tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/spain-543/articlesSpain – The Conversation2024-03-05T14:00:11Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2210612024-03-05T14:00:11Z2024-03-05T14:00:11ZHispanic health disparities in the US trace back to the Spanish Inquisition<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578113/original/file-20240226-18-qx2l6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=346%2C479%2C3693%2C2076&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Class, gender and religion influenced health care in early modern Spain and Latin America.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/diego-velazquez-christ-in-the-house-of-martha-and-mary">Diego Velázquez/The National Gallery</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many of the significant <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2022/06/14/hispanic-americans-experiences-with-health-care/">health disparities and inequities</a> Hispanic communities in the United States face are tied to a long history of health injustice in the Hispanic world.</p>
<p>The health landscape of early modern Hispanic societies, particularly from the late 15th to 18th centuries, was a <a href="https://history.wisc.edu/publications/The-Gray-Zones-of-Medicine-Healers-and-History-in-Latin-america/">complex interplay</a> between professional and nonprofessional providers shaping health care. The convergence of Indigenous, African and European practices, both in Spain and the Americas, affected how clinicians treated their patients.</p>
<p>This all played out against the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/CHO9781139032698.009">backdrop of the Inquisition and colonization</a>, when the Catholic Church prosecuted heresy. Consolidating religious norms promoted health care through charitable activity, such as the creation of hospitals, but also created challenges between the authority of the Catholic Church and competing health care initiatives. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.bowdoin.edu/profiles/faculty/mboyle2/index.html">My research</a> focuses on how health and medical practices in early modern Latin America and Spain are represented through cultural artifacts, including literature, recipe books, the Inquisition and convent records. In our book, my colleague <a href="https://charleston.edu/spanish/faculty/owens-sarah.php">Sarah Owens</a> and I explore how <a href="https://utorontopress.com/9781487505189/health-and-healing-in-the-early-modern-iberian-world/">gender norms affected</a> medicine and health care. We also consider how popular representations of health and medicine in culture inform widely held beliefs and biases about these experiences.</p>
<p>Understanding the historical roots of health disparities in Hispanic communities can <a href="https://salud-america.org">help address them</a> both locally and globally today. </p>
<h2>Interplay of medical practices</h2>
<p>Latin America and Spain in the late 15th to 18th centuries were home to a <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Medical-Cultures-of-the-Early-Modern-Spanish-Empire/Slater-Lopez-Terrada-Pardo-Tomas/p/book/9780367669225">number of medical practices</a>, including traditional medical knowledge and remedies and the professionalization of medicine through new universities and licensing systems. </p>
<p>Early modern <a href="https://doi.org/10.4000/aes.3633">medical humanists</a>, or Renaissance clinicians, took up medical treatises by the ancient Greek and Roman physicians, including those of Galen and Hippocrates, and revived them in the context of “learned” medical instruction through European universities. The study of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139027649.015">Paracelsianism</a>, or the theories of Swiss physician Paracelsus, though more contested among practitioners because of its connections to the supernatural and occult, also affected a variety of health practices across early modern Spain and colonial Latin America. With the publication of anatomical treatises at the start of the 16th century, including the work of Renaissance physician <a href="https://lccn.loc.gov/2021667096">Andreas Vesalius</a>, the study of anatomy slowly and dramatically changed medical practice.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578303/original/file-20240227-28-t93eef.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Black and white engraving of four people surrounding the bedside of a man lying prone, with one of the people tending to a wound on his back by candlelight" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578303/original/file-20240227-28-t93eef.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578303/original/file-20240227-28-t93eef.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=797&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578303/original/file-20240227-28-t93eef.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=797&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578303/original/file-20240227-28-t93eef.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=797&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578303/original/file-20240227-28-t93eef.