🪖This Week in Spain: Franco's 50th Deathiversary
Also: Spain takes a pass on the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral and a mass funeral in Valencia.
By @IanMount and @AdrianBono | December 12, 2024 | Madrid | Issue #82
🎉 Welcome to The Tapa, an English-language, weekly newsletter about all things Spain!
🥜 This Week in a Nutshell: PM Sánchez announced we’ll spend next year celebrating Francisco Franco’s death commemorating half a century of a “free Spain”. And Carles Puigdemont is back to his usual antics as he asks Sánchez to seek a confidence vote in Parliament (dream on) and threatens to torpedo his budget (he might).
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50 years of freedom (or less, depending who you ask)
PM Sánchez to commemorate the end of Francisco Franco’s reign in 1975 with 100 ceremonies
Believe it or not, 50 years ago today Spain was a dictatorship led by the generalísimo Francisco Franco, a brutal, pint-sized caudillo who took over the country after waging a bloody three-year civil war and ruled for almost four decades with an iron fist.
You’re supposed to know all of this, of course (and if you don’t, there are a few good documentaries on Netflix and Max), so we’ll skip intro and move on to the important part: Franco’s death in 1975 started a process usually referred to as the Transición that culminated a few years later with a new Constitution and free elections.
And so, to commemorate half a century of Spain’s freedom from tyranny/pump out some propaganda to distract people from his political woes, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced this week that the government would be organizing over 100 events in 2025 under the slogan “España en Libertad”, which literally translates as “Spain in Freedom” but that sounds terrible, so we’ll just call it “Free Spain”.
Franco pushback. The PM has, since coming to power in 2019, tried to extricate Franco from his still oddly privileged place in parts of Spanish life. He pushed legislation to deal with Franco’s legacy (in part by pardoning his victims) and moved the mean little fella’s remains from their public mausoleum.
The Great Transformation. Now, Sánchez says that his goal of 100 Events is meant to celebrate “the great transformation” that Spain has seen since Franco’s death and to honor all of the people and groups that made it possible. (Don’t worry: Sánchez’s Great Transformation is not meant to ape Mao’s Great Leap Forward, which led to the death of 20 million Chinese via starvation.)
Memory Day. Sánchez made the announcement during the celebration of the Day of Remembrance and tribute to the victims of the military coup, the Civil War and the Dictatorship (long name, we know), saying that “almost half a century has passed, but the consequences of the wound are still visible and require reparation.”
Begins in January. Sánchez added that the government would create a “scientific committee” of experts who’d put together an “extensive program of activities” and that details of said program will be presented soon. Plans are still vague (clearly), but the kickoff is meant to be Jan. 8.
Raising eyebrows. Not everyone is impressed with this—and we’re not just referring to the usual far-right trolls who call the Franco dictatorship “a period of progress and reconciliation”.
Death ≠ Democracy. The director of news site El Español, the longtime journo Pedro J. Ramírez, has been very critical of Sánchez’s plan, arguing that the dictator’s death didn’t usher in a new age of democracy at all.
Nothing to celebrate—yet.“Franco died in his bed, the regime had just executed five people, and there was no real freedom. Therefore, celebrating ‘half a century of democracy’ means ignoring the Transición,” he said.
Wait 2-3 years, please. By Pedro J.’s count, this means that next year, rather than 50 years, we should be celebrating 47 [the new Constitution was approved in 1978] or 48 [elections were held in 1977] years of freedom at best.
Pedro J. is not alone, as his dubious take on Sánchez’s 50-year necrophilia celebration has gotten hit by everyone from the center-right to the far-left.
PP. Madrid regional Presi Isabel Díaz Ayuso said Sánchez wants to use the events to “burn the streets and cause violence” (😳 bit much, no?) and linked Sánchez’s event plans to what he does when “things are going badly”, while Madrid Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida said he wouldn’t participate in Sánchez’s “trifles”, adding, “I will join all the acts that celebrate freedom in Spain, and freedom in Spain came with the Transition and the Constitution."
