🗳️ This Week in Spain: Catalonia's Future

Also: A diplomatic crisis with Argentina and fistfights in movie theaters.

May 09, 2024

By @IanMount and @AdrianBono | May 9, 2024 | Madrid | Issue #56

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🥜 This Week in a Nutshell: It’s weird, isn’t it? To suddenly be facing a normal, boring week where the sh*t is not hitting the fan for a change. Enjoy it, it probably won’t last long. Anyway, all eyes are on Catalan elections this Sunday, as Socialists (the likely winners) try to figure out who to partner with.

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Yes, another election.

🗳️ Catalonia Votes and it Looks Like the Socialists Will Win. But… (And There’s Always a ‘But’)

Catalonia heads to the polls this Sunday and if you believe the polls (and 🤨 there are lots of reasons to doubt them) the socialists will win handily but the result could be…new elections! “What?!” you say, rapturous at the possibility of watching another regional election in the fall. Yes, Montse, It’s true. But let’s start with the vote.

Left-leaning majority. Our fave local pollster Kiko Llaneras explains the situation in minute detail in El País (and above), but in broad strokes, his poll of polls shows that there is an almost definite path to a 68+ seat majority with the overall winner PSC (the PSOE’s Catalan cousin) joining ERC (leftish separatists) and Comuns Sumar (lefty group that’s like Podemos+Sumar but without a lotta votes).
Separatist majority. Less probable, but still possible, is that the three separatist parties—ERC, the right-of-center Junts (famous for its ‘I Moved to Brussels and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt’ boss, Carles Puigdemont) and the CUP (anarchist hippies)—could cobble together 68 seats.
Both. Yes, it’s not an either/or. Both possibilities could exist at once, like Schrödinger's Cat(alonia).

So, so, so…what? The issue is less mathematical than political. The PSC is expected to win easily (with some 40 seats in the 135-seat parliament), followed by Junts (34) and then ERC (26). But the question is whether ERC—which was governing until it called the elections and suffered a steep drop in the polls—will take the risk of being the junior party to a party (PSC) it agrees with on economic policy but disagrees with on separatist ideology.

Why’s that a risk? Because if ERC doesn’t stand up for separatism, what makes it different from the PSC? And why wouldn’t ERC voters who care about separatism then just vote for Junts or the CUP? In other words, the ERC worries that a deal with PSC would be suicide.
Is the other option a risk? If a separatist majority is possible, led by Puigdemont, it will be hard for the ERC’s Pere Aragonès, the current president of Catalonia’s regional government (the Generalitat) to say “no” (though he said he won’t be VP to either Puigdemont or PSC boss Salvador Illa). Plus, Puigdemont would be forced to govern, which could be kinda crazy.

The problem (for Aragonès) is that polls show a separatist majority is unlikely. Only 28% likely sayeth El País. So that leaves us with whether ERC will take the risk of jumping into bed with the PSC. Or whether having Comuns Sumar in the mix (likely necessary) will lead to something unpredictable, like Comuns pushing the PSC’s Illa to keep Aragonès atop the Generalitat, a la Borgen? Or… new elections anyone?

Oh, let’s be honest, we don’t know what will happen. So lets hear what the candidates are saying. Maybe they know something?

The candidates clashed Tuesday night in a debate on Catalonia’s regional channel TV3 (all the candidates except for Puigdemont because, you know, he’s a fugitive). They discussed the issues that you would expect, like a ~~potential~~ unlikely independence referendum, crime and safety, the drought and unholy alliances.

PSC’s Illa, who is trying to thread the Catalan needle—that is, he wants sympathy from nationalists and separatists alike—announced that as regional president he would tap Josep Lluís Trapero as head of the Catalan police.
Why? Trapero is a Catalan folk hero. He was the police chief during the 2017 illegal referendum and seemed friendly to the cause because he was tossed from his post when the central government took over Catalonia. But then after he was restored to the job in 2020, he seemed a little too friendly with the central government and was removed again (by the ERC). And now Illa wants him back because “security” is very relevant. And because he’s like a famous hacky sack.

So how likely is it we’ll get referendum 2.0 any time soon? It depends. (Ok, probs not.)

Separatists: ERC’s Aragonès and Junts ~~candidate~~ Puigdemont stand-in Josep Rull avoided direct confrontation and agreed that they wanted to hold a referendum supported by the central government (er, unlikely to impossible) and have Catalonia manage its own taxes (more likely). And that ice cream is really nice 🍦.
PSC’s Illa does not support any of this, of course, and instead insisted on applying something called a “Tax Consortium” between Spain and Catalonia, which is mentioned in the region’s Statute of Autonomy but is also boring.

