đ„ This Week in Spain: The Election Heats Up
Also: Collapsing buildings, more heat waves and disinterments.
By @IanMount and @AdrianBono | June 15, 2023 | Madrid | Issue #18
đ Welcome to The Tapa, an English-language, weekly newsletter about all things Spain!
đ„ This Week in a Nutshell: You guessed it: more politics! Which means last minute negotiations, crossed accusations of fascism and communism and other unholy alliances. And weâre sorry to tell you, but this is the way itâs going to be for five more weeks. Yes, we will continue to cover the other stuff (like heat waves and other equally fun topics) but for the time being weâll be focusing on the 23J elections. Enjoy.
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Grab the popcorn
đ„ The Gloves Come Off as the Campaign Starts for Reals
We warned you: politics, politics, politics. Yup, with the 23J elections bearing down on us (<6 weeks to go) thereâs no way around talking about it. And this weekâs been chock full of busy!
Parties have been positioning themselves for the election runâboth in terms of who they are, and what theyâre against. You can basically break down that self-definition process into 3 bucketsâalliances, candidates, and tasty quotes. So without further ado (or, really, any ado) letâs get into that party by party.
Partido Popular (PP)
As the big winner of the 28M municipal/regional electionsâand the expected winner of the 23J national versionâthe center-right PP has everything to lose from campaign surprises and scandals, so theyâre largely keeping their collective head down and saying as little as possible. This plays into the strengths of party boss (and presumed next prime minister) Alberto NĂșñez FeijĂło, who is, letâs be honest, rather boring.
To get a flavor of this, take a look at the biggest thing the PP did this weekâform a government with Vox in the autonomous community of Valencia. This alliance is arguably scandalousâVox is a far right party, after all, and the head of their list in Valencia, Carlos Flores, has been convicted of gender violenceâand the parties on the left jumped on FeijĂło, with Education Minister Pilar AlegrĂa, a Socialist, calling the pact âabsolutely shameful and embarrassingâ.Â
FeijĂło didnât respond at first, and when he did, he avoided the scandal. Instead, he noted that the PP had refused to form a government with Flores (who stepped aside to become Voxâs lead national MP candidate in Valencia for 23J), and blamed the PSOE socialists for forcing the alliance by refusing to abstain to allow the PPâthe largest parliamentary group in Valenciaâto rule alone. It was either form a government with Vox âor have new elections,â he said.
The bottom line: The PP is selling âNothing to see here.â As in, donât worry, weâre all calm and moderate. And that will be the partyâs mantra throughout the campaign.
PSOE (AKA the Spanish Socialists)
Prime Minister Pedro SĂĄnchez and his party are in the opposite position. Well behind in the polls, they have to make some noise to motivate their votersâand demotivate the other side. And that means promoting fear of a PP-Vox government (see: above AlegrĂa quote and hundreds of others) and promoting uncontroversial things the PSOE government has done well (post-COVID economic recovery? Yes. Solo SĂ es SĂ law? Never heard of it.)
The PSOE wants to promote itself as the responsible party. To that end, the PSOE has put forth Economy Minister Nadia Calviñoâa technocrat who is not a PSOE member and has been generally praised for doing a good jobâand contrasted her with the PP (which hasnât named its econ minister). âNosotros tenemos a Nadia y ellos tienen a... Nadie,â he said in a rally: âWe have Nadia and they haveâŠno one.â
This economic fear is central to the PSOE attracting voters outside of its core. The argument: Not only will the nuts in Vox make the PP take Spain back to the stone age socially, the PP will also plunge Spainâs recovery into economic chaos by going against agreements made with the EU in Brussels.Â
In Sanchezâs words: âWe have launched a successful model and the PP wants to kill it,â he said. âIf everywhere we look we find hopeful economic data, what is the point of dismantling the policies that have made it possible? Why should Spain go back and repeal what has been successful? That is the crossroads of the elections. The opposition only uses the verb ârepealâ. But many of these measures that they want to repeal were incorporated into the recommendations from Brussels.â
Sumar (AKA the left to the left of PSOE)
Sumar boss Yolanda DĂaz is trying to put a happy face on her united leftist front after it struck a coalition deal with Unidas Podemos at the eleventh hour last Friday. But the deal left bitter feelings in Podemos, which was basically absorbed in a hostile takeover after it surrendered to Sumarâs demands to cast aside current Equality Minister Irene Montero, who after the âOnly Yes Means Yesâ law fiasco had become a toxic asset.
DĂaz claimed that the Sumar front represented, âthe broadest and most plural agreement in the history of democratic Spainâ. But itâs also a coalition of people who dislike one another. Podemos leaders complained that the best-known representatives of their party, like Montero or Pablo Echenique, were being unjustly vetoed by scared leftists who were in effect doing the work of the right wing. It felt like anything that could remind voters of former Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias was being tossed, and the Iglesias faction is not happy. When asked about this, DĂaz dodged: âSpain was asking for a broad alliance and weâve done thatâ.
