All posts by Luis Moreno

Moreno Luis - is a business and economics reporter based in Barcelona. Prior to joining the BNE24 he was economics editor of the BBC Spaine and worked as an economics and political reporter for Murcia Tuday.
ECONOMY

Catalonia and the Valencian Community account for almost half of the regional debt, while Madrid barely reaches 11.5%

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The PSOE-ERC agreement to invest Pedro Sánchez has brought the problem of regional public debt to the forefront: 327,346 million euros, which represent 23.2% of the national GDP and which are distributed very unequally between territories.. 44% of all regional liabilities are concentrated in just two autonomous regions: Catalonia and the Valencian Community, where 27% of the country's population lives.. This is reflected in the latest public debt balance sheet published by the Bank of Spain in October.

The Catalan Generalitat, with a liability of 86.8 billion euros, is the autonomous Executive with the most debt in all of Spain. The second place is occupied by the Valencian Generalitat, which has a debt of 57,246 million euros, while Andalusia (38,018 million) and the Community of Madrid (37,658 million) appear at a certain distance.. On the other side of the spectrum, there are La Rioja (1,760 million), Navarra (3,175 million) or Asturias (4,376 million) with more modest figures.

However, these amounts do not reflect well the capacity of regional governments to return what they owe.. To measure the sustainability of this debt, it must be compared with the size of the economy of each territory, as established by European and Spanish fiscal rules.. If we measure debt over GDP, the autonomies with the greatest pressure are the Valencian Community (43.5% of GDP), Catalonia (32.4%), Castilla-La Mancha (32.1%) and Murcia (32.1% ). On the opposite side, the communities with the best financial health are the Basque Country (13%), Navarra (13.3%), Madrid (13.7%) and the Canary Islands (14.1%).

Amount of the regional public debt of each community until June 30, 2023. Henar de Pedro

These great territorial inequalities make forgiving regional debt in the hands of the State – as the PSOE has promised to ERC in Catalonia and the BNG in Galicia, although it is also extendable to other territories – especially dangerous.. Not all governments have the same need and nor will they benefit in the same way.

Firstly, because the weight that the State has in the debt of each region is very different. In communities such as Cantabria, Murcia, the Valencian Community and Catalonia, the central administration is the creditor of more than 84% of the regional public debt. Altogether, 60% of the regional debt is in the hands of the central State.

However, in territories such as Asturias, the Canary Islands or Castilla y León, the weight of the State in the regional debt does not even reach 20%.. In fact, autonomies such as Madrid, the Basque Country or Navarra finance all their debt in the markets and do not owe anything to the Treasury.. Although negotiation sources insist that all communities will have the right to debt relief, including Madrid.

The State, 'bank' of the CCAA

To understand how the State became a kind of bank for the autonomous communities, we must go back to the great financial crisis of 2008.. When Spain entered recession, tax revenues plummeted—tax collections sank—and expenses skyrocketed—especially on social benefits.. As a result, the public deficit skyrocketed.. Something that happened at all levels of administration, also in the autonomies.

To cover this hole in the accounts, Spain was forced to go into debt. But when the financial crisis mutated into a debt crisis in the eurozone, the markets were closed for the autonomies.. Many could not find anyone willing to lend them money under acceptable conditions.. To avoid the bankruptcy of the regional sector, the Government of Mariano Rajoy created the Regional Liquidity Fund (FLA). A mechanism through which regional governments could borrow from the State to finance themselves. In exchange, their accounts would be closely monitored.

Subsequently, the FLA would end up being integrated into the Financing Fund for Autonomous Communities, which has continued to provide liquidity to the autonomous governments.. This mechanism has been maintained in the years of recovery until today.. During the pandemic, the communities did not have problems because the State assumed the bulk of the increase in spending caused by the health emergency.

However, the situation that generated the financial crisis has not been reversed and the majority of autonomies continue to depend on the State to finance their deficits.. So much so that, in the communities as a whole, the level of debt in the hands of private creditors is even lower than that recorded when the FLA began operating in 2022.. Since 2012, financing needs have been covered by the State in most cases.