Unholy alliances. Junts has said there’s no way in hell they’ll make a deal with the PSC to form a coalition government (Illa’s response? “Ok, then neither will we with you” 🤪).

Junts also say they won’t make a deal with ~~nutjob~~ newcomer Aliança Catalana, a separatist party that’s further right than Vox (yes, you read that right), as “human rights are a red line” for Puigdemont. Which is good for Puigdemont, we guess.

Oh, and the PP tried to remind the world this it also exists in Catalonia.

Don’t worry about the PP candidate there. We can’t remember his name either. But PP boss Alberto Núñez Feijóo warned that Illa, Puigdemont and Aragonés “are the same” and that no matter who wins, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will have no choice but to “keep separatism in power” (because he needs their votes in Parliament). Which may be true but nobody listens to the PP in Catalonia.
Top troll Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso (PP) went to a rally in Barcelona, where she warned that Illa is the “xenophobic separatism’s Trojan horse”. So we’ve got that.

Wait, did anyone talk about coalitions they wanted? Um, no. That can’t be a good sign.

More news below! 👇

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💬 Five things to discuss at dinner parties this week

1. 🇦🇷 Spain and Argentina decided it was a great time to insult each other

Argentina’s new president, self-described “anarcho-capitalist” Javier Milei, can be somewhat, um, “volatile”, as evidenced by his many outbursts on live television against anyone who even dares sympathize with leftist ideas. Oh, and his swinging around an active chain saw at rallies.

But one of the tenets of diplomacy is not always pointing out things like “Milei seems nutty” just because they’re true. (We of course can point those things out because we are so not diplomatic.)
That may be especially true when you already have a tense relationship. Like between Spain’s PSOE socialist-led government and Milei, who’s chummy with far-right Vox’s big boss Santiago Abascal.

But somebody didn’t get that memo. We’re talking to you, Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente.

Puente took the opportunity of a visit to the PSOE’s School of Government (a party event for young people) in Salamanca last Friday to bag on Milei—on a hot mike. Whoops!
Puente’s words. “I’ve seen [Milei] on TV and, based on what I heard,” Puente said. “I don’t know what state he was in… Before or after consuming whatever substances…” Basically, he suggested Milei had been drugged up during last year's election campaign.
Puente takes great pleasure dissing political opponents—which is why he was named a minister (let’s just say he’s not exactly an expert on transport)—and he probably thought going after Milei would look cool in front of the kids.
But…surprise! Suggesting that Milei was doped up didn’t land well.

Cue diplomatic crisis. The Argentine government immediately responded by issuing a statement that “repudiated” Puente’s statements. However, rather than just focusing on the minister, the Milei administration decided to escalate and attack Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez by basically repeating Vox talking points.

Sánchez has “bigger problems to deal with”, the statement read, and mentioned the corruption allegations against his wife, Begoña Gómez, the agreements with “separatists” that endangered the “unity of the kingdom”, “illegal immigration” that allegedly put women in danger, and “his socialist policies that only bring poverty and death”.
But there’s more! Argentina’s Interior Minister, Guillermo Francos, repeatedly called for Puente to be removed from office, assuring that Milei “doesn’t even drink alcohol.”
Some domestic fighting, too. To make things worse, Milei is expected to land in Madrid next week to attend Vox’s Europa Viva 24 rally and support his buddy Abascal (the event is the kick off for the June 9 European elections campaign).

Let’s just move on, please. The Spanish government immediately clutched its (probably Majorica) pearls and issued its own statement “categorically rejecting the terms”, arguing that “they do not correspond with the relations” of two kindred nations. As in, we don’t need to fight right now.

Where was the PP in all this? Party boss Alberto Núñez Feijóo said that Puente had to go. “They’ve just created a crisis with a kindred nation,” he said. “They ask not to be insulted, and yet they insult everyone”.
Abascal also jumped in (obviously), criticizing the Sánchez administrations “new attempts of victimization” and adding that Miley’s response to Puentes’ “grave insults” had been “very measured”.

All’s well that ends well. In the end, neither country wanted to deal with this nonsense so they decided to just move on.

