🇨🇳 This Week in Spain: Sánchez Courts China
Plus: Podemos' comeback efforts and King Emeritus JC1 goes on a suing spree.
Madrid | Issue #97
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Cutting your own throat?
🌪️ PM Pedro Sánchez Dives Into Trump Tariff Vortex
Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez sure has fabulous timing this week. When he announced back on March 20 that he would be visiting China and Vietnam in April, little did he know his landing this week would occur days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced eye-popping tariffs on both nations—and just as China retaliated against the Bad Orange Man with massive duties of its own.
And wow what a landing it was! Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was such a fan of what Sánchez said about moving closer to China he described it as “cutting your own throat.” 😱 But more on that in a second!
High expectations. Spain may not be on the podium of Biggest EU Economies (that would be Germany, France and Italy, natch), but Sánchez’s visit with China’s President Xi Jinping at such a cray-cray tense moment raises expectations that he is acting as the EU’s de facto representative to the world’s #2 economy—and the US president’s biggest foe.
First messages. After landing in Vietnam, which could be seen as sort of a dry run for his Friday visit with Xi, Sánchez spoke about free trade (Good!) and tariffs (Bad!) in a way unlikely to offend anyone save Trump: "No one wins with trade wars. Every country loses, especially workers and the middle class."
But is he an EU man? European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s spokeswoman acknowledged that she and Sánchez had coordinated the message to Xi, while unnamed government sources (Garganta Profunda?) told El Confidencial that Sánchez had approval to speak to Xi in the EU’s name.
Two masters. Having national leaders represent their countries and the EU simultaneously can cause friction, of course. On Sanchez’s trip to Beijing last September, he broke ranks with the rest of the EU and urged it to “reconsider” its plan to impose more tariffs on China-made EVs. While that irritated Brussels, it may have helped Spain attract Chinese money (See: December announcement of part-Chinese €4.1bn investment in an EV battery plant in Zaragoza) and saved Spain’s pork exporters from Chinese tariffs.
More in agreement. While the EU is still wary of China’s tendency to dump cheap, state-subsidized products that kill countries’ domestic industries, in light of the Donald it is coming around to Sánchez’s more dovish take on Beijing.
Cutting your own throat. Before his arrival in Vietnam, Sánchez told reporters traveling with him that he was pushing for the EU to pivot toward China. And that, well, didn’t land well in Trumpland. Hearing of Sanchez’s remarks, U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent warned the EU against making such a pivot: “That would be cutting your own throat,” he said at a bankers event in Washington.
Back in 🇪🇸. For obvious reasons (as in, Trump tariffs on the EU would hurt Spain), Sánchez announced last week that Spain would provide €14.1bn in aid to ease the impact, including €6bn for business affected by the tariffs.
Spanish exports. Spain exported about €18.2bn worth of stuff to the U.S. last year, led by machinery, oils (extra virgin!), drugs and chemicals. The Cámara de Comercio de España (Spain’s Chamber of Commerce) predicts a 14.3% drop in exports, or €2.6bn, cutting GDP by 0.21%. So not bad, but not good either.
Everyone’s on board with getting some money flowing to the affected businesses and employees. Especially with Spain’s Central Bank planning to cut its GDP growth projections, right? Well, not so fast! We don’t, like, agree on things here in Spain. Not even important things.
You knew there would be problems. Sánchez’s people actually shared the planned decree with the main opposition party, the center-right PP, before passing it, which they never do (you could say the PP and Sánchez’s PSOE socialists aren’t overwhelmed by mutual trust).
PP offered changes. The party led by Alberto Nuñez Feijóo suggested 10 changes, some related to the problem at hand (they wanted more grants and fewer loans for affected firms) and others longer term (adjust income tax brackets for inflation, which hasn’t been done in over 10 years).
Unhappy and BOOM! The PP said the PSOE hadn’t included any of its suggestions, then only an “insufficient” amount, but the PP blew up negotiations when “sources” reported that the Catalan right-leaning separatists in Junts were claiming Catalonia was going to get 25% of the aid. Turns out that the aid is for businesses that export to the U.S. and it seems about a quarter are in Catalonia (which is about 19% of Spain’s GDP). So…no biggee?