Former ministers. A slew of ministers from the Transición and first years of democracy complained to El Español about Sánchez’s “propagandistic maneuvers” and noted that Franco died peacefully in his bed after harshly ruling Spain for 36 years (i.e. not an anniversary to be proud of). “What freedom in 1975?” one asked. “You only have to have lived through it to realize what a tremendous mistake this is. In 1975, the dictator died in bed, in a hospital.”
Podemos. Ione Belarra, the leader of the once-important far-left party, pretty much called the whole thing a bunch of makeup: "No matter how many cosmetic measures are put on the table, the reality is that the Government is not governing and is not moving forward with determination in terms of democratic memory.” Ha!
And Vox? See above re; “progress and reconciliation.” Beyond that, we’re not even going to bother.
More news below. 👇👇
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💬 Five things to discuss at dinner parties this week
1. 🪦 A funeral mass for Valencia DANA victims—with a notable absence
A little more than a month after the DANA storm that hit Valencia at the end of October left a death toll of 223 people (one of them was found this morning while four others missing), a funeral mass for the victims was held Monday at the city’s Cathedral. And it was anything but a great societal Kumbaya. Nope, not a lot of coming together.
The disastrous government response to the storm and ensuing flood—and the blame game that followed between the PP and PSOE—infuriated the locals. Indeed, as we noted, the locals greeted a visit by Valencia regional president Carlos Mazón, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and the King and Queen of Spain with sticks, stones, and mud-slinging, angry protests.
To this day, many people remain angry. Especially at Mazón, whose approval rating cratered after the storm: In fact, his PP party has in recent polling dropped 10 points (from 35.3% in the May 2023 regional elections to 25.4% in December 2024).
This made Monday’s ceremony, um, awkward.
The emotional and solemn service, which highlighted the efforts of emergency services and volunteers, was attended by King Felipe, Queen Letizia, Mazón, many other regional PP presidents, PP national boss Alberto Núñez Feijóo, and
400 direct relatives of the victims.
A notable absence. One guy who didn’t attend? PM Sánchez, who sent First Deputy Prime Minister María Jesús Montero instead.
No official reason was provided for Sánchez’s absence. Local media suggested it was because the event was not an official event or state funeral, so he was not required to attend. Which seems totally unlikely.
Perhaps more plausible. Opposition politicians and other humans had a different theory: bad optics (as in, he didn’t want to face the protesters inside and outside of the cathedral).
Considering the treatment Mazón got, that idea (and Sánchez’s decision) may not have been too far off the mark. Let’s just say there was a lot of booing and heckling that evening.
After the funeral mass, some people in the cathedral were heard calling Mazón a “coward” and a “murderer”. A young man was seen approaching him and handing him a photo of his dead relative. The word “murderer” was handwritten on the back of the photo.
A woman approached Mazón to tell him: “you can now go have dinner in peace”, in reference to the supposed lunch he was having on Oct. 29 while a flash flood was already ravaging the region.
Outside the cathedral, a woman held up a sign that said: “It wasn’t a climate catastrophe, it was murder”. While the King and Queen left the building, they were met with applause but also some heckling. Others could be heard calling for Sánchez to resign.
A woman whose father died in the storm was seen leaving the building after Mazón arrived. “I don’t want to share the space with certain representatives present here this evening,” she told reporters. Another man who declined to attend said he thought it was “disrespectful” to be there when there are people who remain missing.
The bright side? There were no sticks, stones or slung mud. Little positives!
2. 😜 “With friends like these…”: Carles Puigdemont edition
With friends like these. One of PM Pedro Sánchez’s close personal friends/political leaders whose support he bought with promises of the moon is frustrated with the PM. So he wants Sánchez to submit his leadership to a Parliamentary confidence vote—which could spell the end of Sanchez’s time as Spain’s Mr. Handsome.
That the deal Pedro Sánchez made to continue as prime minister in 2023 was going to be wobbly was never in doubt. To attract the votes of parties from across the spectrum, Sánchez promised everything to everyone. Since then, they’ve been fighting among themselves, and with him, and it’s getting unruly.
This week it’s Junts. That’s the rightish Catalan separatist party led by Carles Puigdemont, the former regional president/“chubby Beatle” who fled to Brussels to avoid prison for his role in running the illegal secession referendum in 2017.