With such a high public debt, autonomies such as Catalonia or the Valencian Community find it impossible to finance themselves in the markets even today. That the State assumes part of the debt could help improve their situation and accelerate the return of these communities to the market. However, forgiving debt can produce a comparative grievance between territorial governments that have resorted to the State to finance their deficits and those that have done so on their own.

In this sense, the examples of Catalonia and Galicia are illustrative.. The agreements that the PSOE has signed with ERC and BNG estimate the state debt that would be forgiven at 20%. However, although the percentage that would be forgiven would be the same in both cases, the effects it would have for each of them would be very different.. Forgiving 20% of Catalonia's liabilities with the State would allow the Generalitat to reduce its total debt by 16.8% (14,622 million). However, a 20% haircut in Galicia would barely serve to reduce the Galician debt by 4.5% (552 million).

The agreements reached by the PSOE do not clarify what percentage of the regional debt with the State would be forgiven in each community. In fact, negotiation sources point out that the proportion does not have to be the same in all territories and remember that the forgiveness is linked to the impact that the financial crisis had in each case.

But, no matter how much the percentages vary, there are differences that are insurmountable.. For example, even if Castilla y León were forgiven all of its debt to the State, its total liabilities would be reduced by 14.6%. A figure lower than the benefit that the Valencian Community would obtain with a 20% reduction in its state debt.

ECONOMY

Education supports job creation in an October that marks a record for female employment but adds 37,000 new unemployed

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The labor market continues to grow in Spain, especially among women, and is supported by education for the second consecutive month. According to data released this Friday by the Ministries of Labor and Inclusion, the volume of workers has exceeded 20.82 million employed people in October, the highest figure in the historical series for a tenth month of the year.. However, at the same time the number of unemployed people registered in employment offices has increased by almost 37,000 people.

Spain touched 2.76 million unemployed in October, the lowest mark for a tenth month since 2007, but higher than that recorded in September. And in the last month the number of unemployed has grown by 36,936 people. This increase contrasts with the behavior of unemployment recorded in the same period during the last two years.. In October 2021 and 2022, unemployment was reduced by 734 and 27,027 people respectively, exceptional decreases in a historical series in which it is usual for unemployment to rise at this point in the year.

In fact, the Ministry of Labor highlights that the increase in the last month has been “more moderate than usual” and has occurred in a context in which both the active and employed population are at historic highs.. “The Spanish labor market is at maximum employment and activity,” said Minister Yolanda Díaz on the social network. You have to go back 16 years to find a month of October with a lower increase in unemployment, until 2007, when the increase was 31,214 people. In the last year, the number of unemployed people registered in employment offices has fallen by 155,488 people compared to October 2022, which represents a decrease of 5.33%.

Evolution of the number of unemployed in Spain until October 2023. Henar de Pedro

For its part, Social Security has gained 92,862 workers in the last month compared to September, reaching almost 20.82 million average affiliates, the highest figure in the series for the month of October.. The bulk of the increase has been concentrated in the female population: the number of female workers has grown by 86,876 women compared to September, compared to the increase of 5,985 men among the male population. “Not only is female employment growing at a faster rate than male employment, but salaries are also growing, narrowing the gender gap,” the Minister of Inclusion, José Luis Escrivá, stressed in his X account.

In fact, the average affiliation of women has reached a new high in the historical series, exceeding 9.83 million employees.. Never before in Spain have there been so many women working, they represent 47.2% of the total employed. At the same time, female unemployment remains at its lowest level since 2008, despite having increased by 20,192 women compared to September, placing the total at 1.66 million unemployed, compared to the 1.1 million men registered as standing in the SEPE offices.

However, the increase in average affiliation in the last month – counting both genders – has remained below those recorded in the same months of 2022 and 2021, when 159,478 and 103,499 new employees were added respectively.. This is the smallest increase for a tenth month of this year since 2015, when Social Security barely gained 32,000 average employees.. Even so, in the last twelve months, Spain has created a total of 533,871 jobs, which represents a growth of 2.6%. “Spain registers greater employment growth than the rest of the large European economies,” highlights Inclusion, highlighting that employment has grown in Spain by 7.2% compared to the level prior to the pandemic, above 4.9%. % from France and 1.3% from Germany.