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1002&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578303/original/file-20240227-28-t93eef.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1002&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578303/original/file-20240227-28-t93eef.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1002&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An 18th century engraving depicts a woman soothing a wound on Don Quixote’s back.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://wellcomecollection.org/works/yca32vbf/images?id=j557f5kw">William Hogarth/Wellcome Collection</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Traditional healing practices varied significantly but often provided accessible and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/heq.2021.0099">culturally compatible care</a>, including reduced language barriers. Many people in Hispanic communities still rely on these practices today. Discussions about the legitimacy and health effects of folk remedies in Latin America, such as varieties of herbal and holistic medicine and other <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/1746-4269-7-9">animal-based remedies</a>, are ongoing.</p>
<h2>Gender and medicine</h2>
<p>As health care became more professionalized during the early modern period, some women found ways to practice medicine in more formalized contexts, while others continued to work as healers or herbalists. These practices alternated between <a href="https://iberian-connections.yale.edu/articles/healing-in-madrid/">success and suspicion</a> during the Spanish Inquisition. Accusations of sorcery and witchcraft along with sexualities outside heterosexual norms often collided with practices of health and medicine. </p>
<p>But just as pregnancy and child–rearing are not the only medical events that shaped early modern women’s lives, women medical providers <a href="https://utorontopress.com/9781487505189/health-and-healing-in-the-early-modern-iberian-world/">weren’t only witches</a>. Nuns in Arequipa prepared treatments in convents, and mothers and daughters made medicine within households in Madrid.</p>
<p>From Fernando de Rojas’ 1499 tragicomedy “<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/1xhs-0330">La Celestina</a>,” about the go-between who crafts love potions and repairs hymens, to the 2019 Colombian TV series “<a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80205595">Siempre Bruja</a>,” about a 17th century Afro-Colombian witch who finds herself in present-day Cartagena, the cultural legacy of witchy women healers in the Hispanic world continues to be deeply felt.</p>
<h2>Class, race, geography and language</h2>
<p>The transfer of plants, animals and diseases across the Atlantic also profoundly affected health outcomes. </p>
<p>European diseases <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/latamcaribbean/2020/08/07/the-history-of-epidemics-in-latin-america-has-much-to-tell-us-about-covid-19/">such as smallpox</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-smallpox-devastated-the-aztecs-and-helped-spain-conquer-an-american-civilization-500-years-ago-111579">devastated Indigenous populations</a>. Meanwhile, plants from the Americas offered <a href="https://brill.com/display/title/34839?language=en">novel treatments</a> for a number of illnesses globally. Peruvian <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-10-144">cinchona bark</a> is a natural source of quinine that proved effective against malaria, a disease prevalent in both Europe and the Americas. Other plants <a href="https://utorontopress.com/9781487527204/chocolate/">such as cacao seeds</a> found various medicinal and ritual uses, including relieving exhaustion or anxiety or improving weight gain.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5FpPpn086eI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Columbian Exchange was not mutually beneficial.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But access to this range of treatment methods was unequal, especially <a href="https://nursingclio.org/2018/02/22/health-care-in-colonial-peruvian-convents/">across social class and geography</a>. Wealthier nobility in urban centers often had much greater access to scarce resources across the Iberian empire. </p>
<p>Health outcomes were also often linked to <a href="https://uncpress.org/book/9781469630878/the-experiential-caribbean/">racial and ethnic hierarchies</a>. Patients were classified as Spanish, mestizo – mixed European and Indigenous – or African slaves in treatment records. These documents show evidence of uneven access to care, while there is also evidence that some exchanges in care practices <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0424.12553">across these hierarchies</a> were possible.