đ° This Week in Spain: 'Koldo' Case Gets Worse
Amnesty news (for real this time), a George W. Bush interview and a 117th birthday.
By @IanMount and @AdrianBono | March 7, 2024 | Madrid | Issue #47
đ Welcome to The Tapa, an English-language, weekly newsletter about all things Spain!
đ„ This Week in a Nutshell: The âKoldoâ corruption case is spinning out of control and the PSOE government is scrambling. The PP, smelling blood, keeps hitting hard as it calls for explanations (and resignations). Long gone are the days when the amnesty debate was the worst thing Prime Minister Pedro SĂĄnchez had to face.
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From bad to worse
đ Koldo Mask Scandal Keeps GrowingââIâm Rubber and Youâre Glueâ Edition
Giving incoherent explanations, muddying the waters, and playing the blame game. It was perhaps inevitable that once the ice-cold first shock of the Caso Koldo wore off, Spainâs two main political parties would return to attacking each other in flailing, inarticulate and partisan fashion. Weeeee!
First, though, a recap. Two weeks ago, we got our first taste of what is now known as Caso Koldo (or Koldo Case). And it wasâŠtasty?
The Guardia Civil arrested Koldo GarcĂa, an advisor to former Public Works Minister JosĂ© Luis Ăbalos, for allegedly taking bribes on millions in COVID-era surgical mask sales he arranged to the Canary and Balearic Islands governments (among others). Ăbalos is a longtime close ally of Prime Minister Pedro SĂĄnchez.
Caso Koldo affects PSOE bigwigs: The Canary and Balearic Island governments were run by PSOE leaders when these sales happened, but the two regional presidents lost in last yearâs elections, and now are in the national government.
Ăbalos refused to resign from parliament and be the scapegoat for the case. So the PSOE threw him out of the party.
Unforced PP errors: The head of the center-right PP Alberto NĂșñez FeijĂło accused PM SĂĄnchez of âknowing everything and covering it upâ but without bringing any evidence, which allowed SĂĄnchez to be the victim and turn the focus onto FeijĂło⊠The PP clearly never took in Napoleonâs (supposed) phrase, âNever interfere with an enemy while he's in the process of destroying himself.â
And now this week! The highlight of the case this week was the press conference by Parliament Speaker Francina Armengol, who was sort of forced to come out of hiding and answer questions after almost two weeks of non-stop accusations and calls for her resignation.
Armengol was the regional president of the Balearic Islands between 2015 and 2023, when she lost the regional elections. She was appointed Speaker by PM SĂĄnchez last summer after the 23J national elections.
Big buy: While Armengol was the Balearic president, her government paid âŹ3.7m to the company linked to Koldo for FFP2 face masks in April 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The masks, though, turned out to be common surgical masks and were tossed into storage, unused.
Some âsplaining to do: Opposition leadersâand other peopleâhave questions. Like, who in her administration closed the mask deal? And why, after learning that the masks werenât up to snuff, did it take the Balearic government three years to ask for a refund. You know, obvs questions.
Blood in the water: The PP says she should leave her Speaker post because âyou canât have someone as the Speaker of the Parliament being involved in such grave accusationsâ.
So on Tuesday, Armengol came out to present her defense and offered a press conference in which she answered⊠not much.
Rough start: Armengol began by saying, âI want to explain well the context in which I am explaining the issues that I am going to explain.â It did not get a lot more illuminating as she stuttered and struggled at various times.
Lots of words! Speaking for some 25 minutes, Armengol claimed that sheâs ânot an accomplice but a victimâ and that the PP had âcrossed all red linesâ with their accusations. She also said she would not resign and would not let anyone drag her name through the mud. âI am not under investigation and neither is anyone from my government,â she said. Yet, we might add.
But not much meaning in them: Despite being asked repeatedly who recommended that her government buy masks from Soluciones de GestiĂłn SLâthe company giving Koldo kickbacks in exchange for government contractsâshe didnât provide a straight answer.
Nameless functionaries: She said that it was âtechnicians in the Balearic governmentâs Health Servicesâ who took the offer and that all regional governments were getting âmultiple offersâ for medical supplies coming from âministries and other institutionsâ. But name names, she did not.
And the delay? She was asked about the three years between the purchase (when island health services realized they were not the masks theyâd paid for) and her governmentâs request for a refund (in July 2023, after she lost the May regional elections).
Blame WFH: She blamed the delays on the pandemic and government employees working remotely. âGovernmental administration is infinitely slower than weâd like it to be.â She also said the first request to the company was made in March 2023, two months before the elections (and four months before the official claim).
