Spain News Update - Protests Against Tourism Continue - What You Need to Know

[@janicegarciacucharero-od5xe]

I completely understand the Spanish being angry, also how some tourists behave is disgusting.

[@youtoospain]

True, tourists come in all shapes and sizes and behaviours, some are less caring than others.

[@londonPB]

I have put my holiday and holiday home on hold due to these issues. Also the fact that they give more legal rights to squatters makes me feel on edge about buying anything there!

[@youtoospain]

Don’t let the minority of cases you hear about put you off. Most people have only ever heard about it on Facebook and never experience it. You can also get a security system connected to the police so they call out immediately

[@nicprivate3609]

Not everyone is daft enough to have a Facebook account ... and once people have broken into your home they can only be removed by proper legal process - security companies are powerless. We are all "immigrants" but the BIG distinction between us is that the vast majority of us are here legally and are not common criminals who have broken the law to enter the country. Every country has the proper channels for people to apply for legal entry.- if these are not used they should be deported.

[@youtoospain]

@@nicprivate3609 if informed within the first 48 hours the police can arrest and remove people who’ve broken into your home. Security systems make that possible. So with a good system and neighbours to report the crime it gets sorted out. That’s what happens in reality. Whether you’ve got Facebook or not, you’ve been subjected to scaremongering and exaggeration, and as usual the blame falls on illegal immigrants. The statistics don’t agree. The majority of ‘squatters’ are people who are tenants who’ve stopped paying their rent, also low waged or unemployed people desperate to get into social housing in big cities. Catalonia has about 30% of the nation’s squatters. While it is a problem, it’s reducing in numbers every year, and as far as people buying property to live or holiday in, cases of homes being broken into and occupied are thankfully rare.

[@londonPB]

@@youtoospain Thanks, is there legal insurance you can get against this? So that the insurance company would help and pay the legal fees to get them out?

[@youtoospain]

@@londonPB I’m not sure. I’m just getting quotes for our rented house contents so I’ll check if they include it. My guess is that they would cover theft and damage but not eviction legal costs, but I would check with a few companies to see what they cover.

[@patrickoconnell8187]

Well explained Skatz. #stillalive #FOF

[@youtoospain]

😀😀😀😀😀

[@Mike_Ripper]

The fact is that many Spanish have second home, mostly on the coast. Some coastal towns in the north of Spain, not a common destination for tourists, are like ghost towns in the winter - winter being from mid September to mid June. And it's been like that for decades. Of course hardware shops and local shops are closing. The Spanish, like every other country, buy more and more online. Local shops need customers. The protestors should blame their own governments and look to themselves fora lot of these problems.

[@youtoospain]

That’s exactly what protesters are doing, asking the government for changes to the housing laws, and that will apply to everyone. Sure, second homes do cause shortages whether they’re owned by Spanish people or foreigners.

[@Merc-Rover]

As you said, due to the massive amount of money involved the locals will continue to suffer. Nothing will change 😢

[@youtoospain]

Don’t give up, change is possible

[@Taldanmus]

I wonder how a country like France manages

[@youtoospain]

With great pride I imagine. 🤣

[@kf31paris]

​​@@youtoospainABSOLUMENT....WIT PRIDE AND DIGNITY, BOTH THINGS THOSE SPANISH PROTESTERS DON'T HAVE 😏 Nevers explain Never complain !

[@aoneill]

I am sure there are issues but that is no excuse for hostility or unpleasantness that ruins peoples holidays. Making people feel unwanted and sometimes attacked is both cowardly and beneath contempt.

[@youtoospain]

Well I wouldn’t call a bit of water pistol unpleasantness cowardly and beneath contempt. As a form of protest it hasn’t done anyone any harm while making a valid point. After all, the effects of over-tourism are far reaching and serious, people are losing their homes and businesses and communities and made poorer, and sometimes just waving placards and chanting isn’t enough.

[@colinsmith1288]

​@@youtoospainYes but they do not like being returned the favour. It is a form of harassment and intimidation so yes it is unpleasant business by Spanish hostiles. Tourists out refugees welcome is another slogan they sometimes enjoy.

[@nicprivate3609]

Gracias por tu respuesta Noelia. La distinción entre ambas palabras depende de la persona. El término "expatriado" tiene connotaciones de colonialismo y a veces se utiliza como término despectivo aplicado por personas que envidian a quienes tienen los medios económicos para retirarse a la soleada España, por ejemplo... Mentras que "inmigrante" es un término más general que engloba a todos aquellos que han llegado a un país desde otro, independientemente de su estatus. ¡El marxismo cultural exige que todos seamos tratados como iguales!