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578307/original/file-20240227-20-vpjsg8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Yellowed manuscript with written text inscribed in ink down the page" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578307/original/file-20240227-20-vpjsg8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578307/original/file-20240227-20-vpjsg8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=915&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578307/original/file-20240227-20-vpjsg8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=915&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578307/original/file-20240227-20-vpjsg8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=915&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578307/original/file-20240227-20-vpjsg8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1149&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578307/original/file-20240227-20-vpjsg8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1149&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578307/original/file-20240227-20-vpjsg8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1149&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Grammar of the Castilian Language’ codified Spanish.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667003">Antonio De Nebrija/World Digital Library via Library of Congress</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Forced displacement as well as language discrimination also affected health access and outcomes. Spanish wasn’t <a href="https://www.publicbooks.org/whose-spanish-anyway/">standardized as a language</a> until the publication of Antonio de Nebrija’s “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/44015843">Grammar of the Castilian Language</a>” in 1492, inscribed to Queen Isabel with the reminder that “language has always been the companion to empire.” </p>
<p>For example, while Arabic and Hebrew were widely spoken throughout the Iberian Peninsula before the forced expulsions of the Inquisition, politics around language resulted in centuries of stereotypes and discrimination against Muslim and Jewish medical providers, who had to navigate <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Medicine-Government-and-Public-Health-in-Philip-IIs-Spain-Shared-Interests/Clouse/p/book/9781138246379">alternative licensing methods</a> to practice medicine in Spain and its colonial territories. </p>
<h2>Understanding the story of medicine</h2>
<p>More than 400 years later, inequities in and commodification of Hispanic health and wellness continue. </p>
<p>Luxury travelers are sold wellness via <a href="https://oursoulfultravels.com/wellness-spas-in-mexico/">Mayan purification rituals</a>, among other assorted local remedies and practices that can be purchased, marketed and monetized. Wood from the Palo Santo tree, which healers have used for centuries for spiritual cleanings and pain relief, continues to be grown all over the Americas, including Mexico, Peru and Ecuador, and is now bought and sold globally to bring “<a href="https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a30793415/what-is-palo-santo/">good vibes</a>.”</p>
<p>Considering these early modern health practices and inequities allows for deeper engagement with health care systems today. Informed critical thinking about medicine and health care <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/10/16/2018-jefferson-lecture-focuses-contribution-humanities-medicine">across disciplines</a> is a powerful way to consider how these histories continue to shape current values and practices, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.5744/florida/9781683402619.001.0001">ongoing disparities in health care</a>.</p>
<p>One such discipline is <a href="https://theconversation.com/literature-inspired-my-medical-career-why-the-humanities-are-needed-in-health-care-217357">narrative medicine</a>. Using the tools of the humanities, physicians can broaden their view of their patients from simple metrics to human beings with stories to tell. This process involves perceiving and incorporating patients’ personal experiences, valuing narration of the past and recognizing the significance of the encounter between doctor and patient. While much of this research focuses on English-language narratives, cross-cultural and bilingual research <a href="https://www.lclark.edu/live/news/48656-neh-grant-to-support-bilingual-materials-for">in Spanish</a> is expanding the field. </p>
<p>It is estimated that by 2060 there will be more than <a href="https://latino.ucla.edu/research/latino-population-2000-2020/">111 million Latinos</a> in the United States. Understanding the historical legacies that have shaped wellness and care practices, including the factors that determine care quality and access, can promote more equitable and culturally nuanced health outcomes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221061/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Margaret Boyle received funding from the Fulbright Program and the George A. and Eliza Gardner Howard Foundation Fellowship for this research.