The PP was still having none of it, with the partyâs spokesperson in Congress, Miguel Tellado, insisting that she resigns and arguing that she had failed to answer the most important questions. Or really any.
The caseâs body count (and baffling verbiage) keeps growing in the meantime.
Transport Minister Oscar Puente fired the Ports secretary general, Alvaro SĂĄnchez Manzanares, on Monday. SĂĄnchez Manzanares was identified as responsible for awarding the first face masks contract to Soluciones de GestiĂłn. He is also one of eight people in the Transport Ministry whose emails are being investigated over their negotiations with the company.
Wait, look over there! In classic âif you canât beat âem, distract âemâ fashion, Deputy PM MarĂa JesĂșs Montero responded to the PPâs accusations in Caso Koldo by saying that FeijĂłoâs office was paid for by âdark money,â in reference to a case from several years ago where it was found that the PP had irregularly financed the renovation of its Madrid headquarters (the office in question).
The plot thickens. Weâll see who is still keeping their job same time next week.
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đŹ Five things to discuss at dinner parties this week
1.đïžPSOE, ERC and Junts reach last-minute amnesty deal
Time to pop the champagne! Or move to France. Depends on which side of the argument you are. After many (many!) months of uncertainty and mortification, the PSOE has reached a deal with Catalan separatist parties Junts and ERC on the amnesty law to ensure that no one who moved abroad to avoid prosecution for their participation in the illegal/unconstitutional 2017 separatist referendum in Catalonia will have to pay a price (weâre looking at you Carles Puigdemont).
The three parties released joint statement yesterday evening (thanks for making us work late, guys) saying that they had reached an agreement to amend the amnesty bill to make sure that it included âall individuals who were linked to the independence processâ.
The short statement uses some very political verbiage to say that they managed to reach a deal in one go on the several open discussions they were having in order to âstrengthen the billâ, assuring that itâs âfully compliant with the Constitution, European Law and jurisprudence and with the highest international standards".
Still⊠Various media sources have indicated that it excludes "acts that, due to their purpose, may be classified as terrorism, according to the European directive of 2017", and simultaneously "have intentionally caused serious violations of human rights as regulated in articles 2 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights", which refer to the right to life and the prohibition of torture.
Spain canât judge this: In other words, the amnesty will exclude crimes of terrorism and high treason "adapted to European standards and not to the Spanish penal code." So Spanish judges with creative Spanish interpretations of tortureâthis is not your place.
Remember how Junts voted against the amnesty bill in January? Well, that sent the bill back to the Justice Committee to be tweaked. The deadline for the tweaking and revoting was Feb. 21, but PSOE requested a 15-day extension (just like a high school paper)âwhich expiresâŠtoday!
Parliamentâs Justice Committee approved the new amendments to the amnesty bill a few minutes after 1 p.m. Thursday, which means that it now goes to the Parliament floor for debate. While there is still no date for the session, it is expected to be next week.
Prime Minister Pedro SĂĄnchez, who is conveniently on tour in Brazil, said earlier that the PSOE had accepted some changes demanded by Junts, although he also assured that the law would âremain fully constitutionalâ. Which is an assertion. Whether it is true or not will become clear with time.
PSOE parliamentary spokesperson Patxi LĂłpez said last night that this agreement would âhelp have a government that is able to govern in peace and focused on the peopleâ which sounds nice. "It meets the goal for which it was created, which is reconciliation," he added, assuring that its goal is "coexistence and concord." The goal is also, we would add, keeping the SĂĄnchez government in power through the legislature.
And what does the PP say? Well, they are not happy (as expected). PP sources told El Mundo that SĂĄnchez had agreed that "for a specific period of time in Catalonia, there were no laws to comply with and no sentences to apply. Spain is apologizing to separatism by order of Pedro SĂĄnchez. We do not accept this humiliation". Yeah, definitely not pleased.
The same PP source: the party will âfight this agreement in the institutions and in the courtsâ. Which we sorta expected.
Meanwhile, in Bucharest. The European People's Party (EPP) is holding a congress in the Romanian capital, and there another PP bigwig, Esteban GonzĂĄlez Pons, requested help from Europe, assuring that the rule of law in Spain "is in danger." đ±
PP say SOS: âToday the rule of law in Spain is in danger. Spaniards need help," he said, arguing that that the amnesty law âexchanges pardon for votesâ with the goal of keeping Pedro SĂĄnchez in power. Which of course it does. The question is whether that is constitutional and legal and all that stuff (see above).