Help will probably come. In the end the PP will likely vote with the PSOE to make the decree law. To vote against the aid—alongside far-right Vox, which has supported Trump to the bafflement of its own voters—would look terrible. But so would being too close to Sánchez. So let’s have…a little theatricalized fight first! Now, all together: This is why we can’t have nice things.
But let’s get to the fun stuff: insults. While Sánchez has been critical but largely calm when referring to Trump, some former high-ranking PSOE leaders—and Spanish people—have been less restrained.
Previous socialist PMs. Former Prime Minister Felipe González didn’t hold back, calling Trump “a bully and an idiot,” while fellow former PSOE PM José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero said his tariffs “accelerate the decline of the American empire.” Hey, they’re out of office so they can say what they really feel!
Oh, and current PSOE parliamentary spokesperson Patxi López? He called Trump “ridiculous”.
Everyday Spaniards too. A recent El País/Cadena SER poll revealed growing distrust of Spanish people toward the U.S., especially since Trump’s return to the White House.
Russia #1! While Russia is still seen as the top threat to global peace (78.3%), the U.S. follows closely behind at 70.8% (We’re #2!), a significant drop in trust for a country that’s long been considered the guardian of Western ideals. That’d be bad.
Gets worse. What’s worse, 57.4% of Spaniards believe it is “very or quite likely” that the U.S. could invade or seize other countries, more than those who believe Russia would do the same to the EU. (Looking at you, Greenland.)
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💬 Five things to discuss at dinner parties this week
1.🤴🏻 Juan Carlos I’s suing spree turns to his former lover
Lawsuits galore. It started last week with a lawsuit against Miguel Ángel Revilla, the outspoken former president of Cantabria known for his populist rhetoric and media-friendly persona.
Revilla had publicly mocked the King Emeritus Juan Carlos I several times, calling him everything from a “freeloader” to a “walking scandal” and the former monarch finally decided he’d had enough and filed a lawsuit against him, asking €50,000 in damages for alleged defamation.
But that was last week. Now, JC1 (who lives in self-imposed exile in Abu Dhabi) is targeting a much more familiar name: Corinna Larsen, his former lover and the woman at the center of one of the biggest scandals in Spanish royal history.
Targets. Juan Carlos has filed a lawsuit in Switzerland against Larsen and Dante Canonica, the Swiss lawyer who once helped manage his offshore financial dealings.
Infamous foundation. Canonica was the architect of the now-infamous Lucum Foundation, which received a $100 million “gift” from Saudi Arabia—$65 million of which was apparently later transferred to Larsen.
“Gift” or “hold”? Larsen has long claimed it was a personal gift from JC1, but he now says she was just supposed to “hold” the money (as one does) and has refused to return it. This financial “disagreement” is why they stopped talking to each other.
History lesson. Their romantic relationship reportedly began in the early 2000s, when they met through mutual friends in the British aristocracy. It quickly escalated, with JC1 allegedly proposing to her multiple times (there are Netflix and HBO Max documentaries about all this that we totally recommend). But once money entered the equation, what began as a glamorous love story quickly turned sour.
Harassment suit. Larsen sued JC1 in the U.K., accusing him of harassment and defamation after she refused to return the funds. She said she was stalked and harassed by Spanish intelligence on his orders.
Dismissal, but… The British courts dismissed the case due to jurisdictional limits, but the damage to Juan Carlos I’s image had already been done.
More lawsuits coming. With the 50th anniversary of his accession to the throne approaching, it’s clear the emeritus king is on a reputational clean-up tour.
Cloud over him. Though he was never formally charged of anything inside Spain due to constitutional immunity, JC1’s image has taken a significant hit in recent years, with Spaniards seeing him as a symbol of excess and financial scandal.
Who’s next? It’s not clear these lawsuits will help his legacy, but rumor has it there are more suits on the way (we’re praying for you, Barbara Rey).
2. 🤡 Podemos: Spain’s far-left clown car week
If the far left (or far right, for that matter) does anything super efficiently, it’s blow itself up with purity tests. And this week? Spain’s far left went in deep on purity.
Beginnings. The once-important far-left Podemos party, born out of the post-2008 financial crisis student protests, chose its PM candidate for the next elections, even though there might not be elections for 2+ years. Because, prepared = good, we suppose. Their choice? Irene Montero.