</span></em></p>Early modern societies in Latin America and Spain saw a convergence of traditional medical knowledge and the professionalization of medicine. The resulting differences in access to care endure today.Margaret Boyle, Associate Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures, Director of Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies Program, Bowdoin CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2237092024-02-21T11:44:17Z2024-02-21T11:44:17ZFascist propaganda on the big screen: the history of the NO-DO in Francoist Spain<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576041/original/file-20240131-25-kv6g9l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C6%2C1019%2C676&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Francisco Franco at a sailing regatta in the bay of La Concha in San Sebastián. The even was later broadcast in NO-DO 1028A.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Francisco_Franco_durante_una_competici%C3%B3n_de_regatas_en_la_bah%C3%ADa_de_la_Concha_(5_de_8)_-_Fondo_Mar%C3%ADn-Kutxa_Fototeka.jpg">Fondo Marín-Kutxa Fototeka</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1EdyZtkGXo">first ever film</a> was shown at the Grand Café in Paris, on 28 December 1895. Interest in film and cinematic technology then quickly spread, captivating audiences and dominating much of 20th century culture. Spain’s first cinematic screenings took place in 1896, but from the 1930s onwards its cinematic output took on two significant peculiarities. </p>
<p>One of these was the unavoidable and entrenched practice of dubbing foreign films. This meant, in the long term, fewer opportunities for Spanish people to become familiar with other cultures and languages, and made it very easy to manipulate and censor a film’s content.</p>
<p>Another element, present throughout Francisco Franco’s dictatorial rule from 1939 to 1975, was the obligatory screening of a 10-minute cinematic newsreel before films. This was called the <em>Noticiario Español</em> (“Spanish News Broadcast”), but was more popularly known as the NO-DO, an abbreviated form of the state-owned “<em>Noticias y Documentales</em>” (News and Documentaries) company that created it.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572494/original/file-20240131-19-6oxoz2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The NO-DO masthead." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572494/original/file-20240131-19-6oxoz2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572494/original/file-20240131-19-6oxoz2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572494/original/file-20240131-19-6oxoz2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572494/original/file-20240131-19-6oxoz2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572494/original/file-20240131-19-6oxoz2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572494/original/file-20240131-19-6oxoz2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572494/original/file-20240131-19-6oxoz2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The NO-DO masthead.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.rtve.es/play/videos/nodo/not-231/1467367/">RTVE</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Features and impact of the NO-DO</h2>
<p>The dictatorship wanted to take advantage of a medium that sidestepped the limitations of illiteracy: around <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_education_in_Francoist_Spain#Literacy">25%</a> of Spain’s population could neither read nor write in 1930. They also had a captive audience: from 1943 onwards, the dictatorship ordered that in all cinemas, before any film, the NO-DO had to be shown. </p>
<p>It also benefited from a total lack of competition, as well as the technological, suggestive power of cinema. As a result, it was able to impose its singular, one-sided worldview upon a large part of the Spanish population.</p>
<p>These messages formed part of a wider media ecosystem that fell under the direct or indirect control of the regime: Franco’s political party – the Falange – and the Catholic Church both held sway. This control extended to both ownership and content.</p>
<h2>NO-DO and the dictatorship</h2>
<p>The NO-DO’s format was simple: black and white footage with a male voiceover. It was only in the transition to democracy following Franco’s death in 1975 that it started to reflect wider technological and social changes: its first colour instalment was broadcast in <a href="https://www.rtve.es/play/videos/noticiarios-nodo/not-1795/1467325/">June 1977</a>, and the first female voiceover did not come until <a href="https://www.rtve.es/play/videos/noticiarios-nodo/not-1919/1467327/">December 1979</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572782/original/file-20240201-23-ixwoou.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An image of a NO-DO camera operator at work." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572782/original/file-20240201-23-ixwoou.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572782/original/file-20240201-23-ixwoou.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572782/original/file-20240201-23-ixwoou.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572782/original/file-20240201-23-ixwoou.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572782/original/file-20240201-23-ixwoou.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=542&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572782/original/file-20240201-23-ixwoou.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=542&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572782/original/file-20240201-23-ixwoou.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=542&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A NO-DO camera operator at work.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.rtve.es/play/videos/nodo/not-1304-conmemorativo-25-anos/1486951/">RTVE</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Outside of this final period, the NO-DO’s content toed the Francoist party line with surgical precision.</p>
