ARCHIVED - Murcia and Spanish news round-up week ending 15th November 2019

Winter weather arrives in Murcia and the rest of Spain as left-wing parties attempt to form a government by Christmas after the general election a week ago

Never mind the general election, the talk in the Costa Cálida and the rest of Spain this week has been mainly about the weather, with successive cold fronts bringing heavy snow, waves of up to 10 metres and temperatures of well below zero to the north of the country, and strong winds and the first dusting of snow to the mountains of Murcia on Friday morning.

Much of the week has been windy and chilly but on Wednesday, just for one day, temperatures shot up to a high of 27 degrees in Mazarrón, the warmest in Spain. However, this was just a brief respite before the effects of Storm Cecilia began to be felt all over the country, and in Murcia at one point on Thursday afternoon the temperature dropped by 7 degrees in an hour.

Strong winds had been forecast but the damage was minimal, limited to a large fallen tree branch in the city of Murcia, but elsewhere the weather map showed clearly that much of Spain was in the grip of an icy body of air as red alerts were issued for snowfalls of 40 centimetres in the mountains of the Picos de Europa and waves of 10 metres on the coast of Galicia. Just 24 hours after the mini-heatwave of Wednesday temperatures were falling well below 10, and on Friday morning the first snow of the winter in the region fell on the slopes of Revolcadores in the north-west of Murcia.

143,000 passengers fewer at Corvera airport so far this year than at San Javier in 2018

During October the number of passengers passing through the terminal building at Corvera was 108,503, representing a “loss” of 23,393 travellers compared to the same month last year after the sharpest fall yet registered, equating to 17.7 per cent, and with the winter flight schedules now in operation it remains to be seen whether the slide will be halted.

To add to the disappointment, the October figures for the Murcia airport come in the context of a nationwide increase of a 1.5 per cent at all of the airports managed by Aena in Spain and a rise of 5.8 per cent at Alicante-Elche.

However, one aspect of the October data at Corvera which did not change was the dominance of flights between the Costa Cálida and the UK and Ireland on the arrivals and departures boards. Passengers on UK-Murcia flights accounted for 82.9 per cent of the overall total, with almost half of the rest travelling on the services to and from Dublin (8.8 per cent).

Amazon to open logistical centre alongside Corvera airport: the online sales and distribution giant will be contracting staff in Murcia shortly.

Murcia tourism authorities explore the possibility of Corvera-Iceland flights! Talks with Icelandair were held at the World Travel Market event in London…

The Mar Menor

Since the mass demonstration demanding action to save the Mar Menor on 30^th October the issue has dropped out of the headlines a little, but it is never far from the news and this week a report compiled by the Spanish Oceanographic Institute concluded that the lack of oxygen in the water killed almost all living organisms below a depth of 3 metres in the Mar Menor in October.

This is what caused the appearance of tons of dead fish and crustaceans on the beaches at the northern end of the lagoon, and although the IEO study accepts that the immediate cause of the episode was the destructive gota fría storm of mid-September, it also mentions the “profound deterioration” over a period of decades due to agricultural activity, and warns that more “episodes of mass death” are possible “at any time”.

The pocket of water with a low oxygen content has now shrunk significantly, although at the same time the data indicate that the amount of phytoplankton in the lagoon is increasing: this is leading to the water becoming greenish in colour, and also means that far less sunlight will reach the marine flora.

Also related to the Mar Menor, on Thursday Fernando López Miras, the president of the regional government, recognized that as much as 13 million litres of water containing agricultural nutrients are reaching the lagoon every day, at the same time promising that the budget for 2020 will reflect a full commitment to saving, regenerating and protecting the marine environment, while many of the fishermen based at Lo Pagán were angered by claims that they are already voluntarily casting their nets again.

These claims were made by Sr López Miras’ colleague Antonio Luengo, but the former president of the Fishermen’s Guild in Lo Pagán does not agree with his reading of the situation. He claims that the 21 boats (out of 54) which have gone back out to sea are those which are not set to receive compensation for not fishing.

Ironically, the fishing would appear to be good at present in the Canal del Estacio between the Mar Menor and the Mediterranean, where in just one week 120 furtive anglers were identified and now face charges for fishing in a restricted area!

On a related environmental topic, the Minister for Ecological Transition highlighted a report on Thursday in which it is forecast that as a consequence of the climate crisis sea levels will rise by 15 cm in Murcia in the next 9 years and 55 cm by the year 2100. 