DĂaz, who is also the current Minister of Labor, is trying to shift the subject, saying that her party will push to reform corporate taxes âso large companies contribute more and small ones contribute much lessâ. She also asked for a discussion on making a temporary wealth tax permanent, a push that will endear her to her base, but wonât do anything to bring in the center.
Vox (AKA the far-right)
Far-right Vox had a great election, not only because it ratcheted up its vote share, but also because in many regions and municipalitiesâand maybe nationallyâthe PP will need them to form governments. They got an early win in Valencia (see above) as well as in cities like Elche, so the party is growingâbut there are signs there may be limits to their power and their relationship to the PP may be complicated.
The PP in the southeastern community of Murcia on Wednesday decided not to allow the party led by Santiago Abascal to have a seat on the Parliamentâs executive council because, well, they think they are powerful enough to force Vox to bend to their will. The PP was the big winner in Murcia in the 28M elections, falling only two seats short of an absolute majority. While the PP will need those two Vox votes to form a government and Vox has said that it is ready to force a repeat election if its demand for the presidency of the regional Assembly is not met, the PP is betting Vox wonât risk the ridiculousness of doing that.
The takeaway: PP boss FeijĂło knows he will need Vox to form many governments large and small. But he wants to keep the number to a minimum to not be tarred by the far-right labelâand because Vox has been less than competent in its government work. But if this is how negotiations between these two are going to go on a national level, have the popcornđżready!
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đŹ Five things to discuss at dinner parties this week:
1. đȘŠ Civil War dead are being exhumedâat least for now
Forensic scientists began exhuming the bodies of Civil War dead on Monday from the mausoleum that diminutive dictator Francisco Franco had built at the Valle de los CaĂdosânow renamed the Valle de Cuelgamurosâabout 50 km. northwest of Madrid.
The massive tomb and even more massive cross were originally meant only for dead from the Nationalist (pro-Franco) side, but for some reason admission was opened to Republicansâhistorians suggest that it was a Vatican condition for putting a basilica on the site, or a way to get in good with the international community.Â
Thousands of Republican bodies were dug up without their familiesâ consent and moved to the site. With both sides represented, a reported 33,847 bodies were buried in boxes of various sizes.
The push to convert the mausoleum from a site of Francoist pilgrimages to a memorial to the estimated 500,000 who died in the Civil War has come in fits and starts, but took on new urgency under the Pedro SĂĄnchez government. Francoâs body was removed from the site in 2019, Falange founder JosĂ© Antonio Primo de Rivera was exhumed in April, and in October 2022 the government passed a new âDemocratic Memory Lawâ, meant to preserve and teach the history of the dictatorship and remove its remaining symbols.
The exhumation of the first 128 dead, as requested by their families, is part of this movement. Most are from the Republican side, but several (5) are Nationalist dead.
The 15 forensic scientists involved will begin at the bottom level of the Capilla del Santo Sepulcro, where they will look to identify 18 of the bodies requested, then move up to identify 59 more, on their way to 128 in total.
The beginning of the exhumation coincides with the national election campaign, and has not been without, er, controversy.Â
Madrid regional governor Isabel DĂaz Ayuso of the rival PP accused the SĂĄnchez administration of using the exhumations as a campaign tool: âCampaigning on this seems outrageous to me.â
The families of those interred at the site, whoâve been pushing to exhume and rebury their relatives for years, shot back that the exhumations were above politics: âFinally, what we families have been demanding for so many years is being done," they said. "Our dead and our stories are not debatable or subject to be exploited for electoral or partisan purposes. It is about human rights.â
The families were also peeved that they learned about the exhumations from the press and wonât be present at the exhumations, while the Franco family got to carry him out in a coffin.Â
The biggest reason why the families want the exhumations to be performed without any more delays? PP boss Alberto NĂșñez FeijĂło has said he would repeal the Democratic Memory Law if he leads the next government, and they fear this will lead to another pause in a process theyâve waited for years to start.
2. đ Google declares the day of the espeto
You may have noticed something curiously Spanish about Google on Monday: the search siteâs daily Doodle (handcrafted in clay) portrayed an espeto. But why?Â
First, however, some of you must be asking, âWhatâs an espeto?â
If youâve ever been to MĂĄlaga, youâre certainly acquainted with the beachfront chiringuitos with bbq grills made out of small boats where they cook sardines (and other seafood) on little sword-like spits. These skewers are the espetos (and espetar meansâŠto skewer). According to Google, the snack's origins date back to the late 19th century, when cooked skewered fish in the sand next to a fire for a quick meal. They tried a variety of seafood, but over time, sardines became the most common choice.