<p>It only addressed topics that were entertaining, politically convenient, and could be shown in a light-hearted way, without any obvious ideological spin. Its central mission, however, was to legitimise Franco’s cause or, at least, to sugarcoat events both within Spain and in the world at large. </p>
<p>This heavy bias is evident in how it handled topics such as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anbI0kfi_rs">representation of women</a>, Spain’s various <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBij2feJ9xQ">regional identities</a> (often reduced to tame folkloric dance performances for visiting dignitaries) or the proganda offensive celebrating the Franco regime’s so-called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjLIcaL74Lg">25 Years of Peace</a>. </p>
<p>Some were critical of, or perhaps even immune to, the propaganda, but it was an effective way to spread biased information, and to shape society’s thinking by indoctrinating or persuading a captive audience. Similar broadcasts were used by Spain’s totalitarian contemporaries, including <a href="https://www.archivioluce.com/archivio-cinematografico-2/#/">fascist Italy</a>, <a href="https://archive.org/details/diedeutschewochenschau567301941/Die+Deutsche+Wochenschau+(+585+-48-1941).mp4">Nazi Germany</a>, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3X_JIjPmlKwJ68_QAXJzKPl0v9EdkPVO">Soviet Russia</a>. </p>
<h2>News in the cinema</h2>
<p>Before and during the Spanish Civil War, there is actually <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/argonauta/1195">evidence</a> of each side having its own cinematic newsreels. There are examples of a <a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noticiario_Espa%C3%B1ol"><em>Noticiario Español</em></a> and another broadcast called <a href="https://www.europeanfilmgateway.eu/search-efg/Laya%20Films/exact?page=0%2C0%2C0"><em>Espanya al dia</em></a> (Catalan for “Spain Up To Date”) in the eastern republican part of the country. The western rebel territory had its own newsreel – also called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgM8MmF1-E_NKu_w6O4W25wN3X57lqSFA"><em>Noticiario Español</em></a> – in 1938 and 1939. </p>
<p>The NO-DO came about after the Civil War thanks directly to the Francoist dictatorship’s power, which made it the sole production of this sort. <a href="https://www.rtve.es/play/videos/nodo/not-1-introduccion-primer-noticiario-espanol/1465256/">First screened on 4 January 1943</a>, it actually continued into the post-Franco era, <a href="https://www.rtve.es/play/videos/nodo/not-1966/1467587/">ending on 25 May 1981</a>.</p>
<p>However, its glory began to fade as early as the 1960s, when competition emerged in the form of television (Spain’s public broadcaster, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Televisi%C3%B3n_Espa%C3%B1ola">TVE</a>, was inaugurated in 1956). It entered an even steeper decline in the late 1970s when it stopped being mandatory in cinemas, by which point television had spread more widely into households, holding sway over people’s conversations, timetables, and even the layout of their homes.</p>
<h2>The legacy of the NO-DO</h2>
<p>The NO-DO ended well within living memory, and left a profound impression on the country’s collective consciousness. </p>
<p>To this day, numerous elements still resonate with much of Spain’s popular culture. Few can forget its <a href="https://parecequefueayer.espaciolatino.com/Nodo.mp3">iconic opening melody</a>, the pompous voiceovers, and the hackneyed speeches filled with platitudes like <a href="https://www.rtve.es/play/videos/noticiarios-nodo/not-1299/1487016/">“su excelencia el Jefe del Estado”</a> (“His Excellency, the Head of State”). Its <a href="https://www.rtve.es/play/videos/nodo/not-502/1469616/">repeated references to newly inaugurated marshes, reservoirs and wetlands</a> even led to the dictator being popularly known as “Paco el Rana” (“Frankie the Frog”).</p>
<p>It also left its mark on those who were not alive to see it first hand. One clear example of this is the long-running Catalan political satire programme <a href="https://www.ccma.cat/3cat/cercador/?cerca=Pol%25C3%25B2nia%2520NO-DO"><em>Polònia</em></a>, which riffs on the NO-DO’s format and has aired weekly since 2003.</p>
<p>It also has considerable value as a historical archive. Its extensive output – a total of 4,106 episodes – has been <a href="https://www.rtve.es/filmoteca/no-do/">digitised in its entirety</a> by RTVE and the Filmoteca Española. It provides a wealth of material for researchers interested not only in Francoism, but also in the country’s tumultuous transition to democracy. </p>