Time to grab the đż and a đș and kick back to watch what happens next.
The first rule of the amnesty drinking game: You have to take a sip every time someone invokes a constitution. Any constitution.
Weâre kidding. Youâd get way too drunk way too fast.
2. Â đ Drama time at the Federico GarcĂa Lorca foundation
Antonio Membrilla was not the best choice to lead the Patronato Cultural Federico GarcĂa Lorca, which shoulda been really obvious before he was named by the DiputaciĂłn de Granada (the provincial government) to run it. Let us count the ways! But, first, who and what are we talking about?
The Patronato Cultural Federico GarcĂa Lorca is the body that oversees the childhood home and study center of (surprise!) Federico GarcĂa Lorca, the famed poet, playwright, and theater directorâand member of Spainâs Generation of '27âfrom Granada.
GarcĂa Lorca was assassinated by Francoâs Nationalist forces at the start of the Spanish Civil War and his remains have never been found. Why was he killed? Itâs never been proven. Some say he was targeted for being gay or for being a leftist (or for being a gay leftist). Other say it was a personal grudge.
Either way, the whole âmurdered by Francoâ thing is sensitive. Which brings us to Membrilla (which would be the feminine form of the Spanish word for âquinceâ if that existed). Heâs a language and literature teacher and local PP politician in the Andaluz town of Armilla. Language and literature? So far so good.
But Houston, we have a problem. Back in 2020, Membrilla posted a tweet (thereâs always a tweet) referring to memoria historica (historical memory), which is the name of a law that recognizes the victims of the civil war and condemns the Francoist state, as memez histĂ©rica, or hysterical stupidity.Â
2+2=4. Naming a guy who mocks the recognition of those killed in the civil war to run a foundation dedicated to an artist killed in the civil war is⊠Ok, letâs be honest. Thatâs stupid.
Quickly, then all at once. Once she learned more about the newly named boss of the foundation, Laura GarcĂa LorcaâLorcaâs niece and a trustee of the foundationâup and quit.Â
Make no mistake about why. Laura GarcĂa Lorca wrote to the president of the DiputaciĂłn de Granada, ââAs a member of the Federico GarcĂa Lorca Board of Trustees of the Granada Provincial Council, having read the statements of the new director published in the press, I consider myself obliged to present my resignation.â
Other shoe drops. Membrilla then quit. Or, rather, communicated that he wouldnât take the Patronato job after all, because of the âsituation generated.âÂ
But, really, did it never occur to him that thereâd be, like, a problem? Once the controversy brewed he apparently deleted the tweet, but seriously? And did the PP government in Andalucia not see the tiniest contradiction here? And the Tone Deaf Award goes toâŠ
3. đŽ ÂĄMotomami in the house!
A RosalĂa sighting this week went viral and we donât know what to say. You see, it wasnât at a fashion show or a concert. It was at the Galician HQ of Inditex (you know, the Zara people) and itâs all aboutâŠ.Â
Rosalia imagined a kind of anime motorcycle babe character for her last album, Motomami. But the videos coming out of Inditex show her speeding back and forth inside the company officesâŠon a scooter. Weird vibe, but we like it.
But why? Thatâs unclear. Accompanied by Marta Ortega, Inditexâs newish chair (and daughter of founder and richest guy in Spain Amancio Ortega), RosalĂa entered the offices to applause and toured the firmâs various departments (presumably not all on a scooter).Â
Since Marta Ortegaâs arrival, a steady stream of stars have trooped through to give talks. And as a high priestess of fashion (Rolling Stone named her the most stylish musician of 2024ââRosalĂa does not need to prove herself. She simply exists, and the trends follow.â), we assume this was for one of those chats.
What brand was RosalĂa wearing? Not announced, but El PaĂs speculates that it was Dior because sheâs just gone to that brandâs runway show and dropped a thank you gallery on Instagram.
Anything else? Well, yes. RosalĂaâs Motomami Tour twitter account tweeted that she would be launching a collection along with Inditex, though the brand had yet to confirm. Itâs worth noting that RosalĂa earlier did a collection with Pull & Bear, one of Inditexâs brands.Â
4. đ©đ»â𩳠Worldâs oldest person turns 117âand sheâs Spanish!
Feeling old? Maybe you shouldnât complain. Just look at Maria Branyas from Olot, Catalonia. Sheâs officially the oldest living person in the world, and just turned 117.
Maria was born on March 4, 1907 in San Francisco, Calif., to Spanish parents and moved back to Spain when she was 8. She's lived in the same part of Catalonia ever since and has resided in the same nursing home for the past 23 years.