191,000 jobs in education

For the second consecutive month, education has been the great support of the labor market in October, as already happened in September due to the hiring of teachers to prepare for the return to school. Compared to the ninth month of 2023, 191,154 jobs have been created in the educational sector, an increase that has cushioned the destruction of 50,316 positions in hospitality – weighed down by the end of good weather and the tourist season -, 36,442 in Public Administrations and Defense and 33,095 in health activities and social services.

Although far from education, the artistic, recreational and entertainment activities and construction sectors have also gained workers, adding 13,413 and 11,586 new employees respectively compared to September.. In fact, construction is the only sector in which registered unemployment has decreased, by just 813 people.. On the contrary, unemployment has grown in the services sector, in industry and in agriculture by 31,281, 2,418 and 2,122 people respectively, as well as among the group without previous employment.. Also noteworthy is the incorporation of 5,439 self-employed workers into Social Security, thus exceeding 3.34 million self-employed workers, the second highest figure in the series.

13% temporary

“Twenty-two months after the entry into force of the labor reform, its positive effects on the stabilization of employment and the improvement of its quality are clearly perceived,” highlights the Ministry of Inclusion and Social Security, which highlights the decrease in the rate. of temporality after the regulatory change. The proportion of employees with a temporary contract has set a new low in October, falling to 13%. The drop has been more pronounced among young people, where the temporary employment rate has fallen from 53% to 21%. “A great transformation is reaffirmed in the way our country contracts,” Díaz said.

Specifically, in October nearly 1.4 million contracts were signed – 8.4% less than in the same month of 2022 – of which 43.6% were indefinite. Of those 608,769 permanent contracts, 244,395 have been full-time, 212,376 permanent-discontinuous and 151,998 part-time. “The number of indefinite contracts created since the entry into force of the labor reform exceeds 3.1 million,” Escrivá insisted.

INTERNATIONAL

Jesús Pérez Arellano, second Spaniard evacuated from the Gaza Strip

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A Spaniard who works at the UN Office for Peace in the Middle East (UNSCO) left Gaza this Thursday and is now in Egypt, diplomatic sources have confirmed to EFE.

This is Jesús Pérez Arellano, sources from the organizations that work in the area have confirmed.

The worker from the Office of the Special Coordinator for the Peace Process in the Middle East is the second Spaniard to have left the war zone through the Rafah border crossing, after doctor Raúl Incertis, who worked for Doctors, left this Wednesday. Without Borders.

With the departure of Pérez Arellano, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs “closes” the departure of Spanish employees of NGOs and international organizations in Gaza, the sources have indicated.

The acting Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, informed the media this Thursday that it is expected that between 140 and 170 Spaniards will be able to leave the Gaza Strip and has specified that the Israeli and Egyptian authorities are already coordinating with the countries these exits.

For its part, the Government already has “everything prepared” in Cairo to go look for the Spaniards who manage to leave “on Thursday or Friday.”. Likewise, the acting Defense Minister has not ruled out the Government organizing an air evacuation if necessary.. “The Armed Forces are prepared,” he assured, without giving further details.

The acting Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, stressed for his part that Spain is “committed to the security of Spanish citizens in Gaza and the Middle East.”

“Thank you to everyone who has made possible the departure from Gaza of the two Spanish members of international organizations who requested it.. We continue working for future evacuations,” Albares published on his social network account X (formerly Twitter).

INTERNATIONAL

Giorgia Meloni suffers a telephone hoax from Russian "imposters" and talks about Ukraine

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The Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, has been the victim of deception by a Russian “imposter” who, posing as an African leader, extracted information from her by telephone about the European position on Ukraine and on immigration matters.

The Office of the Diplomatic Counselor of the Italian Presidency issued a statement this Wednesday to regret having been “deceived by an imposter who had posed as the president of the African Union Commission.”

This subject, the note reads, was connected by telephone with Meloni on September 18, within the framework of the “intense effort” at that time to strengthen relations with African leaders before the United Nations General Assembly.