His deal with Sánchez was to vote the PSOE pol back into the PM’s chair in exchange for a broad amnesty that would allow him to return to his beloved
SpainCatalonia without facing any legal issues.The problem. While Sánchez managed to get his unruly gaggle to vote for an amnesty law, not all of the judicial branch was on board. His PSOE party controls the Constitutional Court (in the way the GOP controls the U.S. Supreme Court—they named the judges), but not the one below it—the Supreme Court—which declined to apply parts of the amnesty to Puigdemont.
You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry. Puigdemont made his deal with Sánchez a year ago, and he’s tired of waiting. So this week he dropped a bomb: His party registered a parliamentary initiative to demand Sánchez call a confidence vote. "Today Sanchez continues to show that he is not trustworthy," he said. “The time has come for a turning point or to let it go so as not to waste anyone's time.”
What does that mean? If Puigdemont manages to get a majority in Parliament to vote for the initiative—and if there’s a vote it’s likely he will, because the PP and Vox will vote for anything that rains on Sánchez’s parade (and Podemos might too)—it will call on Sánchez to submit himself to a confidence vote. Which is kind of a PM’s way of asking Parliament, “You like me, right?”
That’s it? Sorta. Sánchez doesn’t have to call for a confidence vote, and there are lots of reasons he wouldn’t want to. Like, if he did and lost, he’d have to resign and the King would name a new PM candidate. 😭
But that’s not it. Puigdemont made it clear that if the initiative passes and Sánchez ignores it, Junts will no longer support the government. And that will turn Parliament into a cluster💩 where absolutely nothing will get done.
Nothing to see here. The PSOE-led government basically covered its ears and started whistling “Mary Had a Little Lamb” in the hope the problem would go away. And they said they would continue working with those who supported them, blah blah blah. On the other hand, PP boss Alberto Núñez Feijóo said he agreed that Sánchez wasn’t trustworthy “but we never trusted him” in the first place.
Then they fought in Parliament. During Wednesday’s Parliamentary oversight session, Junts MP Miriam Nogueras told Sánchez and his party to, “Get off your ass, do your job and pay what you owe Catalonia." Which seems rather forward.
So it’s over for Mr. Handsome? Well, no. It will be a big deal if the proposition comes up to vote—parliament’s board will consider admitting it on Dec. 17, though it’s expected, as of now, to discard it—and an even bigger one if Sánchez loses.
But the PSOE are betting Junts is bluffing, and on Wednesday, Junts seemed to back off on its demands. Even the PP thinks Junts is just trying to squeeze Sánchez for a few more privileges (and euros) for Catalonia. But Puigdemont may just be angry enough to burn the whole thing down.
3. 🇪🇸🇫🇷 That big Notre Dame reopening? Spain was too busy
You might wonder why Spain had no representatives at the Notre Dame reopening in Paris. We were too. Like, it’s an amazing feat of engineering to redo an amazing, ≈700-year-old church in five years after a catastrophic fire, right? Plus, you’d get to hobnob with and influence other Very Important People like Trump, Macron, Meloni, Musk and Zelenskyy. And, after hearing that an early design of the tower looked like a "phallus with its base surrounded with golden balls,” who wouldn’t want to go, right?
But no, no Spain. So why? Apparently, it’s all about the invites. And, um, previous commitments. Either that or it was a diplomatic
fuckupmisstep. Who are we to judge?
Only people like us. Apparently, the basic issue was that French President Macron and the country's culture minister invited their equals—i.e, heads of state and culture ministers—along with incredibly rich people (which is why Salma Hayek was there with billionaire hubby François-Henri Pinault). And the invites were non-transferable.
Things to do! Spain’s Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun (Catalunya en Comú) declined the invite because of a, um, family obligation (Kids’ football game? We want to know!) while the King and Queen apparently responded to Macron explaining that they regretfully declined because of schedule problems (they were preparing for a state visit to Italy and they also attended the funeral for the Valencia DANA victims on Monday).
Nobody told me! Spain’s foreign minister was upset by this because, you know, no one told him that Spain would have no representative at the big event (and the Culture Ministry sorta blamed his ministry for that). Now the government is saying “No siree, no problem at all!” which means they must have been really angry.