<p>All of these topics, and more, have been addressed in the recent monograph “<a href="https://revistes.ub.edu/index.php/filmhistoria/issue/view/2948">80º Aniversario del noticiario del NO-DO (1943-2023)</a>” (“The 80th Anniversary of the NO-DO Newsreel (1943-2023)”) published by the scientific journal <em>FILMHISTORIA Online</em>. </p>
<p>The NO-DO has to be viewed with a critical eye, since it is as biased and effective as it is fascinating. However, when handled carefully it provides a powerful tool to help us understand, study and scrutinise our country’s recent past.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223709/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Las personas firmantes no son asalariadas, ni consultoras, ni poseen acciones, ni reciben financiación de ninguna compañía u organización que pueda obtener beneficio de este artículo, y han declarado carecer de vínculos relevantes más allá del cargo académico citado anteriormente.</span></em></p>During the Franco dictatorship, Spanish cinema goers were forced to watch the regime’s propaganda newsreels before every film.Jaume Claret, Historiador. Profesor agregado en los Estudios de Artes y Humanidades y director del Máster Universitario de Historia del Mundo Contemporáneo, UOC - Universitat Oberta de CatalunyaRicard Rosich Argelich, Historiador y profesor. Investigador Predoctoral FPU en Historia Contemporánea. Miembro del Centre d'Investigacions Film-Història y del Centre d'Estudis Històrics Internacionals, Universitat de BarcelonaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2231032024-02-14T07:45:24Z2024-02-14T07:45:24ZWritten accounts reveal how sexual assault claims were dealt with in the middle ages<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574319/original/file-20230529-27-5q7g5p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C5%2C3764%2C1400&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Susana and the elders, as depicted in the Biblia Sancti Petri Rodensis, BnF, Latin 6 (3), f. 66v. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b85388130/f136.item.r=biblia%20sancti%20petri%20rodensis.zoom#">gallica.bnf.fr / Bibliothèque nationale de France</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Written testimonies from the medieval period show sexual assault being successfully reported to the authorities, despite legal, social and even family obstacles. This took place, we must remember, in a society which had next to nothing by way of forensic measures, so reporting a crime of any sort often meant that people had to be taken at their word.</p>
<p>Almost 30 years ago, <a href="https://revistaseug.ugr.es/index.php/arenal/article/view/22816">pioneering research was carried out by medieval history professor María del Carmen Pallares</a> into such cases in 15th century Ourense, a city in Galicia, in northwestern Spain. <a href="https://revistas.usal.es/uno/index.php/Studia_H_Historia_Medieval/article/view/25219/26907">More recent contributions</a> to this body of research have continued to shed light on cases that date back to the Middle Ages and beyond.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528910/original/file-20230529-24-arw11y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Stone statue of a woman" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528910/original/file-20230529-24-arw11y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528910/original/file-20230529-24-arw11y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528910/original/file-20230529-24-arw11y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528910/original/file-20230529-24-arw11y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528910/original/file-20230529-24-arw11y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=677&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528910/original/file-20230529-24-arw11y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=677&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528910/original/file-20230529-24-arw11y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=677&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lucretia commits suicide after her rape (as told by Tito Livio). Architectural detail on the Fonseca Palace in Santiago de Compostela (16th century).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">A. L-R.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To this day, taking successful action against sexual assault remains difficult. In Spain, for example, <a href="https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2022/11/16/spains-new-stricter-rape-law-to-be-reviewed-after-being-used-to-reduce-some-jail-sentences">the process of implementing</a> a law dubbed “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/25/spain-only-yes-means-yes-sexual-consent-bill-expected-to-become-law">solo sí es sí</a>” (“only yes means yes”) has highlighted the problem of standardising offences and the “demonstrability” of sexual assault.</p>
<p>When tracing such crimes in thousand-year-old documents, the evidence must therefore be considered with caution, and there are various barriers to interpreting it. These can be linguistic (documents were written in Latin or older Romance languages), legal (there is, for example, no exact legal equivalent to the modern definition of rape) and representational (very few documents give specific details of crimes committed). </p>