And all those observing flora and fauna movements due to climate change recorded a first this week as killer whales were sighted for the first time ever off the coast of Cartagena! At least four specimens have been seen near the docks of Escombreras.

General election: Murcia leads a lurch to the far right but a surprise left wing coalition government could take office

When Sunday’s general election became known during the night it appeared initially that strong gains for the far-right Vox party would result in another hung parliament, but that outlook soon changed drastically.

On the face of it the second general election of the year in Spain produced another inconclusive result, with no single party or obvious alliance winning enough seats on Congress to form a majority government. The socialist PSOE party was again the winner and although their support dropped, the number of seats they hold fell by just three to 120 out of the 350 in Congress, while the main beneficiaries of the second election were the PSOE’s traditional rival the PP, winning 89 seats as opposed to 66 in April, and the ultra-right wing group Vox, whose representation rose sharply from 24 earlier in the year to 52.

The rise of Vox has been particularly significant in certain regions of Spain, none more so than Murcia, where the far-right newcomers were the most voted-for party in 16 of the 45 municipalities, including six of the ten largest in terms of population (Cartagena, Molina de Segura, Alcantarilla, Torre Pacheco, Cieza and San Javier) as well as Fuente Álamo, Totana, Alhama de Murcia and Mazarrón. In Torre Pacheco Vox’s share of the vote soared to 38 per cent and the results have led to Murcia being described as the far right’s new “bastion” or “stronghold”, with voters attracted to a “new broom” approach despite the party’s failure to include any environmental measures or protection for the Mar Menor in their election manifesto.

But at a national level there was a surprise in store, and on Tuesday Pedro Sánchez of the PSOE party and Pablo Iglesias of Unidas Podemos announced that the basic principles of a ruling coalition had been agreed upon. This possibility had been discounted by many as after the April 2019 election the two men had failed to agree, but the announcement of their agreement to bury the hatchet on Tuesday was marked by smiles, a relaxed atmosphere and even a hug.

Nonetheless, there are still hurdles to be overcome before Pedro Sánchez can be re-appointed Prime Minister of Spain, not least of them the fact that between them the PSOE and Unidas Podemos hold only 155 of the 350 seats in Congress. The support or abstention of some minor parties in an investiture debate can be counted on, but intriguingly, the support of the ERC Catalan separatist party is now crucial to the success of the coalition government bid.

It might seem odd that a group lobbying for secession from Spain would support a central government in Madrid, but on the other hand the rise of Vox, which advocates the centralization of government in all of Spain’s regions and the punishment of all of those who rebel against national unity, means that the ERC leader Oriol Junqueras, who is currently in prison, could see it as the “least worst option” available. The next couple of weeks promise to be interesting…

Separatists cause more severe road disruption in Catalunya

Hardly a week seems to have gone by in recent months without Catalan separatist demonstrators grabbing the national headlines, and on Sunday, while voters turned out in the general election, a group of them succeeded in blocking the France-Spain border for 23 hours.

Not until Monday morning did the French police manage to reopen the AP-7 motorway near La Junquera by breaking up barricades with the aid of tear gas after a series of barricades were erected on the instigation of an anonymous platform group called “Tsunami Democràtic”. But the disruption was not over, and on Tuesday night hundreds of motorists were stranded overnight on the AP-7, sleeping in their cars, chatting among each other and making use of blankets, food and drink provided by Protección Civil.

From the point of view of Murcia HGV drivers, the effect of these blockages was very serious, with around 3,000 of them caught up in the motorway blockades. The losses to Murcia exporters and transport companies are estimated at some 1.5 millon euros, and if action is not taken to prevent repeats of this week there are fears that buyers in northern Europe could turn to suppliers in Italy and Greece instead.

Other stories in the news this week

Work begins on final stretch of new inland Murcia-Valencia motorway: the new route will shorten the road journey to Valencia by almost 50 kilometres.

Woman dies in Santiago de la Ribera after inhaling barbecue fumes: a children’s birthday party ends in tragedy in the municipality of San Javier as a couple place the barbecue inside to prevent the glowing embers from being scattered by the strong wind.

Flood damage repairs progressing well on the water supply canal in Molina de Segura: the CHS expect the reconstruction of the canal to be completed early in 2020.

New San Pedro del Pinatar Town Hall office opens in Lo Pagán: residents no longer have to travel to the Ayuntamiento in San Pedro for simple administrative procedures.

