Soak the
richforeign. Yes, we may have to tax non-residents more. Especially in pressure zones like the islands.
Will it work? Whether any of that will fix the problem is TBD⊠who the hell knows. But one thing is clear: Spainâs real estate market is functioning just fine!
Just not for Spaniards.
3. đŠ Argentinaâs Milei says heâs OK if people want to âbeat upâ SĂĄnchez
Argentinaâs anarcho-libertarian president Javier Milei returned to Madrid this weekend to attend the Madrid Economic Forum, a two-day event that included a mixed bag of mostly young males, far-right commentators and crypto bros influencers who got together to discuss entrepreneurship, the anti-woke movement and, for some reason, crime in Europe. Some 7,000 people attended.
He knows his crypto. Milei, who is currently under investigation in his home country for promoting a cryptocurrency scheme that ended in a typical rug-pull (google it, kids), was one of the headliners.
Party, party. As soon as he stepped into the stage (dancing and moving like a mad man), the crowd went wild and started chanting âPedro SĂĄnchez, hijo de puta!â, which is a pretty direct way of calling the PM a son of a whore. Milei, who never lets an opportunity to go after SĂĄnchez go to waste, said while smiling that he was OK with the crowd âgiving a beating to the local banditâ.
Unlike last yearâs bilateral crisis between Spain and Argentina (in which he called SĂĄnchezâs wife âcorruptâ, this time Milei chose not to mention SĂĄnchez by name.
Greatest hits. He did, however, give the crowd a taste of his greatest hits: he repeated that âthe State is a criminal organizationâ, that âtaxes are theftâ, and insulted âthe garbage media and corrupt journalistsâ. Oh, and he once again referred to socialists as âsocialistas de mierdaâ (no translation needed).
No reply. Neither SĂĄnchez nor anyone else in the PSOE engaged this time (they ended up looking whiney when they did last year). Only leftist MĂĄs Madrid called the insults âunacceptableâ and asked Argentinaâs ambassador in Madrid to be summoned for consultations. But everyone ignored them.
Milei also visited Madrid presi Isabel DĂaz Ayuso, who also chose not to engage (or at least engage the bare minimum).
One-way love. Milei was happy to share a photo with her on his socials, but she didnât repost or mention the meeting. Sad face.
And speaking of the right⊠While Milei was firing up his anti-system base on Sunday afternoon, the PP was gathering tens of thousands of supporters under the slogan âMafia or democracyâ to protest the SĂĄnchez government (especially after last weekâs âplumberâ scandal).
Madridâs Plaza de España was filled with flags, chants against Pedro SĂĄnchez, and calls for early elections. PP boss FeijĂło, addressing the crowd from a stage without party symbols, once again asked SĂĄnchez to call for early elections and framed the PP as the defender of democracy. Since heâs
boringa moderate, he called for unity and stuff and didnât use harsh language. Such a nice boy.Ayuso, however, got more aggressive, comparing Spain to âMaduroâs Venezuelaâ and warning that âdictatorships enter slowly, little by little.â The crowd seemed to love it.
P.S. Not many seemed to notice the PP event. It was the same day that Carlos Alcaraz won the French Open and Spain lost the Nations League, so there were plenty of other outlets for patriotism. Sad face again.
4. 𧱠Brexit is done! For Spain and Gibraltar, at least
The most annoying small Brexit fight was finally resolved yesterday, with the EU and the U.K. coming to an agreement over how Gibraltar fits into Europe (considering thatâs where itâs actually located).
The upshot? No more fence between Gibraltar and Spainâs La Linea. đ And Spanish troops inside GibraltarâŠ
Wait, what?! Okay, we exaggerate. (Slightly). Read onâŠ
Long time coming. For over three years, Spain, the U.K., and the EU have been locked in post-Brexit negotiations about how to handle Gibraltar, the British overseas territory/small rock thatâs physically attached to Spain but spiritually tethered to a mix between a Waitrose and the Star Wars cantina.
The issue? Basically, everything. As in, how to let people and goods flow freely between Gibraltar and Spain without turning Gibraltar into a Brexit tax loophole paradise or triggering another sovereignty crisis. Casual stuff.
But yesterday in Brussels, it finally happened. đ A political agreement was reached. Not just on border checks, but also on customs, taxes, flights, labor, and how to avoid another four-year diplomatic staring contest. Biggest change: The Fence (aka La Verja), one of the worldâs ugliest border fences, will come down.