<p>In spite of these limitations, I have chosen two documented cases which clearly show women reporting and taking action against <a href="https://repositorium.sdum.uminho.pt/handle/1822/75527">collective or individual sexual assault by men</a>.</p>
<h2>Celanova, Galicia: a granddaughter reports her grandfather</h2>
<p>The written records, known as the cartulary, of the <a href="http://gmh.consellodacultura.org/catalogo/ficha/f/110/">monastery of Celanova</a> in Galicia are an excellent <a href="http://gmh.consellodacultura.org/fileadmin/arquivos/publicos/Tombo_Celanova/andrade_vellas_e_novas_consideracions_sobre_o_Tombo_de_Celanova.pdf">source of information</a> on early medieval society in the northwestern Iberian Peninsula. The documents it contains are mainly copies of earlier ones from the 10th or 11th centuries.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527711/original/file-20230523-27-p2eol2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527711/original/file-20230523-27-p2eol2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527711/original/file-20230523-27-p2eol2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=294&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527711/original/file-20230523-27-p2eol2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=294&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527711/original/file-20230523-27-p2eol2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=294&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527711/original/file-20230523-27-p2eol2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527711/original/file-20230523-27-p2eol2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527711/original/file-20230523-27-p2eol2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Old records of privileges and donations made to the monastery of San Salvador de Celanova, known as the ‘Tombo’ or cartulary of Celanova. (12th century).</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://pares.mcu.es/ParesBusquedas20/catalogo/show/2610130">National Historical Archive, Madrid, codex L. 986, f. 137r.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Towards the end of the 10th century, there was an account of a woman, possibly a young girl, going to the monastery to report her own grandfather for having abused her (as stated in Latin: <em>venit ipsa mea nepta in presentia iudices in concilio</em>). The granddaughter’s name is not known, because the document focuses on the grandfather himself, who went by the name Tusto. </p>
<p>In the written account he acknowledges his guilt, and explains that his granddaughter’s report (<em>queremonia</em>) was what brought him before the authorities. In the end, the aggressor agrees to hand over a number of family possessions as punishment for illicit relations (<em>adulterio</em>), which then pass into the hands of the monastery. </p>
<p>The account is surprisingly explicit in mentioning both the family connection and the acknowledgement of guilt. Unfortunately, we know nothing more about Tusto and his anonymous granddaughter, but we do know from this account that she had the opportunity to successfully report her aggressor despite the nature of their relationship, and that action was taken.</p>
<h2>São Pedro do Sul, Portugal: Jimena and Juan Arias</h2>
<p>Another explicit mention of sexual assault being reported can be found found in <a href="https://purl.pt/12270/4/cg-2698-a-2/cg-2698-a-2_item4/cg-2698-a-2_PDF/cg-2698-a-2_PDF_24-C-R0150/cg-2698-a-2_0000_capa-capa_t24-C-R0150.pdf">a document</a> dated to almost a century after Tusto’s case.</p>
<p>In this case a woman, Jimena, and her mother, Ducidia, hand over a number of church goods to a powerful local magnate named Alvitu Sandizi. Jimena and Ducidia asked for his help because a man named Juan Arias had attempted to assault Jimena, or to consummate a relationship against her will (the Latin reads: <em>volebat concubare sine mea volumtate</em>). It seems that Alvitu was something of a well known and respected local authority, which explains why they turned to him at this moment.</p>
<p>The most striking element of this case is that Jimena appears in the first person (<em>mea</em>). She explains that the goods had been delivered as protection against Juan Arias’ unwanted advances, and to clearly record her explicit lack of consent.</p>
<h2>The tip of the iceberg</h2>
<p>It would, of course, be impossible to quantify the number of sexual assaults that took place over the course of centuries. However, in our doctoral thesis project, and in <a href="https://estudiosmedievales.revistas.csic.es/index.php/estudiosmedievales/article/view/1310">other publications</a>, we have tried to compile all available recorded instances. The two listed here are the clearest examples of women reporting such crimes, but they are by no means the only ones.</p>
