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ARCHIVED - Arguments over allegados make travel restrictions around Spain even more confusing
Regional governments cannot agree about Christmas and New Year travel restrictions
The Spanish government’s policy regarding a relaxation of pandemic restrictions on movement and social gatherings during Christmas and the New Year has caused a considerable amount of controversy and confusion since plans were first discussed, and the regional administrations in the country’s 17 Autonomous Communities are adopting different interpretations and approaches to the national guidelines as the festive season grows nearer.
Governments of most of the autonomous regions of Spain (except Galicia and Extremadura) are maintaining their external border closures until after the festive season, their intention being to limit movement other than for essential reasons, between the regions of the country.
However, regional governments have agreed to permit travel between the different regions from the 23rd December to 6th January in order to allow people to visit family members and “allegados”. The government has made it absolutely clear that the travel “pass” is NOT for leisure purposes and is NOT for those wishing to visit holiday homes or go ski-ing, but is purely to enable families to meet up during the festive season.
This term “allegados” is now causing a real “riff-raff” between the respective regional governments and the national government, as the word is full of ambiguity and doesn´t have a literal translation; it might be translated as something akin to “nearest and dearest”.
More formal definitions of the word might be restricted to close family members, but it is the nuances which make it so open to different interpretations and this is the cause of all the disagreement, as some regions want to restrict the travel purely to family members and not to “nearest and dearest”.
In Murcia, where the regional government has been among the most cautious in the country since Covid-19 was first detected in Spain in February of this year, the policy met with immediate opposition and a request was made for “allegados” to be excluded from permitted inter-regional travel. Similar objections were raised by the governments of Andalucía and Galicia among others and Fernando López Miras, the president of the Murcia government, explained that the term was “imprecise” and leads to confusion and advocated limiting inter-regional travel to family members only.
However, his request was turned down by the Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, who is of the view that it would be unfair and unacceptable to deny people the opportunity to celebrate Christmas with loved ones who do not fall into the traditional definition of a “family”, and has reiterated his stance on various occasions since the government first announced its decision.
Nonetheless, the regional governments are allowed to adapt the centrally decided policies as they see fit and in Galicia it has already been announced that the maximum size of gatherings over the festive season will be 6 people (unless more live in the same household, of course) rather than the 10 agreed with the Ministry.
Other regions such as the Basque Country, La Rioja, Navarra, Aragón, Castilla y León and Cantabria are also adopting a stricter approach (this varies; Aragón is only allowing borders to open from 23rd to 26th December and again from 30th December to 2nd January), and in Andalucía the regional government has formally decided to remove “allegados” from the equation completely. As a result, throughout the second largest region of Spain the ban on inter-regional travel will remain in force until at least 10th January except for those visiting family members only between 23rd December and 6th January.
The plan announced in Andalucía on Thursday also includes an initial de-escalation of restrictions beginning this Saturday, when it will be permitted for people to travel within the province in which they live although bars and restaurants will still be obliged to close at 18.00.
Restrictions are impossible to enforce
In Madrid, on the other hand, those visiting “allegados” will not be prevented from leaving Madrid and the regional government of Madrid has become almost as vocally critical of the plan as the Murcian regional president, describing it as “uninforceable”.
This of course, could lead to a situation whereby someone is permitted to leave Madrid, but not to enter Andalucía!!!!!
However, much of this arguing is academic, as during the last few weeks, when various levels of travel have theoretically been banned, it has become apparent that very few checks indeed are carried out on the boundaries between municipalities, provinces and regions and that unless people voluntarily obey the restrictions they cannot be enforced.
This has been the case during November and early December and it will continue to be the case over Christmas, and the reason that the restrictions have been effective in partially curbing the spread of the second wave of Covid infection is not rigorous policing and enforcement but the widespread responsible behaviour of the majority of the general public.
It is plainly absurd to imagine that all those travelling between, say, the Region of Murcia and the province of Alicante over Christmas will be stopped and the reasons for their journeys investigated, with those who are visiting a friend rather than a cousin being turned back and fined. Such rules can only be rigidly enforced if they are made extreme, as was the case during the initial coronavirus lockdown in Spain in March, when people were not allowed to leave their homes except for specific purposes: in those circumstances it is possible to treat all travellers as potential lockdown-breakers and to police them, but the recommendations for the Christmas season allow too much leeway for them to be closely monitored.
As many international residents will testify; second home-owners are successfully boarding aircraft in the UK clutching a valid PCR test, landing in a Spanish airport which checks whether they are covid positive or not but is totally disinterested in whether they are residents or holidaymakers, and then drive to second properties on golf resorts, some of which are within municipalities in “red zones” in which residents are currently not permitted to leave or enter the municipal border, without being stopped by a single police checkpoint. They can enjoy a two week holiday and get back to the airport without even seeing a police officer, so is it realistic to think that the police have the resources to stop every car containing somebody who may potentially be visiting a friend when half of Spain will be out visiting during the festive period?
Of course not, so is it really worth so much political energy?.
Which is not to say, of course, that the recommendations cannot be adhered to. Responsible behaviour on the part of millions of individuals throughout the country is essential if a possible third wave of infection before mass immunization can begin is to be avoided, and the message to people over the festive season is the same whether they live in Madrid, Galicia, Murcia or anywhere else: the fact that you CAN travel more widely for certain reasons doesn’t necessarily make it a good idea, and all social gatherings and outings in public should be treated as potential sources of contagion.
No-one doubts that the intention of the Spanish government is to allow people to enjoy a happy Christmas at the end of what has been a memorable year for all the wrong reasons, but there is no doubt in the minds of many commentators and those working in the medical profession, that in January the whole Merry-go-round will begin again and a third wave of the pandemic is inevitable.
It has never been as vital to ensure a restrained, careful and cautious festive season as it is now, whether it is in the company of your family, your loved ones or your “allegados”, but whether the natives of Spain will be able to restrain their natural inclination to socialise and interact remains to be seen.
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