4,000 vaccinated against hepatitis A following outbreak in Cartagena: the Murcia health service spends 120,000 euros on ensuring the outbreak is contained.

Cross-party allegations fly in wrangling over Gota Fría flooding aid packages: the Murcia government calculates gota fría flooding damage at 528 million euros and urges the national government to apply for EU Solidarity Funds.

Lorca residents could take macro-pig farm protest to the European Court of Human Rights: there are a million pigs in Lorca and residents of El Consejero say enough is enough!

16 shopping days on Sundays and public holidays in Murcia in 2020: other regions in Spain already allow unlimited Sunday opening but in Murcia this is the case only in areas with high levels of tourism.

80 kilos of waste removed from the Mediterranean by volunteer divers in Cabo de Palos: beaches were cleaned by a land-based team while the divers took to coves around the headland.

Stunning images win young photographers’ competition in Águilas: Águilas sunsets from the sea were the subject of the competition.

Livestock transport soars at the port of Cartagena: the number of animals shipped to and from the Costa Cálida is now 25 times higher than in 2010.

The “yes-yes” generation grows in Spain as young people both work and study: the number of “no-nos” decreases according to the Active Population Survey.

The average age of cars involved in fatal road accidents in Murcia is over 15 years: one in five of all vehicles on the road in Murcia are at least 20 years old.

500 stowaways break into lorries heading to the UK from Murcia every year: some HGV drivers are unwilling to travel to the UK for fear of being targeted by migrants.

Over 100 Spanish companies fined for failing to implement new clocking-in law: the re-introduction of clocking in is an effort to prevent unpaid extra hours being worked.

Torre Pacheco man arrested after thefts and burglaries in Balsicas and Los Alcázares: the arrested stole a car and rammed it into the post office of Roldán.

Griffon vulture rescued by Puerto Lumbreras police: the hungry and disorientated young vulture strayed into an animal feeding shed in the Puerto Lumbreras countyside.

Hespérides research ship sets sails form Cartagena on a 7-month mission to the Antarctic: support and supplies will be given to Spanish bases on Livingston Island and Deception Island before stops on the return leg in Brazil and the Canaries.

LGTBi rainbow zebra crossings in Totana ruled legal by the Murcia courts: the gesture caused protests against “gender indoctrination” from far right-wing groups.

Costa del Sol donkey taxis awarded workers’ rights charter: Mijas Town Hall aims to eliminate possible maltreatment of the popular tourist taxi-donkeys.

Outrage over decision to host Spanish football Supercopa in Saudi Arabia: RTVE pulls out of broadcasting rights bidding in protest at human rights violations as special permission has to be given for women to attend matches near Jeddah.

ITV roadworthiness testing centre opens in Alhama de Murcia: the first ITV centre in Alhama is in the Las Salinas industrial estate.

Jumilla wineries on month-long tour to consolidate exports to China and the Far East: China and the Far East are already an important export market for the wines of Jumilla and only this week it was announced that a Chinese business group has acquired a 45 per cent share in David wines, which currently exports 350,000 bottles a year of Jumilla wine to the country.

Murcia and Spanish property news

The most significant news in the Spanish real estate market this week concerned the publication of property sales data for the month of September 2019, bringing confirmation that the level of activity appears to be falling although in Murcia the situation is rather more stable.

A nationwide year-on-year fall of 21 per cent in the August figures was thought by some to have been a temporary blip, but another drop of 12 per cent in September makes it clear that the market is slowing down. Various factors may be at play, including the continuing political uncertainty, indications that unemployment figures have bottomed out and the slowdown of general economic growth.

However, this may not be the case in Murcia, where the September figure was up by 3 per cent to reach within a whisker of a new 8½-year high! The running 12-monthly total of transactions registered in the Costa Cálida stands 6.4 per cent higher than a year ago, and in terms of sales per 100,000 inhabitants of property-buying age during the month Murcia was the second busiest market.

Part of this resilience in the Murcia market may be due to the continuing high level of sales to non-Spaniards. Spain’s notaries report that in the first half of the year the number of non-Spanish purchasers fell in other Mediterranean regions, and even more sharply in the Balearics and the Canaries, but rose by almost 10 per cent in the Costa Cálida. Despite the continuing uncertainty over Brexit, over half of all non-resident buyers in Murcia were from the UK!

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