ARCHIVED - Murcia and Spanish news round-up week ending 20th December 2019

Another Water War breaks out between Murcia and the national government as tragedy strikes in a pre-Christmas motorhome fire in Puerto de Mazarrón

Christmas is about to get under way in the Costa Cálida as schools break up for a fortnight and the whole of Spain awaits the El Gordo lottery draw on Sunday, but while the festive spirit abounds in most places it has unfortunately been dampened by some of the items in the news over the last few days.

This Friday there was a tragedy in Puerto de Mazarrón when a fire broke out in one of the many motorhomes parked overnight near to the entrance of the town, killing one of the occupants and leaving the other in hospital suffering from burns. 

More glum news was that although a warm weekend is forecast, with temperatures soaring to 25 degrees in Murcia on Saturday, Storm Elsa has brought wind and rain to almost the whole of Spain, and although the Region is escaping the worst of the weather, yellow and orange alerts are in place all along the coastline on Friday and Saturday. 37 incidents related to the wind were dealt with by emergency service on Thursday and more appear likely before conditions calm down again.

But the dominant issue in the regional news this week has been water, following the Ministry of Ecological Transition’s decision not to transfer water for irrigation to the Segura basin (which includes the Region of Murcia and areas of Alicante province) via the Tajo water system during December.

This infrastructure was built to bring water from northern and central areas of Spain which receive more rainfall than the drier regions of the south and was the driving factor behind the expansion of agricultural and economic activity in the south. Thousands of jobs in the agricultural sector, and therefore many more in related sectors, depend on the availability of irrigation water, and although desalination plants have been built to compensate for any shortfall, the water produced is insufficient for the needs of the sector, as well as being more expensive.

As a result battle is being joined in another “water war” as farmers fight for the “extra” water on which they have come to rely during the boom in crop farming in south-eastern Spain over the last 40 years, with the full backing of the regional government of Murcia.

One of the reasons that the farmers feel particularly aggrieved by the cutting off of the supply from the Tajo-Segura canal is that the justification offered by the Ministry is that irrigation farming is held to be the principal contributing factor in the deterioration of the marine environment of the Mar Menor. In one sense, it has to be said, this is encouraging for those who appreciate the need to protect and regenerate the lagoon: reading between the lines, the Ministry is saying to the CHS water infrastructures administration body and the farmers that if they are unable to use the water in an environmentally harmless way, they will not be allowed to use it at all.

But on the other hand, irrigation farming in the Segura basin is not limited to the Campo de Cartagena, from where runoff water containing nutrients has a negative effect on the Mar Menor. The Segura basin occupies an area of over 19,000 square kilometres and even if the measures against farmers in the Campo de Cartagena can be justified by the condition of the Mar Menor the anger of those in other areas is not hard to understand.

Meanwhile, politicians of almost all parties in the Region of Murcia, including members of the PSOE which currently forms the acting national government, have spoken out against the cutting of irrigation water transfers.

On a national level, there have been discouraging developments in the attempt to form a new government. A European Court of Justice ruling which was issued on Thursday, stating that Catalan separatist leader Oriol Junqueras should have been granted immunity before being sentenced to 13 years in jail on account of his having been elected as a member of the European parliament, has made talks between the PSOE party hoping to form a government in coalition with Unidas Podemos and the separatist party ERC even more problematic to the extent that negotiations have been suspended until the outcome becomes clear. There is speculation that Sr Junqueras could be freed to allow him to take up his seat in Brussels, and the implications for Carles Puigdemont, the president of the regional government in Catalunya during the tumultuous events of 2017 who has been in self-imposed exile ever since to avoid trial, are also uncertain as yet.

In addition, as many people travel to see their families, attempting to get away from the bad news for the Christmas period, a strike by rail workers has resulted in the cancellation of 271 trains across Spain on Friday, the start of the Christmas travel period, with 24 services no longer running in the Region of Murcia.

But this is Christmas, and with sunshine set to return to Murcia next week and the El Gordo draw on Sunday morning let’s keep our fingers crossed that better news is on the way!

5-year ban planned on new construction around the Mar Menor

As the regional government of Murcia continues to draw up its proposed legislation to regenerate and protect the marine environment of the Mar Menor more details are emerging in the regional press, and this week it has been reported that one of the measures to be included is a “moratorium” of at least 5 years on any new building projects in and around the lagoon.

In addition, it has also been reported that the plans of the government include the establishment of a 500-metre-wide fringe around the Mar Menor within which it will be illegal to use fertilizers and manure, making the continuation of irrigation farming close to the coast practically impossible.