The “hoax” was perpetrated by the Russian comedian couple Vovan and Lexus, who in the past did the same with other European politicians, and have published the conversation on their networks.

Conversation between Meloni and the false African leader

Firstly, Meloni is critical of the European management of the migration phenomenon.

“Europe has long believed that it could solve the problem by leaving Italy alone. They don't understand that it is impossible because the magnitude of this phenomenon involves, in my opinion, not only the EU (European Union) but the United Nations,” Meloni is heard saying.

And he adds: “But the problem is that others are not interested. They didn't answer the phone when I called them. “Everyone agrees that Italy has to solve this problem alone and that is a very stupid position.”

During an important part of the conversation, the supposed “African leader”, the impostor, asks the prime minister about the war in Ukraine after the Russian invasion and whether she foresees an end.

“I see that many are tired. In fact, we could be close to the moment when everyone will understand that we need a way out. The problem is to find a solution that is acceptable to both parties without destroying international law,” he says.

Likewise, Meloni said that the Ukrainian counteroffensive is proceeding, but “it may not be going as expected” and “without changing the fate of the conflict.”

“Everyone understands that this can really last for many years if we do not find a solution. The problem is what is the acceptable solution for both without opening other conflicts.. You know what I think about Libya,” he says.

The impostor also asks him what he thinks of the ideology of Ukrainian nationalism and its historical leader Stepan Bandera: “I think nationalism is a problem that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has,” he concludes.

The Russian “comedians” are Lexus, alias Alexei Stolyarov, and Vovan, Vladimir Krasnov, and in the past they deceived other politicians such as the president of Poland, Andrej Duda, posing as his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, or the former German chancellor. Angela Merkel.

INTERNATIONAL

Spain will evacuate up to 178 Spaniards from the Gaza Strip between this Thursday and Friday

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Almost a month after Israel declared open war on Hamas – in response to the attacks that killed 1,400 Israelis – the first Spaniards begin to leave the besieged Gaza Strip.. The enclave's border has remained closed by both the Jewish State and Egypt, while the bombing of Tel Aviv intensified, claiming the lives of more than 9,000 Palestinians.. Since then, the Spanish government has tried to evacuate its nationals, from NGO workers to citizens with dual nationality.. This Wednesday the first Spaniard left the Strip, an anesthetist from Doctors Without Borders, and the authorities assured that he would not be the only one.

Spain, in collaboration with Egypt, has announced that during Thursday and Friday it will evacuate around 140 citizens with Spanish nationality, a number that will reach 178 people when adding their family members. “Everything is ready there to go look for the Spaniards between today or tomorrow,” said the acting Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles.. The minister has acknowledged that a team is ready in Cairo and that in Spain the Armed Forces are also prepared in case it is necessary to carry out an air evacuation.. The minister has also pointed out that some Spaniards have already been able to leave Gaza by other means, as is the case with the Valencian healthcare provider Doctors Without Borders.

The evacuation of Spaniards occurs on the second consecutive day in which the gates of the Rafah crossing are opened for the exit of civilians. This Thursday at least four buses with between fifty and seventy Palestinians with foreign passports and citizens of other countries left the Strip. The spokesman for the Hamas Government Media Office, Salama Maruf, announced that some 60 wounded and 400 Palestinians with foreign passports and citizens of other countries (of 16 nationalities) would leave throughout the day.

These evacuees join the 76 injured and 335 Palestinians who left on Wednesday. The largest group of civilians who have left Gaza are Americans and Palestinians with US passports, numbering a total of 400; They are followed by Belgians and Dutch. The list also includes two Mexican women, as well as South Koreans, Greeks, Croatians, Hungarians and Swiss, among other nationalities.. They are joined by UN personnel with Italian passports.

Israeli Army surrounds Gaza City

While the south of the Strip focuses on the evacuation of civilians, in the north of the Palestinian enclave the conflict continues to intensify. The Israeli Army has surrounded the Palestinian city of Gaza, attacking the main city of the Strip and deepening its ground offensive, according to the Chief of the General Staff, Herzi Halevi. “We have advanced towards another important stage in the war. “The forces are in the heart of northern Gaza, operating in Gaza City, surrounding it,” Halevi said in a statement to the press.

