Brett Hetherington's Blog: "First thought:" My Substack page, page 13

Severe Poverty Rises From 4 Million To 6 Million in Spain

 

"In Spain, four million people were living in severe poverty in 2018. Now there are more than six million. According to the Caritas and Foessa Foundation report, the impact of the pandemic is “devastating” and more than 11 million people now live in a situation of “social exclusion”…’"

Of course we can't ignore the global capitalist system which is now in a state of new techno-feudalism as a major reason.

Read more from source here.

[News story first found at the superb aggregator Business over Tapas. ]

A winter of malcontent in Europe

I support nationalisation of energy industries because...

"The current energy crisis highlights a lack of robustness in the system. 

Many countries have reduced their coal and nuclear capabilities as part of political and environmental plans. Together France, Germany, Spain, and Belgium alone have pledged to close 32 nuclear reactors by 2035. Thus reducing their possible backup energy sources...

The crisis is already here and we’re starting to see the effects. Governments are already stepping in to [supposedly!] protect their citizens. 

France is going to give a one-off payment of €100 to those struggling to pay their energy bills. Greece is looking to provide subsidies. Italy is offering a support package worth €3 billion. The UK is going to increase the cap on the amount that energy providers can charge their customers to try and keep the market afloat."

And Spain...?

Read more at original source, The Good Information Project : here.

"Berliners To Vote On Expropriating Housing From Powerful Landlords"

 "Berlin’s efforts to lower the fast-rising rents in Germany’s capital city have led to a referendum which could expropriate and socialize almost a quarter of a million apartments primarily from Deutsche Wohnen, the largest real estate company in Europe and one of the largest companies in Germany."

Read more here.

"So, how was your summer?" -- My latest opinion column for Catalonia Today magazine

 

When people ask me this question I’ll be able to say it was unique. I had some novel experiences. 

Because the Spanish government doesn’t seem to have the ability to get its Social Security department to pay welfare benefits properly, I was one of the millions of unemployed who received nothing from them.

Like most private (or non-government) teachers in August I had no income.

This meant that the only state support for my household of three adults was a voucher for 100 Euros that I could spend in our little village’s only food shop. Still, I’m grateful for that. The town council helped.

Of course, it didn’t stop me worrying about the possibility of losing our house. That’s another new feature of 2021 but not confined to summertime.

What else? Well, we didn’t travel anywhere. We couldn’t afford it. Same as last year and the year before that. Instead, I spent hour after hour looking for the best place to sell some of my wife’s inherited jewellery. My mother in law’s gold bracelets paid for some of our mortgage.

I also put some time into a new hobby: persecuting myself and my wife and son to only use electrical appliances during the low-charge periods of the day, 2pm to 6pm. 

Of course, it didn’t work. Our electricity bill has gone up anyway. But we’ve almost stopped eating meat and drinking tea (the real, expensive stuff) so that might help even things out, do you think?

But surely I did something worthwhile? Yes. For my one glass of it a day, I found a bottle of wine I can actually drink that costs less than 1 euro. Also, I kept beavering away on my first novel. It’s getting close to finished. Nice. I watched my son with his girlfriend and I was proud of him. Also very nice. (She’s moved in so now there’s four of us.) 

As well,I walked here and there. It was free. Nice, again. It meant I discovered new patches of nature and parts of nearby towns that I hadn’t explored before: Pacs del Penedes and it’s Roman aqueduct in the medieval shade of a leafy forest, the thickest vines on the side of unfashionable Santa Margarita i Els Monjos and yet more wonderful Roman arches next to Sant Jaume dels Domenys.

All those in silence and with no one else around to distract me.  I went home and learned a lot reading Doris Lessing then dreamed about going to a restaurant again one day. It’s been more than 18 months since we did that.

On top of those fun and games, I enjoyed the heat of the sun. I always do. There was a part of me though that sometimes thought of that melancholy Bob Dylan line. “It’s not like the sun that used to be.”  

In short, while on a reluctant holiday, I tasted the stale, acrid taste of relative first-world poverty, or at least the sensation of sliding hundreds of metres towards it from what was once a comfortable middle-class existence. Surely, this is “The New Adventure” of the 21st century.

[This article was first published in Catalonia Today magazine, Sept. 2021.]

Brazil resistance documentary launch by Helios Molina in Barcelona

 

Filmaker Helios Molina says, "I'm presenting/launching a documentary along with a debate at the Athenaeum Enciclopedic at C/- Reina Amalia 38 (Raval) Barcelona on 30 Sept at 18.30. It is about how the extreme right entered Brazil and will be with various artists from Rio de Janeiro and the resistance. The doc is 1h08 + debate following on how to cope."

Another 5 Star Review for "Slow Travels in Unsung Spain"

 Reader Review Timecheck 5.0 out of 5 stars  A unique view by someone who loves SpainReviewed in the United States on August 31, 2021Verified Purchase
"I enjoyed reading this book by someone who obviously loves Spain. His observations are insightful, and particularly to me because it is the view of someone outside the culture, looking in. These are not small towns for the most part, and many are off the tourist track, so the authoris giving us a unique view.
It is a little wordy and more literary references than I prefer, so I would like to see tighter editingin future works, but still a valuable read."
See this Amazon reader review here.
Thanks for your thoughtful comments, Timecheck (from Oakland, CA United States.) I do love Spain, most of the time...But sometimes she makes you disillusioned too!

Podcast: "Catalonia: Squatters, Eviction and Extortion" [Crossing Continents]

A balanced and moving podcast with a real sting in the tail.

"Spain has a history of squatting. 

After the property crash of 2008 many families were forced to occupy homes that did not belong to them because they could not pay their mortgages. 

Now a darker side to ‘okupacion’ has emerged. 

Organised crime has seen an opportunity. Some flats in Barcelona have become ‘narcopisos’ - properties used to process or sell drugs. 

Other empty properties have been ‘sub-let’ by gangs to families who cannot afford a commercial rent. And the pandemic has spawned a new commercial model – extortion. 

These are cases where squatters occupy a property and demand a ‘ransom’ from the owner of several thousand Euros before they will leave. 

Enter the controversial ‘desokupa’ companies – firms run by boxers and bouncers who will evict unwanted 'tenants'."

Producer / Presenter: Linda Pressly Producer / Presenter in Spain: Esperanza Escribano Editor: Bridget Harney

"Books about Spain" -- a listing

I'm proud that my book Slow Travels in Unsung Spain has just been included on ThisIsSpain.com on a "list intended for those who want an overview of Spain and the Spanish, particularly directed at those who are considering moving to the country."

The full list of selected books can be seen here.

A living in Spain guide

 

[Image of Catalonia: Shutterstock.com]
I was sent this  Spain expat guide  recently by their editors. 

It's a mixture of quite useful links, info about relocating, daily life and the bleedin' obvious . 

Worth a quick look if you want some basics and a bit of specific advice.

"Mid-summer launch of Rosa Maria Arquimbau's 'Forty Lost Years' -- Catalan novelist never before in English"