Spain in the Last Two Months

Spain has been going through political issues the past couple of months. The
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and the Popular Party has been involved in a scandal of
receiving illegal payments that might have come from tax money. The Prime Minister
has been under pressure to give a full explanation and the opposition has called for
Mariano Rajoy to resign.
Also the country has had a lot of environment problems that may lead to the
extinction of a lot of species.
The ruling Popular Party (PP) has denied all accusations of receiving illegal
payments for a while, however the partys former treasurer admitted that he wrote
documents stating the Prime Minister and other members of the party have been
receiving payments from private companies which were being called donations and
that 70% of them would be used for PPs financing laws. Mariano Rajoy denies ever
receiving any secret payments and has accused the treasurer for trying to black mail
him, and also corruption with proves that allege that Mr. Barcenas (the treasurer) has
stolen up to 48 million euros from tax money.
Spain has not only been through political problems, but also environmental as
well. Spain has the most biodiversity in Europe that is incredibly fragile. Studies have
shown that Spain is one of the most important biodiversity hotspots of the planet. The
environment is not a primary focus for local mayors; they are concentrating on
infrastructure and investing on projects in attempt to boost economic growth that leads
to a lot of environment destruction. However action is being taken, for example; a
protest group opposed the massive 600-room hotel project on its coast. That is a great
start from the population of Spain towards a better environment in its country.
These issues may lead to a bigger problem in the future. I also believe that a
country without a stable government becomes weaker with time, and if the wrong
measures are being taken it can hurt the environment and the population as well. I
believe, if the government start teaching its population since early ages to take care of
its environment, and passing out regulations that protects the environment could help
solve some of the problems Spain has right now, however, that would not be possible by
having a bad government ruling the country, so the population has a big role in this, by
choosing the right politics to rule its country.
In economics, Spain is having serious problems as well. After the Spanish
Socialist Workers Party won the reelection in 2008, the Spanish economy is having
serious difficulty. In 2009, the economy entered a recession and the unemployment rate
had grown to an alarming high by 2011. In 2012, the unemployment passed the 5
million mark, according to Raphael Minder, 2012.
The falter of the economy happened because the Spain financial crisis caused by
the bursting of the real estate bubble in 2008. Due to the financial crisis, Spanish
companies and government halted any expansions and led to a mass reduction in job
creation. The high unemployment rate results in reduced household consumption and

negatively affects economic growth said the author of PESTLE Analysis of Spain 2013.
After all, unemployment made thousands of families turn to Spanish aid
agencies, Caritas, for help. The Christian Today Australia published an article in August
22 saying a total of 62,108 families and 31,485 individuals turned to Caritas for
assistance last year, mainly requesting food, clothing, medicine and child support. With
this many people needing help, the other of the population has to work hard to help
them.
Since the middle of 2011 the unemployment rate in Spain continued a steady
increase. But Spains unemployment saw a small fall as of last July. An article of
Reuters said a strong tourist season helped the unemployment rate dip to 26.3 % from
27.2% in the first quarter. Despite the decrease in unemployment , over a quarter of the
population remains unemployed in Spain.
During the vacation season Europeans are looking for places different than
Egypt or the Middle East due to its instability. This might be the contributing factor for
an increase in tourism in Spain, showing continued increase in tourism on July,
reaching a 2.9 percent from July 2012 as the The Associated Press UT Sandiego News
said.
In socials, Spain and the United Kingdom are having a feud over the UK
territory, Gibraltar. In Gibraltar the government dropped 70 concrete blocks to create an
atificial reef without negotiating the environmental transformation with Spain, Spanish
fishermen are having problems to catch fish due to the creation. According to The
Huffinton Post, Garcia-Margallo suggested that a 50 euro (43.40) fee could be
imposed on every vehicle entering or leaving the Rock through its border post with
Spain, with the proceeds used to help Spanish fishermen who have lost out because of
damage to fishing grounds allegedly caused by Gibraltarian authorities.
In my opinion Spain is a country that has a strong chance to recover, the country
has gone through many difficulties and this is just one more. But with the economy and
collapsed job market ruin the Spanish government shouldnt be thinking about what
Gibraltar is doing and focus on how to solve their own problems. Unemployment must
remain low for a country to succeed. Having the unemployment rate be a quarter of the
population will force the younger generation to look to other countries to work and live,
creating an aged work force and ultimately leading to another recession to tackle.

Reference

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/25/spain-unemploymentidUSL6N0FU19G20130725
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17955805
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/27/business/global/jobs-data-underscore-rajoys-woes.html?
_r=0

http://au.christiantoday.com/article/caritas-aiding-spains-ew-poor-in-midst-ofeconomic-crisis/15952.htm
http://www.4-traders.com/news/Research-and-Markets-PESTLE-Analysis-of-Spain2013-Spains-Economy-Expected-To-Continue-Decelerati--17193922/
http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2013/08/07/58--Spain-s-economygrows-.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/08/04/gibraltar-foreign-office_n_3704105.html
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/aug/22/spain-sees-record-tourist-numbers-in-july/
http://www.countdown2010.net/article/spain-identifies-biodiversity-priorities
http://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2013/06/17/spains-biodiversity-is-the-most-fragile-ineurope/
http://sustainable-event-alliance.org/spain/spain-biodiversity/
http://www.bing.com/images/search?
q=photo+of+spain+environment&qpvt=photo+of+spain+environment&FORM=IGRE