“The forces are fighting in a dense and complex urban area, which requires professional combat and courage,” added the military command, who detailed that “the ground forces are accompanied by precise intelligence, with fire from the air and the sea”. Halevi has also highlighted the “painful and difficult price” of the fighting in Gaza, which has so far left 18 Israeli soldiers dead, one of them a lieutenant colonel who died this Thursday, according to the latest data released by the Army.

Asked about the fuel shortage in Gaza and the consequent closure of hospitals due to the tightening of the Israeli blockade, the chief of the General Staff has dismissed the warnings from the Gazan authorities about the collapse of the health system, although he has acknowledged that Israel plans to authorize entry of fuel once it runs out.

Israel has confirmed that its troops maintain strong clashes with militants of the Islamist group by land, sea and air. Gaza residents themselves have acknowledged that Israeli troops are carrying out raids and localized attacks. The Israeli Army spokesman reported that this Thursday its troops killed more than 130 Hamas members.

Meanwhile, the UN continues to insist that time is running out to avoid what they have defined as “a genocide and a catastrophe in Gaza.”. Seven United Nations special rapporteurs, including the UN rapporteur for Palestine, Francesca Albanese, have claimed to be “frustrated” and have insisted that “Israel's allies also have responsibility and must act to prevent this disastrous development of events.” “.

INTERNATIONAL

Yemen's Houthis, the Iran-backed rebels threatening to open the third front against Israel in the Gaza war

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Israel says it thwarted an airstrike by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on Tuesday. Brigadier General Yahya Saree, spokesman for the Houthis, confirmed that they had launched ballistic missiles and drones against targets in Israeli territory.

The Israeli Army said it had used its 'Arrow' air defense system for the first time to successfully intercept a surface-to-surface missile fired from the Red Sea area.. The 'Arrow' serves to intercept missiles at high altitude, which would indicate that this time the Houthis used a more advanced and long-range missile in the attempted attack.

According to the spokesman for the Houthi forces, this Tuesday was the third operation in support of the Palestinian people.. The attack was carried out “out of a sense of religious, moral, humanitarian and national responsibility.”. and given the weakness of the Arab world and the collusion of some Arab countries with Israel,” said Saree. The general assured that this type of operations will continue until the “Israeli aggression” ends.

The third front

This is the third front that Israel fears in its war with Hamas. The second and much more active is the Lebanese front, where the Shiite Hezbollah militia attacks Israeli territory with rockets, missiles and mortars regularly.. For all this, fear continues to grow of the conflict spreading to the entire Middle East.

“The attack was due to the weakness of the Arab world and the collusion of some Arab countries with Israel.”

And in the distance, Iran. On the 15th, a week after the surprising Hamas offensive, Iranian authorities warned Israel that it should stop its military response.. If not, Tehran said, the Resistance Axis would act.

Hosein Amir Abdolahian, Foreign Minister of Iran. WAEL HAMZEH / EFE

Indeed, there is an “expansion of conflicts in the region”, in the words of the Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. This Tuesday, the Iranian foreign minister warned that members of the resistance group “would not remain silent in the face of total US support” for Israel and “would not wait for anyone's advice.”. According to Amir-Abdollahian, if the situation gets out of control, “no party will be safe from its consequences.”

The Axis of Resistance

This informal alliance against the Jewish State is made up of different parastatal organizations based in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen that have traditionally been organized around the leadership of Iran.

The Ayatollahs' regime has for years provided training and weapons to Hamas, Islamic Jihad in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad and the Houthis in Yemen, who are also part of the Axis of Resistance.

“The Axis of Resistance will not remain silent in the face of the United States' total support for Israel.”

Tehran supports the Houthi rebel movement in Yemen, which since 2015 has faced a coalition led by Saudi Arabia, Iran's other major regional rival.. The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah (Supporters of God), took the Yemeni capital in 2014 and control wide swaths of the country.