Not just any choice. Not only is Montero the partner of Podemos founder Pablo Iglesias (see below!), she’s also the former Equality Minister who ginned up the absolute clusterf*ck of the Only Yes Means Yes rape law that (counterintuitively) led to the release of hundreds of sexual offenders. Whoops!
Not besties. Montero was then tossed from domestic Spanish politics by current far-leftish leader Yolanda Díaz of Sumar, who decided in the last elections that Montero was too toxic to run locally (she ended up as an MEP in Brussels). So…Irene and Yolanda? When they kissed on the campaign trail, it brought up the cliché that women kissing is like boxers touching gloves.
Revenge. After being named candidate, Montero rejected running with Sumar in the next elections, suggesting that they weren’t left-wing because they wanted to spend Spanish budget money on defense to protect against the off chance of Russian aggression (Oh, the horror 😱).
Snide invitation. Not only that, she invited Díaz’s party to just dissolve, with the correctly pure lefty pacifist bits joining Podemos and the dirty moderates joining Pedro Sánchez’s PSOE socialists. Oh, and she dissed Sumar as powerless as PSOE’s coalition partner, saying, “In the Government, only the PSOE rules."
Pablo speaks. Partner Iglesias chimed in, calling Díaz, “The last person who would be electorally competitive.” He also said, “Sumar is politically dead.”
And that picture! If that weren’t bad enough, Díaz allowed herself to appear not only attending an event with Spain’s royal family but even smiling in a picture with Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia. And if you know anything as a member of Spain’s left, you know you have to frown around anything royal.
Sumar responds. We’re not entirely sure what she means, but we like how dismissive Sumar rep (and Health Minister) Mónica García was when speaking about Podemos’s purity tests: “In 2021, I told Mr. Iglesias that politics was not a Netflix movie, and now I tell both of you, Mr. Iglesias and Mrs. Montero, that this is not a ball pit either.” 🤷
So there you have it! Díaz = Not pure, bad and meaningless.
3. ❌ Catalan economist to Trump: That’s not what I wrote
Most people would be happy to be name-checked by the most powerful man in the world. But not if you're Pau Pujolas. And the man in question is Donald J. Trump.
Didn’t see that one coming. The Catalan economist—who currently teaches at McMaster University in Canada—got a surprise ego boost last week, kinda: an academic paper of his, written with co-author Jack Rossbach, appeared in the White House’s justification for Trump’s latest round of trade tariffs. (Like we said, kinda.)
Imagine you are Pujolas. First, cue adrenaline. Then confusion. Then sheer horror.
So, here’s what went down. When Pau met Donald.
The research. Pujolas and Rossbach’s 2024 preprint, titled Trade Wars with Trade Deficits, explores who wins in a tariff battle when one country (say, the U.S.) imports far more than it exports.
The model. Built with supercomputers and 2014 data (as in, pre-Trump tariff drama), it showed that under very specific conditions, a country with a trade deficit could benefit from small, strategic tariffs.
Slightly different situation. Those tariffs? 10–15%. Trump’s latest ones? Not even in the same galaxy.
Like, really different. Pujolas and Rossbach’s paper is a controlled lab experiment. Trump’s trade policy is a wrecking ball with a flag on it.
Don’t let facts get in the way. Still, that didn’t stop Trump’s White House from citing the paper—twice—as evidence that going full-MAGA on global trade would somehow “boost economic outcomes” and “inflict enormous losses” on exporting nations. Sound familiar?
Pujolas’s reaction to this? A mix of bafflement and deadpan academic shade: “The formula and tables Trump used as if he were Moses have nothing to do with my article.”
A few things the paper doesn’t say. 1️⃣ That the U.S. should slap tariffs on the EU (makes zero sense given the small deficit). 2️⃣ That Trump’s 2018 tariffs were “optimal” (they weren’t). 3️⃣ That economic models can account for presidential fantasies about annexing Greenland (joking).
Short version. Trump used a Catalan economist’s careful, conditional analysis to justify a policy that does the exact opposite of what the paper recommends. 👏
The lesson. Next time you write about trade wars, make sure your conclusions can’t be turned into campaign slogans by someone who thinks Canada should be the 51st state. “There's a huge gap between my study and what the White House is doing,” Pujolas told El País. “It's an outrage; they're causing a recession.”