Milei administration spokesperson Manuel Adorni said Monday that the matter was “over” and that “there was no need for escalation”. (He did say, however, that he didn’t think the Argentine president’s response was disproportionate).

Still, there are no plans for a Milei-Sánchez meeting during the Argentine president’s visit next week (no surprise there—there were no plans before the conflict) but didn’t rule out asking for a one-on-one with King Felipe VI as he is Spain's Head of State after all (will F6 agree to it? Unlikely).

And Puente? He issued a non-apology for the whole thing: had he known how much “repercussion” his words would have, he “wouldn’t have said” what he said. Right.

2. 🐂 Central government calls bull💩 on bullfighting

Spain’s Culture Minister got the bullfighting community all cranky this week when he canceled the Premio Nacional de Tauromaquia (National Bullfighting Prize) over “animal torture”. Seriously, the only thing that we could imagine would cause a greater uprising in a minor sports community would be if Canadian PM Justin Trudeau had outlawed curling.

Sorry! Culture, not sport. Bullfighting is a cultural expression, not a sport, which is why the culture minister oversees it and it appears in the culture section of the newspapers. Still, it’s sorta sporty, right? Like ballet + giant cows + pointy swords.
But seriously, it really is considered culture. The prize was created in 2011 by—surprise!—the Socialist government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to recognize bullfighting as an “artistic discipline” and bestow €30,000 on the winner. By comparison, the ‘Miguel de Cervantes’ Prize for Literature in the Spanish Language gives out €125,000, so bullfighting is worth about 25% of literature as far as arts go. (Though the National Prize for Narrative Literature is only €20,000, so maybe bullfighting is 150% literature. We don’t know 😱!).

So what happened? Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun (of the far lefty Sumar part of the governing coalition) canceled the prize last Friday, saying that, “Spaniards do not understand that animal torture is being rewarded with public money.”

This may be true. The number of bull events has been plunging for years, from 3,651 in 2007 to 1,474 in 2013. (The ministry also pointed journalists to stats showing that only 1.9% of Spaniards went to a bull event in 2021/2, compared to around 8% in 2019, but with the pandemic, that is a weak comparison).
But for bullfighting regions, those were fighting words. The Fundación del Toro de Lidia, which defends bullfighting, called Urtasun an “sectarian extremist”, and the Socialist boss of Castilla La Mancha Emiliano García-Page said that he would put together a regional bullfighting prize. (Madrid, Aragón and Extremadura also announced plans for prizes.)

Still, bullfighting looks like its days are numbered. Catalonia and Canary Islands are already bullfight-free, and in a 2023 survey, 45.7% of respondents said bullfighting should be banned, while 24% said it should be supported and 30.3% said neither of the two. Shocker, the split was on political lines—with the right backing bullfighting, and the left pushing its cancellation. More we can be polarized about!!!

3. 🥊 Not what you expect at a ‘Garfield’ movie

A showing of The Garfield Movie in León turned into a boxing match—literally—when boxer Antonio Barrul brought some ring justice to the theater.

Barrul ‘El Volcán’ (The Volcano) was there on May 1 to see the movie with his wife and kids when he apparently noticed a guy down front acting aggressively toward his girlfriend (assumed) and a child (apparently theirs).
Things got weird when the woman moved to another seat to avoid him and the man said, amid insults and shouts, that he would give her five minutes to return. Then things calmed down—for a bit.
But, but, but… The man went over and grabbed the woman by the neck, and during a shoving match, managed to hit a girl.

Barrul at this point went down to the man and told him to leave. But the guy began to insult and threaten him. Still, noticing this his wife was crying, Barrul sat down.

Enough wasn’t enough. The other guy apparently went on insulting him (the usual macho stuff—perro and maricón and the like) and the security guard didn’t come, so Barrul lost his sh*t. Or, as Barrul said, “I got an impulse and what happened happened.”
What happened was a massive beating given by Barrul to the other guy (see video above if you like). And here the controversy (of sorts) begins.

Barrul has been supported by the vast majority of online commentators for stopping an episode of violencia machista. But some have noted his lack of self control and how it was the insults that seemed to set him off, and how as a boxer he could be sanctioned for using his “tools” outside the ring.

Examples: “Well, it is better to take away your license if you are not capable of receiving threats and verbal insults without attacking someone,” and, “No matter what you say now, one cannot take the law into one's own hands, because it is also a crime.”
Barrul says the boxing federations support him so far, so it looks like the incident may be closed on that front (save for the massive wave of publicity he’s gotten).