The Houthis take their name from Hussein Badr al Din al Huti, who in 2004 led the group's first uprising.. Among them, the branch of Shiite Islam known as Zaidism predominates, but they also include Sunnis. The Zaidites ruled North Yemen for a millennium, until 1962.

Houthi attacks on Israel

Satellite view of East Africa, the Red Sea and the Arabian Peninsula. ARCHIVE

This Tuesday's attack is not the first launched by the Houthis against Israel and its allies.. that is, the United States. So far, they have claimed responsibility for at least three missile and drone attacks.. On October 19, a US warship shot down four cruise missiles and 15 drones heading north along the Red Sea near the coast of Yemen.

According to the US Department of Defense, the shots could have been directed at targets in Israel, something that Houthi Prime Minister Abdelaziz bin Habtour acknowledged days later.. He is a southern Yemeni who is not part of the inner circle of the Houthi movement, which is made up almost exclusively of northern Yemenis, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Israel denounced last Friday that “missiles and drones” launched by the Houthis against its territory hit two tourist towns in Egypt near the border, in an incident that according to Egyptian authorities caused at least six injuries.

The Red Sea and the US deployment

US deployment in the Middle East. Carlos Gamez

In this state of affairs, the United States has been developing a large deployment of ships and fighters in the Middle East for days in anticipation of a total war in the region.. This also affects the Red Sea. So much so that the White House has decided to keep several ships in those waters.

We reported last week that the Pentagon was going to send the amphibious group 'USS Bataan' to the eastern Mediterranean, made up of three ships carrying thousands of marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit.. However, in the end the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan and the dock landing ship USS Carter Hall will remain in the Red Sea.

At least three Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers also sail in those waters: the 'USS Carney', the 'USS Thomas Hudner' and the 'USS Roosevelt'.. All of them can use anti-aircraft missiles of the 'Standard' family and 'Tomahawk' cruise missiles.. The US has decided to keep the 'Carney' in the Red Sea.

To place the pieces and the importance of the setting, the waters of the Red Sea bathe the coasts of Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia in the north, and in the south, Sudan, Eritrea and Yemen.

Iran, Israel's great enemy

The attempted aggression by the Houthis this Tuesday comes a day after the Israeli Government threatened them with retaliation.. At the moment, the Israeli Army has deployed anti-missile ships in the Red Sea area.

Iran and Israel pose a mutual existential threat and compete for hegemony in the region

Iran has been Israel's great enemy since it broke diplomatic relations in 1979 after the Islamic revolution.. Both countries pose a mutual existential threat, compete for regional hegemony and maintain a covert war through sabotage, cyberattacks and assassinations.. So they maintain a 'shadow' conflict in which Hezbollah, Hamas or the Houthis of Yemen are, for the moment, the actors on the Iranian side.

ECONOMY

Spain closes distances with the large European economies by avoiding the eurozone break

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The European economy has been stagnant for twelve months. Inflation, fueled by the energy crisis and the strong rate increases of the European Central Bank (ECB) have frozen growth in the Old Continent. However, in that time Spain has managed to maintain a considerable level of activity that has allowed the country to close part of the distance lost during the pandemic with respect to its more advanced neighbors.

The data from the European national accounts released last Tuesday paint a not very encouraging picture. In the third quarter of 2023, the eurozone economy had barely grown 0.1% compared to the same quarter of 2022. In fact, between July and September the GDP of the euro area contracted by 0.1% when measured against the second quarter of the year.

On the other hand, the situation in Spain has been remarkably different.. The Spanish economy is now 1.8% larger than a year ago and in the third quarter the country was able to grow 0.3% thanks to the surprising rise in consumption.

The resilience of Spain's economy in the last 12 months has allowed the country to close part of the gap that opened in 2020, when the pandemic stop sank the Spanish GDP more than in any other country.. Spain not only suffered the biggest blow in all of Europe, it was also one of the countries that took the longest to recover from it.. In the second quarter of last year, Spain's GDP was still 0.2% below the level recorded before the pandemic (fourth quarter of 2019). At that time, the eurozone as a whole was already 2.5% above the pre-coronavirus record.