4. 🍻 Podemos founder and former deputy PM crowdfunds his bar because Spain Is Different
Most politicians hit the speaker circuit when they leave office. But when Podemos co-founder and former Deputy PM Pablo Iglesias left the government, he opened a bar in Lavapiés—and now he wants you to help him move it to a bigger venue.
The name? Taberna Garibaldi. The mission? “An antifascist space of freedom.” The method? A crowdfunding campaign. Because apparently being a former Deputy PM of Spain doesn’t pay what it used to. (Or maybe he’s cheap.)
Three guys walk into open a bar. Iglesias, a poet, and a singer-songwriter (of course) opened the taberna last year. Since then, it’s hosted book launches, protest poetry, and the occasional indie concert. A kind of ministry of culture with more alcohol and fewer microphones thrown across rooms. (Though Iglesias is not against throwing a mic when he doesn’t like its owner’s questions.)
Cancelled presentation. The city of Madrid—led by Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida of the center-right PP—denied the permit for the launch of Iglesias’s latest book (Enemigos Intimos) at a public venue in Vallecas. So he called it an “attack on the freedom of speech” and moved the book launch to Garibaldi. And then decided the bar was “too small.” Cue the fundraising push.
So what does he want? The goal is a cool €146,996. And that breaks down to: 1️⃣ €120,000 for a new bar license; 2️⃣ €17,996 for setting up the new space; and 3️⃣ €9,000 for “minor reforms” (we assume this includes shelves for unbought copies of Enemigos intimos).
And what do you get? Pablo treats his friends right (we think). They get for: 1️⃣ €25: a thank-you email; 2️⃣ €50: a photo of the founders waving; 3️⃣ €150: a custom video; and 4️⃣ €250: a song. (Note: we’re not sure who’s singing. We hope it’s not Pablo.)
Generous folks. At last check, over 610 people have chipped in more than €25,000. Some out of solidarity. Others for the lolz. A few, presumably, just really want that song.
What’s the vibe of the joint anyway? Half political revival tent, half neighborhood haunt. Iglesias says it’s become a “reference space” for the left—where artists, activists, and probably at least one guy with a tote bag full of Lenin zines drop in for vermut and vibes.
There is irony. A man once one heartbeat from the Moncloa now passing the digital collection plate to buy a liquor license.
Hey, this is Spain. Political afterlives are weird, every block has three bars, and ideology needs a taproom. Just don’t be surprised if Pedro Sánchez opens a wine bar next: Bar Handsome.
5. 🚗 Could EVs be banned from Madrid parking lots?
A tragic fire in an underground garage in Alcorcón has ignited a heated debate in Madrid: should electric vehicles (EVs) be banned from parking lots?
The Incident. On April 2, 2025, a fire started in a residential garage in the Madrid suburb of Alcorcón. The blaze began when a man driving an electric Porsche Taycan accidentally accelerated and collided with a parked car, which led to a battery fire.
Deaths. The fire was so destructive that it claimed the lives of two firefighters and injured many others (one in critical condition).
Worries. The incident has raised concerns about the safety of parking EVs in enclosed spaces. Some private parking facilities in Madrid have already taken measures. A garage near Puerta del Sol has posted signs banning 100% electric vehicles from entering, citing fire risks.
Official Response. Madrid’s Mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, has called for a thorough investigation to understand the frequency and causes of such incidents.
Previous studies say rare. So far, studies from countries with higher EV adoption rates (like the U.S. and Scandinavia) suggest that EVs are less likely to catch fire than combustion engine cars.
But when they happen… The issue is that when EV fires take place they are not that simple to put out: they need constant cooling and there’s a risk of re-ignition.
Far right chimes in. Back in February, Vox spokesperson Javier Ortega Smith labeled EVs as “ticking time bombs” imposed by “globalist agendas” (we’re not sure how Elon Musk would feel about that comment). So there’s that.
Results soon. The city is waiting for the results of investigations into the Alcorcón fire. Legally, private parking operators may have the right to restrict EV access if it’s justified by safety concerns.
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