Branyas became the oldest person on Earth at 115 in January 2023 after the death of 118-year-old French woman Lucile Randon.
Branyas has seen a lot. She was 5 when the Titanic sunk! And she has lived through two world wars, the Spanish Civil War, and plenty of societal changes. Oh, and get this: she also survived COVID-19. Back in 2020 she got infected with the virus (she was 113 at the time) but in a few days she was OK again. Phew!
MarĂa attributes her longevity to a healthy lifestyle, positive outlook, and strong connections with family and community. But medically, sheâs actually a miracle. For the last eight months, the Josep Carreras Research Institute has been trying to decipher her secret.
Turns out her blood cells appear to be â14 years younger than her actual ageâ. According to the instituteâs doctor Manel Esteller, MarĂa reached her 117 years without any serious illness: âCurrently, she only has some hearing problems and joint issues. The only reproach her doctors can make is a certain fondness for sugars, which obviously we forgive her forâ.
The Guiness World Records says, âsamples of Mariaâs saliva, blood and urine have been taken and will be compared with those of her 80-year-old daughter. The researchers hope that assessing Mariaâs genes will aid the development of drugs which could combat diseases associated with agingâ.
And thatâs not all. MarĂa is also an avid social media user (because of course she is) with a Twitter X bio that reads: âIâm old. Very old. But not stupidâ.
On Monday, she posted some photos of herself on X blowing the candles on her birthday cake, and thanked her followers (in Catalan) for the love.
Happy birthday to her!
5.đșđž That never-aired TVE interview with George W. Bush
Gather round, everyone! Time for a history lesson.
Spain suffered a devastating terrorist attack almost 20 years ago (as weâre sure most of you know). The attack, known locally as 11-M and perpetrated by Al-Qaeda, left 192 people dead and almost 2,000 injured via a series of coordinated bombings in Madrid on March 11, 2004.
What many of you may not remember is the embarrassing blame game that immediately followed the attack (which took place three days before Spainâs general elections). The center-right Partido Popular (PP), along with conservative media, pushed the narrative that the deadly strike had been orchestrated by Basque separatist terrorist group ETAâdespite not having any evidence. Why? To save face.
You see, the Prime Minister at the time, JosĂ© MarĂa Aznar, had been one of U.S. President George W. Bushâs closest allies in the invasion of Iraq when many other Western powers refused to get involved. And, long story short, the Madrid attack was Al Qaedaâs retribution for the Aznar government's alignment with the U.S. in the so-called Operation Iraqi Freedom.
With the election 72 hours away (and PPâs Mariano Rajoy hoping to succeed Aznar), this was an absolute disaster. Their best strategy to avoid a certain victory by PSOEâs JosĂ© Luis RodrĂguez Zapatero? Simply blame the local terrorist group ETA.
Aznar called all major newspapers in Spain on the day of the attacks to tell them he was absolutely convinced is was the Basque separatist terrorists who were responsible.
Center-right newspaper El Mundo and right-wing ABC strongly pushed that theory for several days, in what is today considered a clear example of journalism malpractice. By March 13, as the first arrests were made, it was clear that Al Qaeda was the main suspectâŠand the rest is history (PSOEâs Zapatero won the elections).
So what does George W. Bush have to do with all this? Turns out that a day after the attacks, the White House contacted the DC correspondent for Spanish state-owned media TVE, Lorenzo MilĂĄ, saying that President Bush and his wife Laura wanted to do an interview with him and send a message to the Spanish population.
The contents of the interview, which took place at the Spanish ambassadorâs residence in Washington, caught the TVE correspondent so off guard that Mila admits that he couldnât even think of follow up questions.
Bush kept saying that it wasnât clear who was behind the attacks, and spoke about âthe war on terrorâ and that the perpetrators âhated freedomâ. He also told the Spanish ambassador in private that U.S. intelligence services thought it had not been ETA but âmaybe someone elseâ.
Mila sent the interview to RTVE to be aired immediatelyâbut it never was. A day after the one-on-one with the president, the White House was wondering why it still hadnât aired, and so was Mila. He thought that maybe it was because, as the Al Qaeda theory was gaining traction among the population, being friends with Bush suddenly wasnât such a great idea.
Today, as Spain commemorates the 20th anniversary of the attacks, RTVE, in an act of contrition, is airing the full interview along with an interview of Mila (video seen above) to explain his side of the story.
Alfredo Urdaci, who was RTVEâs news director in 2004, declined to participate in the segmentâso we still donât know why it never aired, although we have an idea.
The more you know! âïž
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