However, the differences are now much smaller.. In Spain, the current GDP volume is 2.1% above the last quarter of 2019, while the eurozone exceeds that reference by 3%.. In fact, after knowing the latest data, Spain already surpasses the records of the two main euro economies: France – whose GDP is now 1.8% higher than at the end of 2019 – and Germany (0.3%). Furthermore, if the forecasts of the main analysts come true, Spain would be, within the large EU economies, the one that will have grown the most since the pandemic broke out.

Why has Spain resisted better?

The greatest resistance of the Spanish economy in these last twelve months has two main protagonists: exports and consumption. At the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, foreign sales were practically the only driver of growth in Spain and in the eurozone. However, the drop in consumption and investment counteracted the negative contribution of the foreign sector in the eurozone, which caused the economy to stagnate.. On the other hand, Spain managed to avoid these obstacles and managed to grow in that period.

When exports stopped dead with the arrival of spring, Spain found itself with an engine that the eurozone as a whole has not been able to count on: consumption. The spending of Spanish families and public administrations has managed to keep the Spanish economy moving in the last two months.

This effect is largely explained by the good performance of the Spanish labor market.. Of the large euro economies, Spain is the one that has created the most jobs since the outbreak of the pandemic. The number of employed people in Spain was 4.8% higher in the second quarter than that recorded at the end of 2019. France (3%), Germany (1.6%) or Italy (1.2%) have recorded more modest employment growth. The drop in inflation and job creation have encouraged Spanish households to continue spending, which has boosted growth.

The resistance of the Spanish economy is also explained by the sectoral composition of the country, as the Bank of Spain recently pointed out.. In Spain, the tourism sector – which has experienced a full-blown boom this year – has a much greater weight in the economy than in other European countries.. It also plays in Spain's favor that the industry – one of those most affected by the crisis – has a less relevant role than in countries like Germany.. To this we must add that the economic ties between China and Spain are also weaker than in the eurozone as a whole.

Uncertainties and scars

The doubt now is whether Spain will be able to resist the stagnation into which the European economy has fallen for much longer.. The outlook for the fourth quarter points to a new slowdown, but with growth figures still positive. The expected rebound in inflation and the effect of interest rate increases will tend to curb consumption.

Furthermore, it is important to remember that, even if Spain emerged stronger from this crisis, the scars left by the Great Recession of 2008 still remain.. If we broaden the focus and analyze how the Spanish economy has evolved since 2008 compared to other countries, the distances are still very large.

Spain's GDP is now 8.9% above the level it registered in the third quarter of 2008, when the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers occurred.. On the other hand, the eurozone as a whole has grown by 13.2% since that date, with Germany (15.4%) and France (13.7%) with records much higher than those of Spain.. In fact, Spain is the fourth country in the eurozone that has grown the least since the great financial crisis.. Only Greece – whose economy is still 20% smaller today than it was then –, Italy and Finland have made less progress.

ECONOMY

The number of foreign tourists who visited Spain until September increases by 18.8% and spending increases by 24%

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The number of foreign tourists who visited Spain between January and September reached 66.5 million, 18.8% more than in the same period in 2022, but 0.6% lower than that registered in 2019, before the pandemic, and The expenditure incurred rose to 84,608 million euros, 24% more.

Provisional data published this Thursday by the National Institute of Statistics reveal that spending exceeded pre-covid levels by 15.1%.

In September, Spain received 8.8 million international tourists, 13.6% more than in the same month of 2022 and 0.2% less than in 2019; Regarding spending, it was 11,215 million euros, 22.6% more, and 16% higher than in September 2019.

[9:37] Juan Carlos Martinez HerreraPercentual
INTERNATIONAL

This is Jabalia, the refugee camp located in the Gaza Strip that Israel has bombed

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The attack on Jabalia, the largest refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, was one of the last of the bombings carried out by Israel in the context of the war against Hamas.. The attack, which took place this Wednesday, has been one of the deadliest since the conflict began: so far, the death toll is 145, according to Gazan hospital sources. The UN speaks of at least 50, although it is very possible that the number will increase in the coming hours.