Legend holds that when the inventor of the espeto served them to King Alfonso XII in 1885 and saw the royal guy prepare to attack them with a knife and fork, he said, âMajestad, 'asina' no, con los 'deos'â (âYour majesty, not like thatâŠwith your fingers.â)
Insiderâs tip: Espetos are only meant to be eaten in months without an âRâ in their name and never on Monday becauseâŠno fish markets on Mondays. This is the exact opposite of oysters (which you only eat in months with an âRâ in their name), which explains why youâve never seen an oyster and an espeto in the same room (a la Superman and Clark Kent).Â

Why did Google choose June 12 to celebrate the espeto? On that day in 2006, the city of MĂĄlaga unveiled a statue of the Espetero â the person who makes the skewers â to celebrate his work. The statue is on the Paseo MarĂtimo Antonio Banderas (yes, Tony Flags has his own boardwalk in MĂĄlagaâhe is the cityâs patron saint, after all). Because espetos are amazing. Hereâs are the 10 best places to eat them around MĂĄlaga.
3. đ Youâre going to miss the rain
Say goodbye to Spainâs very heavy recent storms. It felt like the rain never stopped this springâthough it was somehow also the hottest and second-driest on record (huh?). Thatâs been tough on the southern half of Spain, where the population is water-soluble.Â
But the heat is returning with a vengeanceâand how. Spain and Portugal are set to hot up this weekend, with temperatures in the southwestern part of the Iberian peninsula expected to hit 40°C on Saturday. (Unlike the maps on Spanish TV, which deny that Portugal has weather, we include our neighbors in this heatwave.)
And itâs going to get even hotter after that. The temp in Seville is forecast to peak near 45°C later in June, according to Bloomberg. Thatâs 113°F, if youâre counting. Thatâs caña weather, because a doble would be lukewarm before you got through it.
Not to scare you, butâŠwell, check out that red map!
4. đźđŒ Tragic death of a policeman by friendly fire
Forty-year-old PolicĂa Nacional officer Juan JosĂ© Lara was accidentally shot and killed on Sunday morning by his partner during a confrontation with a local man who was threatening them with a knife. The incident took place in the town of AndĂșjar, in the Andalusian province of JaĂ©n, and is still being investigated by the police. This tragic story was all over the news this week as it was caught in full on camera (Warning: graphic video above).
The local man banged on the door of an apartment building on Las Monjas street in AndĂșjar. Seeming agitated, he threatened the buildingâs residents and, according to witnesses, was holding a knife and a hammer. (Local media would later say he was a retired veterinarian who suffered from schizophrenia).
Nearby residents began looking out their windows and filming with their phones. Several of them alerted the police.
Juan JosĂ© Lara was on patrol with his partner when they were alerted of the situation. Upon arriving at the scene, his partner got out of the patrol car and asked the man to put down the knife (Lara was driving, so lagged behind). When the man refused and started approaching Laraâs partner, the officer began walking backwards and pulled out his gun. He ordered the man to drop the weapon.
As Lara was running towards them, the attacker lunged at his partner, causing him to lose his balance. As he was falling, the officer fired his weapon and hit the man in the leg. However, the bullet went through and hit Lara in the abdomen. In the footage provided by area residents, Lara can be seen grabbing his stomach and falling to the ground while people scream from the windows and balconies.
The assaulted officer was helped by local residents, but the attacker managed to injure him in the head and face.
Lara died from his partnerâs accidental shot on the way to the hospital. The attacker died too, and an autopsy revealed that he had died from the bullet that went through him before hitting Lara, meaning the same bullet killed both.
Both AndĂșjar and the nearby town of Marmolejo, where Lara was from, declared three days of mourning and the Marmolejo City Council proposed granting Lara the Gold Medal of Marmolejo posthumously âto honor his memoryâ.
5. đ That 5-story building that collapsed in Teruel
A five-story residential building with 21 apartments in downtown Teruel collapsed on Tuesday morning, minutes after all of its residents were evacuated. A video made the rounds this week and itâs clear that itâs a miracle that no one got hurt.
In the footage, people scream âget back!â as the entire structure begins to fall apart. Luckily no fatalities were reported, according to the local Fire Department.
Hours before the collapse, people in the building reported hearing ânoises and creaking,â which made them fear imminent structural collapse. Emergency services immediately proceeded to evacuate the structure.
The causes of the collapse are still being investigated, but local media suggests that it could be due to the heavy rainfall recorded in Teruel on Monday. Sources from the provincial Fire Department told local media that they had to replace sewer covers that had been dislodged due to water pressure on the same street where the building was located. Eight other buildings had to be evacuated in the area, leaving 300 people homeless.
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Love the newsletter! Thanks for such a great resource!
Thanks for the great summary of the elections. For someone who doesn't have time to scour the news sources, this was a really informative and interesting update on what's going on. Thank Zeus they're not as drawn out as the US elections!