So who is Antonio Barrul? The 25-year-old boxer is 5-0 professionally after a 4-14 amateur career. He next fights on June 14 in Puente Castro.

Trivia: Barrul seems to fight at junior featherweight (supergallo)—54-55kg or 118-122lbs. Maybe that’s what the cinema dipshit thought he could insult him at will. But “Super Chicken” packs a punch!

4. 👨‍🎨 That Caravaggio painting sold for over €30m

If when you think of “Ecce Homo” this modern masterpiece comes to mind, no one would blame you. However, there’s a new “Ecce Homo” in the news this week and this one is less modern but definitely more of a masterpiece. You see, it was painted by none other than Caravaggio, making it one of only 60 or so known works by the Italian artist and Baroque genius.

Almost screwed that up: The oil painting, which originally appeared for auction in Madrid in March 2021, has been sold for a whooping €36m. But funnily enough, its initial auction price was €1,500 because it was attributed to a lesser painter. Like a seriously lesser painter. Whoops!
The subject. Caravaggio’s “Ecce Homo” (“Behold the man”) depicts the historical motif of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate presenting Christ to the people with those words, one of the most dramatic moments of the Passion, recorded in the Gospel of John (19:5).

So who bought it? Local media says the private buyer decided to remain anonymous, but apparently they are a British citizen residing in Spain. (Since they could potentially be a Tapa reader, we’d kindly like to ask them to invest in us too).

The painting was previously owned by the Pérez de Castro family, who inherited it from liberal politician Evaristo Pérez de Castro).

It belongs to us all. Fortunately for us plebs, the painting will not end up in the buyer's house. “They are very generous, they don't want the attention to be focused on them. The idea is for it to be in public collections, at the moment, on loan,” said Jorge Coll, from the antique art gallery Colnaghi, which was in charge of the sale.

Or then again, maybe they just can’t take it away. The artwork was designated a Cultural Interest Asset (BIC) by the Madrid regional government in 2021, which means that, while it can be purchased by a private individual, it cannot be sold or even leave the region (let alone the country) without permission of the autonomous community.

And Spain’s Ministry of Culture has declared it to be non-exportable, meaning that sure, you can buy it, but it can never leave the country (it can be temporarily loaned to other museums abroad, yes, but you will need a permit for that).
These conditions definitely limited the selling price, as experts have said that it could have been sold for over €100m (the €36m tag is well below Caravaggio’s market value).

So where and when can I see it? Great news. It will be exhibited at the Prado Museum between May 28 and October 2024. After that it’s unclear, but will be either there or some other art institution. According to the Ministry of Culture, what happens and where it’s exhibited next is up to the buyer.

We’ll probably include it as an activity in The Tapa Weekend soon.

5. 👮 Lots of people in Ibiza won’t be happy about this

Law enforcement dismantle cocaine lab in Spain with 100 kg monthly capacity — Europol/Guardia Civil

Spain’s Guardia Civil busted a gigantic cocaine lab near Madrid last week. And “gigantic” isn’t hyperbole. In the April 30 raid, announced May 6, the Guardia Civil arrested 20 suspects and dismantled a coke lab that could produce 100kg of the drug each month. That wouldn’t be a lot of beef, but that’s enough to supply Ibiza for, like, at least two weeks!

Working together with Europol and the U.S. DEA, the Guardia Civil seized 21 drums of liquid and solid chemicals used to extract and process cocaine.
The bust also searched 27 properties in the Galician provinces of Pontevedra and A Coruña, as well as Madrid, and led to the seizure of €3m cash and €10m of assets like luxury houses, vehicles and recreational vessels.
The process: Police think the people arrested—19 Spaniards and one Colombian—imported tons of cocaine and coca leaves from South America to Spain using chartered sailboats and catamarans between Galicia and South America..
To maximize profits, the Galicia-based criminal gang supposedly used the lab in the Madrid suburbs where they extracted coke from the coca leaves.

So what’s up with Coke Busts in the Spanish Spring? Just a year ago, police busted cocaine ‘mega lab’ in Galicia with 200kg daily capacity (making the current one sorta small). Maybe we should ask Galicia-born PP leader Alberto Nuñez Feijoo, whose old photo with buddy/later drug trafficker Marcial Dorado is by rule always reposted at moments like this (like when a narcosub turned up off the Galicia coast last March, which we covered).

For shits and giggles only, we leave you with the old photo. You’re welcome.

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