[@youtoospain]

We’re all immigrants

[@FBGbarge]

Is it directed primarily at tourists or are ex-pats targeted as well?

[@NoeliaRuiz-ls8yw]

Immigrants u mean?

[@youtoospain]

The problem is lack of housing for local residents, so anything that reduces that or makes it more expensive is part of the problem, including ‘expats’ with holiday homes, Spanish people with second homes, tourists etc. I wouldn’t say people are being targeted, that just creates tension, it’s a complex problem that needs addressing.

[@FBGbarge]

@@NoeliaRuiz-ls8yw yes, I suppose I do.

[@nicprivate3609]

@@NoeliaRuiz-ls8yw Expats are those elderly retirees who move to Spain often for health reasons - they contribute to the Spanish Exchequer by paying high levels of tax. They invariably own their own homes. Immigrants are those who arrive looking for work (which often does not exist) and rarely pay tax. As the flow of immigrants from Africa increases this places a large burden on the social/welfare system - and contrubute to Spain´s lack of affordable housing Negative contribution as opposed to the expat`s positive contrinution ..

[@NoeliaRuiz-ls8yw]

@@nicprivate3609 I think ur talking about illegal immigrants. I never said that. Myself been an immigrant in England, of course legal, and never had to look for a job as I moved there through an agency and had my contract. I started working the day after I landed. And paid taxes like everyone else. That is what I was talking about. Legal immigrants. I know british come to Spain whatever is for work or coz they retire here, they contribute to Spanish economy. But anyway, thanks for letting me know what expat really means, as I honestly thought that some british don't want to be called immigrant coz it sounds bad. But now I know the real meaning ✌

[@armandgran4217]

GDP doesn't mean life quality

[@youtoospain]

Not in the dictionary certainly

[@timjackson1904]

I saw someone point out that the possible cause of the recent floods was the removal of dams (built to control flooding) to return areas to nature under green policies. Apparently, Spain has been the most active in this EU policy.

[@youtoospain]

That’s a disinformation narrative that’s doing the rounds. The reality: neither reservoirs nor large dams have been destroyed in the Júcar river basin, the area most affected by the floods and which includes the province of Valencia. The weirs demolished in the Júcar Hydrographic Demarcation were removed between 2006 and 2021 (the latest year available in data from the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge), under governments of various political affiliations (Aznar, Zapatero, Rajoy, and Sánchez). In the province of Valencia, the only barriers demolished were taken down between 2006 and 2017, before Pedro Sánchez’s first government (2018). What can be explained: it is not possible to verify what would have happened if the hypothetical world imagined by these narratives existed. However, we can explain that weirs and small dams, not reservoirs or large dams, have been demolished, and they are removed for flood safety, legal obligations, and ecosystem restoration. Not removing obsolete or poorly maintained weirs poses a greater flood risk because it raises water levels in uncontrolled areas and can create blockages, according to two experts.

[@timjackson1904]

@@youtoospain I did a little research to see whether flooding in the Júcar river basin was common and found an article that showed that there was lots of flooding in the 1860's (the mini ice age that froze the thames) : (Flood frequency and seasonality of the Jucar and Turia Mediterranean rivers (Spain) During the "Little Ice Age" December 2014Mediterranee 122(122):121-130 ) It seems that the incidence has been on the decline since then, but like Spain, we seem to be getting more than our fair share of rain recently, my village being flooded by the Ouse 3 weeks back after a 20yr break. Pretty miserable for those affected but at least not a flash flood. Someone jokingly commented: "I hope the British summers on a weekend next year!" Sums the weather up perfectly!

[@youtoospain]

@ I’m sure there’ll be a lot more serious weather in both countries in the future.

[@nicprivate3609]

Spain not be too keemn on "toursts" .. but seem to have little problem with the growing flow of illegal immigrants which invade the country - they are given a warm and generous welcome in a country despite Spain suffering a high level of unemployment, which since the economic and financial crisis of the 1980s has never fallen below 9%. One leading cause is because the economy is based mostly on tourism and building, as well as Spain`s lack of heavy industry ....

[@youtoospain]

Why do we always have to blame illegal immigrants? They don’t ‘invade’ anywhere. They usually arrive in shite little boats and pushed into the sea by pirates. They’re rarely given a welcome by anyone, as you’ve proved.

[@nicprivate3609]

Illegal immigrants are given every assistance - accommodation, money, food, clothes and often a smart phone - meanwhile indigenous Spanish are homeless and sleep in the streets. Illegal immigrants should be deported and told to apply to enter the country properly and LEGALLY - just ss millions of immigrants have done before.