The opposition speaks. PP leader Alberto Nuñez Feijóo called Spain’s absence from the event an “embarrassment” (which, considering we’re talking about it, is sorta right maybe? 🤷) and added, “Once again, the Government is not up to the task of the society it is supposed to serve,” (You be the judge on that bit). And Vox slammed the Sánchez government for its (checks notes, eyes bulge), “alarming christianophobia”. Because they would say that. Well, at least they didn’t blame Muslim immigrants.
No word on the “golden balls.” 🪙🪙
4.🇪🇸 The best economy of 2024? Spain, says The Economist
Bring out the cava 🥂! Because the best-performing economy in the world this year, according to The Economist, is none other than…Spain. 🎉
You read that right! Salaries here may not be great; we may be dealing with a horrible housing crisis; youth unemployment may still be high; and political polarization may be worse than ever. But we still have reason to celebrate, people!
Spain emerged as the top-performing economy among 37 “mostly rich” countries ranked by The Economist.
So sayeth The Economist. Spain achieved exceptional GDP growth, which is expected to surpass 3% thanks to a strong labor market and significant immigration that boosted overall economic output and lowered unemployment. The magazine (or newspaper, as they insist) also took into account Spain’s good performance in terms of inflation, stock prices and government deficit.
Despite global challenges such as high interest rates and geopolitical tension, Spain was resilient. And with GDP per capita growing, Spain is a standout in Europe (and beyond), particularly compared to the sluggish performances of bigger economies like Germany and Japan.
Yay, us! This is great news for the national government (or, as journalist Javier Ruiz says in Cadena Ser, “it’s a reason to get drunk at the Moncloa Palace”) which has been needing a win lately due to corruption accusations and the neverending chaos in Parliament.
PM Sánchez was quick to post the good news on X yesterday, saying Spain is a “formidable country with a great future ahead”. (It was a little over two months ago that the same magazine published a story critical of him, saying he was clinging to office at a cost to Spain’s democracy, but now no one remembers that, except for negative types like us).
So…is Spain on a roll?
Yes. The OECD recently raised its forecasts and predicted that Spain will end 2024 growing almost four times more than the eurozone.
No. Not everyone in the country is getting a boost. La Sexta yesterday asked, “If Spain is the best economy, why aren’t we noticing it?” The usually pro-Sánchez network mentioned inequality, low salaries, inflation and rent costs as reasons why many Spaniards aren’t smiling.
5. 🐬 Our new hero: Manoliño the rascal Galician dolphin
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Politics, the economy, golden balls… It’s all pretty pesado, no? So we’re going to end with something happy: a naughty dolphin named Manoliño who just won’t let shellfish divers work! (More on the last bit in a sec.)
Who is Manoliño? He’s a very friendly dolphin who’s recently popped up in the Ría (estuary) de Ferrol, in southwest Galicia. This isn’t the first time he’s been spotted—he’s a long-time fan favorite who’s been popping up in various estuaries, rivers and bays in Galicia since 2019. But this year he’s in the Ferrol—and he once again has mischief on his mind. (See above: He even plays with dogs!)
As in? While he cavorts (see video above), Manoliño likes to interact with people—and this causes problems. As the Ferrol fishing leader Gustavo Chacartegui, explains, shellfish divers suffer Manoliño’s mischievousness the most, because he touches their fins, grabs the hose that connects them to the boat, and hits them with his mouth: "He doesn't let you work."
Dolphin day-care. Ever resourceful, Ferrol fishermen and shellfish divers figured a workaround. Sergio and Ernesto, two of the divers in Chacartegui’s group—the Cofradía de Pescadores y Mariscadores de Ferrol— take turns entertaining Manoliño so that the other can collect razor clams. Who said dolphins are smarter than humans?
To end, we leave you with a photo of Manoliño being entertained. Because it’s cute—that’s why.
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So fun fact: the English for ría is ria - it's actually a word we've acquired from Galician! It means a flooded glacier valley, or something like that. Years ago I worked with a guy in the UK who banged on about how Salcombe Estuary wasn't an estuary but rather a ria. The more you know, I guess.