Spain, a missed opportunity

Dialogue between two residents of Palma (Mallorca), a man and a woman, found on Facebook:

- The demolition of the building at the corner of 31 de Diciembre and Antoni Marquès streets is about to begin. Apart from the serious loss of heritage and character this represents for the neighborhood and the city, I wonder: How much will the new apartments cost? Who will be able to buy them? How many will be used as second homes or for disguised tourist rentals, and remain empty for most of the year? It is clear that housing cannot continue to be left to the "free market." It is a social good, a right of citizens protected by the constitution, and the government must intervene to ensure that it is accessible to young people, workers, and local families. To begin with, any apartment in a new development like this should be sold exclusively to someone who has lived in Mallorca for at least 5 years, who does not own any other property, and who intends to use it as their primary residence. We are not experts on this issue, but it is clear to me that, given the current housing crisis, housing cannot continue to end up in the hands of wealthy foreigners and speculators. Enough is enough!

- Toni, I'm sorry to say this, but it's us who have sold and continue to sell to foreigners, and then we complain about it.

Both are right. On the one hand, there is the issue of uncontrolled tourism growth (with capitalist operators who are only concerned with maximizing profits from tourism, without bothering to manage public resources rationally, when, precisely, they are entrusted with this responsibility by the electorate), and on the other hand, there is the fact that the country joined the European Union, and that the potential buyers also belong to the European Union. This means that preferential conditions cannot be given to citizens of the host country over citizens of other European countries, meaning that European citizens from countries with a higher GDP per capita have greater purchasing power than those from countries with a lower GDP per capita. This is the case with Spain (the selling country) compared to most other (buying) countries. For example, a seller from Mallorca (a region of Spain) doesn't necessarily prefer to sell to another Mallorcan over any other European citizen. What they will consider is who can offer them the highest price for the property, whether it's a house, a plot of land, or any other asset.

If we look at the following table, we see that the GDP per capita of Germans is €50,830 per year, while the GDP per capita of Spaniards is €32,590 per year. In other words, Germans have an annual GDP per capita that is €20,000 higher than that of Spaniards. They have greater purchasing power; they can afford to pay more for a purchase than the average resident of Mallorca, who is trying to sell the property. Logically, the seller will sell to whoever offers the highest price, regardless of the buyer's nationality. And this is true for Germans and for almost all people from the traditional Western European countries (excluding the Eastern European countries), since Spain's GDP per capita is lower than that of all other Western European countries except Portugal and Greece.

And this is despite the fact that, after a period in which Spain was steadily declining and becoming increasingly impoverished, there was a time when this trend reversed and the economy began to recover and grow: the period of the Second Spanish Republic (April 14, 1931 to July 18, 1936). The Republic was clear that cultural, social, and economic growth would come hand in hand with education, and for this reason, it built thousands of schools, ensured that all school-aged children received an education (thus reducing endemic illiteracy), imported educational methods for teacher training and for teaching at all levels, and passed laws guaranteeing respect for and the rights of women... The Second Spanish Republic was a democratic government that ruled Spain between 1931 and 1939, following the abdication of King Alfonso XIII. This period marked a significant shift towards modernization and social reforms in Spain, including substantial advances in education, healthcare, women's rights, and labor legislation, all of which contributed to significant, consistent, and sustained economic growth.

If this educational, intellectual, cultural, social, and economic progress had continued at the same pace until today, Spain would have been among the top seven countries in Europe, ranked by GDP per capita, many years ago, and Spaniards would not be outcompeted by Swedes, Germans, Belgians, Dutch, French, and Italians when it comes to purchasing a house, a property, land, a marina berth, etc., anywhere in Spain. However, the fact that Spain occupies the penultimate position in this ranking, only surpassing Portugal and Greece, clearly indicates that this growth rate was not maintained. Indeed, on July 18, 1936, a group of military coup plotters, along with the newly formed Spanish fascist group, the Falange, and the most reactionary and authoritarian right-wing elements, staged a coup, followed by a civil war and a brutal, inhumane repression that abruptly halted the progress that had been made (in terms of schools, intellectual development, scientific advancement, culture, social rights, respect and rights for women, and the economy) during the Republic. The Republic only lasted five years (from April 1931 to July 1936), representing a brief period of political, social, and cultural opportunity. The coup, war, and repression were the greatest harm inflicted on Spain and the Spanish people (except for the privileged minority) during the 20th and 21st centuries, plunging the entire country into misery and hunger ("the years of hunger"), and establishing the principle that 'anyone who does not fully subscribe to the principles of the "Movement for the Salvation of Spain" – when in reality it did the exact opposite: condemning Spain and the Spanish people to misery, hunger, shame, ignominy, death (more than 600,000 deaths), and fear – must be eliminated.'. It was a missed opportunity, one that was lost in 1936, and which, here and now, 89 years later, we still haven't managed to recover. I was born after the coup and the Spanish Civil War, when Spain was already a fascist state, and now, as I approach my visit to the Vatican, I am convinced that I will never see the Republic, which was violently usurped, restored. An entire life lived with shame. I find the so-called patriots who claim to be proud of being Spanish amusing. If they look at the following chart, they can be ashamed of being Spanish. They could be proud if they were from Monaco, Ireland, Switzerland, Denmark, Belgium, or the Netherlands... but proud to be Spanish? I am ashamed of those who talk about "friends of banana republics." And what are we? A "shady monarchy"? The kind where there was a king who peeled beans and let the peelings fall into his bowl? In short, a missed opportunity. And we are experts at missing opportunities.