That is important. 15,000 people cross between Gibraltar and Spainâs Campo de Gibraltar each day; two-thirds of them Spaniards heading to work. For them, this deal could mean the end of hour-long queues, ID checks, and random closures and slowdowns (like in 1999).
There has been tension. For context: Franco literally closed the border in 1969. It didnât fully reopen until the 1980s.
Nuts and bolts. So how will it work? Gibraltarâs port and airport will become the new Schengen border. Gibraltarian and Spanish police will do the checks.
Who checks the papers? That, dear friends, is the rub. Spain gets the final say over who enters the Schengen zone, as its police will check the IDs of entering travelers. And Frontex, the EU border agency? Out.
Sticky. This was a huge sticking point in the past. Remember when Gibraltar swore thereâd be âno Guardia Civil on the Rockâ? Well, they got their wish. Mostly. Or not. As in, unless you count Spanish police at the airport.
Donât believe us. Even The Guardian warned: âThe agreement is likely to come under attack from the Conservatives and Reform UK because it would mean UK citizens arriving in the British territory will have to show their passports to Spanish border guards.â
Oh, and what about smuggling? The tax angle mattered too because cheap cigarettes (barely taxed in Gibraltar) have historically been smuggled into the EU, leading Spanish customs to suggest that Spain is losing âŹ40m a year in duties in the process.
The solution. The fix? Gibraltar has agreed to align indirect taxes (on cigarettes, alcohol, and other vices) with EU norms. Translation: no more cartons of Lucky Strikes for âŹ10.
So are we happy? Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister JosĂ© Manuel Albares, Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo and EU trade boss Maros Sefcovic all hailed the deal as "historic", while the Telegraph and the Conservatives have already attacked Picardo for handing over Gibraltarâs boarding to the dirty Europeans. Locals? They seem relieved.
Will it stick? The legal text still has to be written. But the politics are settled (for now). And if it all holds, Campo de Gibraltar might finally get a little certainty and a lot fewer customs queues.
Hereâs a first. For once, Brexit means fewer borders. At least in one sunburned, monkey-filled corner of Europe.
5. đ€ SĂłnarâs artists are dropping out in droves
Going to the SĂłnar music festival in Barcelona this weekend? Well, you may notice that the lineup has changed, like, a lot since you bought your ticket. Why? Because, well, Gaza.
Huh? Back in 2018, Superstruct Entertainment, a company that owns some 80 music festivals, bought SĂłnar. Then, in June 2024, Superstruct itself was sold to KKR, the worldâs largest private equity firm.
PE but something else too. Private equity firms arenât known for their good vibes. Now add this: KKR has investments in Israeli tech and data firms and advertising networks that promote settlement tourism in occupied Palestine. In 2024, thatâs a problem, especially if your audience is young, global, and politically left.
What happened? Pro-Palestine and Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) activists sounded the alarm. Over 140 artists signed an open letter. Then came the actual cancellations⊠first a trickle, then a flood (itâs reportedly at least 59).
Hereâs one. Dania Shihab, an Iraqi musician and Barcelona resident who pulled out, put it plainly: âMy performance would be morally and ethically inconsistent.â
Desperation sets in. SĂłnar scrambled: They acceded to several BDS demands, such as by dropping McDonaldâs and Coca-Cola as sponsors, found some new 20 artists to replace ones whoâd canceled, offered ticket refunds, and, most dramatically, posted a sprawling FAQ that reads like a hostage letter written by a committee of ethics professors.
So whatâs in it?
SĂłnar âabsolutely condemns the genocideâ of the Palestinian people.
They say theyâve never sent a euro to KKR and never will. (We somehow doubt this, considering KKR owns them, but anywayâŠ)
Theyâve cut ties with controversial sponsors and aligned with Barcelonaâs anti-military-trade stance.
Theyâll donate to Gaza-focused NGOs (TBD).
Theyâll host a forum on âculture, ethics, and transformationâ during the festival.
Symbols of support. Yes, you can wear your keffiyeh or carry a Palestinian flag to the festival.
Will that stop the artist boycott? Unclear. But one thingâs certain: SĂłnar still exists. The 2025 edition just now comes with a footnote - and a massive ethics syllabus.
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