The attack, which has been claimed by the Israeli army, has also left hundreds affected and the area in ruins, in what has been a new step in the strong humanitarian crisis that the territory has been going through since the beginning of the war.. What is it and how many people live in Jabalia? What is your situation? Why has Israel attacked it?

Created in 1948 to accommodate displaced Palestinians

The Jabalia refugee camp was created in 1948, as a consequence of the Palestine Partition Plan approved by the United Nations a year earlier, which promoted the creation of a Jewish state and an Arab state in the former British Mandate of Palestine.. As a consequence of Israel's subsequent independence and the Arab-Israeli War of 1948, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were displaced to Gaza by advancing Israeli troops.

At the end of the war, the Israeli state denied displaced Palestinians, approximately 700,000, return to their homes within the new Israeli borders.. The United Nations then established the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and created a series of refugee camps in Gaza, as well as in the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.

One of those camps founded by UNRWA was Jabalia, where 35,000 refugees initially settled.. According to the last official census published (in 2008), 195,249 people live there, 107,590 in the camp itself and 87,659 in its surroundings.

Jabalia is the northernmost of the Carlos Gámez refugee camps

Humanitarian aid, decisive for its inhabitants

The Gaza Strip is one of the most densely populated territories in the world, and Jabalia is no exception. The refugee camp has an area of 1.4 km², a place with a high population density in which supplying essential services to the entire population is not an easy task.. The landscape is typical of any town in Gaza: residential blocks as far as the eye can see, many of them practically in ruins, where its inhabitants try to cope with their precarious situation.

UNRWA tries to provide health care to the population, especially to the 3,900 families (18,356 people) considered “cases of special need” due to their situation.. The United Nations mission also maintains an education system with 25 schools, a sanitation program (to provide drinking water, urban cleaning and pest control), a business financing program (which has allowed the opening of a carpentry shop, a gynecology consultation, construction companies or clothing stores, among others) and an emergency program to provide food (on which 89,154 people depend). A humanitarian effort that, however, does not solve the complicated situation of the population of Jabalia.

The proximity to the Israeli borders (Jabalia is barely 6 kilometers from the Erez Pass, on the Israel-Gaza border), makes it, especially in the current context, an area of eternal conflict between Hamas troops and the Israeli Forces. Israeli Defense. The latest attack has resulted in the destruction of an entire neighborhood, with 30 residential buildings, according to a United Nations report.

The terrible images that the Israeli bombing of the Jabalia refugee camp has left in its wake

One of the deadliest attacks so far

The plight of Jabalia residents becomes more complicated as the war between Israel and Hamas intensifies. Within the framework of this new war in the region, there had already been more attacks in the area, but this Wednesday's attack turned out to be one of the deadliest to date.

The Israeli Defense Forces have defended that the attack was directed against Hamas terrorists, and assures that fifty of them have died, including the commander of the Central Jabalia Battalion, Ibrahim Biari, one of the senior Hamas commanders who orchestrated the attack. attack against Israel on October 7. Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said the war has entered “its third phase” and that Israel is “determined to win, despite the pain.”. Egypt and Jordan have expressed their rejection, while Spain has expressed its “horror” at the civilian victims.

The war seems to be facing a new stage, while in Jabalia the images show a devastating landscape: mountains of rubble, craters in the streets and hundreds of people searching for survivors.

INTERNATIONAL

Heart-stopping takeoff in Zurich: a plane almost went off the runway after a tire burst

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The passengers of a plane originating from Zurich airport suffered a dangerous takeoff last Friday caused by a tire burst, which caused the aircraft to lose control until it almost went off the runway and forced the flight to be interrupted.

It was an A320 from the Edelweiss Air company that lost control on October 27 due to an incident in one of the wheels.. Faced with the unforeseen event, the pilots managed to keep the plane on the runway, reducing speed and leaving the runway safely.

Despite partial control of the vehicle, the plane could not resume the trip and the takeoff had to be terminated.. According to Breaking Aviation News, data is still being analyzed to determine what caused the abnormal tire behavior.