Essentially, what the government is attempting to do is to create a “green belt” around the Mar Menor which will serve as a filter to remove substances which have a negative effect on the lagoon when they run off into the water in times of heavy rain, such as the gota fría storms which struck the Campo de Cartagena in September and again earlier this month. Within this green belt restrictions are to be placed on further construction and on the kinds of agriculture permitted, with the building ban affecting any projects for which full approval has not been given before the date on which the new legislation comes into force.

However, two key questions remain to be clarified: one concerns when the law will come into operation, and the other how it is to be enforced, this last one being of particular importance given the frequency with which cases have come to light of already existing laws being contravened and the offences going unpunished for years. A series of fines ranging from 5,000 to 500,000 euros are being specified, and as the drastic deterioration of the lagoon in recent months shows it is vital that the new law be enforced as soon as possible.

Vox advocates dredging the channels between the Mar Menor and the Mediterranean: the proposal has met with strong criticism from scientists and ecologists as it would considerably lower the salinity of the lagoon.

Los Alcázares residents attempt to block AP-7 motorway to demand flood protection measures: the demonstration on Saturday came three years after a man died in gota fría storm flooding and three months after the storm in September.

Other items in the news this week

Slapped wrists for Spanish airline Vueling selling Barcelona-Corvera flights! The Murcia government insists that the official name of the Murcia airport must be used although most of the population refer to the airport as “Corvera”.

Spanish navy Special Forces unit marches 100 km to deliver Christmas charity donation in Caravaca: each man carried 10 kilos of food in his backpack along with the rest of his kit.

3.2 mbLg earthquake shakes Jumilla and parts of northern Murcia: the tremor on Monday morning was also felt in Blanca and Abarán.

Relief as 12-year-old emerges from alcohol-induced coma in Murcia: the youngster spent over 24 hours unconscious after a bout of under-age drinking last Saturday.

Seven times over the alcohol limit at the wheel of a 40-ton HGV in Cartagena: a Ukrainian driver faces charges after being breathalysed in the port of Escombreras.

100-year-old tree felled by gota fría storm converted into stylish bench in Cartagena: a Town Hall gardener has taken on the project in his spare time.

Taxi quota halved at Corvera airport due to lack of winter flights: the minimum number of taxis based at the terminal drops to between 10 and 12.

Two arrested while bringing 30 kilos of heroin to Murcia from the Netherlands: the smugglers travelled by car to northern Europe and were detained on re-entering Spain.

Workers in Spain are legally entitled to Christmas hampers says Supreme Court: each case must be considered individually but over a period of years the hampers become obligatory.

Government fears overflow at immigrant minor accommodation centres in Murcia: Spanish law makes it obligatory for unaccompanied minors to be taken into care but there is “no more room at the inn” as Christmas approaches.

Only 16 per cent of under-30s in Murcia have flown the nest – maybe they just don’t want to? The Youth Council blames job insecurity and high rental costs for so few young people leaving homes but in this country many young adults and their parents continue to live under the same roof. It’s easy to be critical, but on the other hand is that necessarily a bad thing?

Lorca unveils Semana Santa 2020 poster: advance hotel bookings are recommended for one of the most spectacular Easter celebrations in Spain.

Property news

Earlier this month statistics were published which showed that property sales in Spain fell by just 1.5 per cent in October, the third successive decrease but a far less significant one than in the previous two months, and more data which were made public this Friday showed that the decrease in mortgage activity during the month followed a similar pattern with a drop of just 2.1 per cent.

However, in the Region of Murcia there was a sharp upturn in the figures with a 28.1 per cent rise being the second most significant in the 17 regions of Spain, surpassed only in the Canaries.

In general terms the figures published over the last few months suggest that the property market is becoming significantly less dynamic in Spain at the moment, possibly in part due to the continuing uncertainty over the country’s political future, the generalized slowing down of the economy and the feeling that unemployment is no longer falling as significantly as it has over the last 5 years or so. In Murcia, though, the signs are still inconclusive: sales figures are still rising in the long-term picture, albeit moderately, and over the last twelve months the total for property mortgages taken out still shows a slight increase.

And finally......... we would like to wish all of our readers a very merry festive season and thank you all for your amazing support during the year. It's been a busy year in the news, and more than 2.3 million unique users have read the information we've written during the last 12 months, a staggering amount of interest in the Region of Murcia, so thank you to everyone who has shared the information we write and made the writing of our content possible through their contributions or advertising support. Thank you so much and have a great Christmas; we'll be taking a break, so the next news bulletin will be after the Three Kings Bank Holiday.

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