<p>These historical accounts run contrary to popular, heroic tales like Ingmar Bergman’s 1960 film <a href="https://www.filmaffinity.com/uk/film251415.html">The Virgin Spring</a>, or Ridley Scott’s more recent 2021 film <a href="https://www.filmaffinity.com/uk/film299644.html">The Last Duel</a>. They show that crimes such as these were reported by women who were taken at their word, and action was taken by ordinary, established justice systems.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528623/original/file-20230526-24621-31uypm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman dressed in medieval clothes eats while a man grabs her from behind." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528623/original/file-20230526-24621-31uypm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528623/original/file-20230526-24621-31uypm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528623/original/file-20230526-24621-31uypm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528623/original/file-20230526-24621-31uypm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528623/original/file-20230526-24621-31uypm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528623/original/file-20230526-24621-31uypm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528623/original/file-20230526-24621-31uypm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Birgitta Pettersson and Tor Isedal in a still from the film <em>The Virgin Spring</em>, which depicts a rape in medieval Sweden.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.filmaffinity.com/es/filmimages.php?movie_id=251415">FilmAffinity</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Analysing and learning about these stories not only sets a historical precedent for the present, but also helps us to change the way we see the past. It is the responsibility of historical researchers to bring back this evidence and share it. In this way, the actions of Tusto’s granddaughter, Jimena and her mother, and countless others can contribute to a society where women are taken seriously when reporting sexual assault.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223103/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Abel Lorenzo-Rodríguez no recibe salario, ni ejerce labores de consultoría, ni posee acciones, ni recibe financiación de ninguna compañía u organización que pueda obtener beneficio de este artículo, y ha declarado carecer de vínculos relevantes más allá del cargo académico citado.</span></em></p>Written medieval records clearly show that women publicly and successfully reported men to the local authorities for sexual assault.Abel Lorenzo-Rodríguez, PhD Doctor with international mention, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Universidade de Santiago de CompostelaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2209122024-01-31T18:29:04Z2024-01-31T18:29:04ZSome EU countries use the eurozone as a credit card, with Germany picking up the tab – new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572293/original/file-20240130-25-mfonz6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=98%2C73%2C5365%2C3563&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mapped out.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/euro-banknotes-on-europe-map-concept-1924905488">Oleg Elkov/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Europe is home to many languages, varied geography and different cultures. And until fairly recently, it was also a place where almost every country had its own currency.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5038955_The_Launch_of_the_Euro">arrival of a common currency</a> in 1999 changed all that. Now <a href="https://european-union.europa.eu/institutions-law-budget/euro/countries-using-euro_uk">344 million citizens</a> in 20 of the 27 EU member states use the euro, making it the world’s second most used international currency after the US dollar. </p>
<p>One purpose of the euro is to simplify cross-border payment transfers between eurozone member states. This is achieved <a href="https://www.ecb.europa.eu/paym/target/target2/html/index.en.html">using a system</a> called “Target 2” (T2) which settles private sector bank-to-bank and commercial transactions between EU countries. </p>
<p>However, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm16120506">my research</a> shows that this apparently innocuous settlement system is effectively being used to save the eurozone from imploding. </p>
<p>The problem is that some eurozone members – Italy and Spain, for example – import much more from other members than they export, particularly from Germany, the economic engine that has kept the eurozone economies going since 1999. </p>
<p>This results in a trade deficit, also known as a negative balance of trade. And this in turn creates a debt owed by Italy and Spain to Germany. </p>
<p>Luckily for them though, T2 converts this potentially risky debt into an apparently risk-free loan owed by the central banks of Italy and Spain to the central bank of Germany. The trouble is that there is no legal requirement in T2 to ever pay ot back. </p>
<h2>United in debt?</h2>
<p>Part of the reason for this imbalance is that the eurozone <a href="https://www.eurrec.org/ijoes-article-117074">does not satisfy</a> the economic conditions for being an “optimal currency area” (OCA) – that is, a geographical area over which a single currency and monetary policy can operate on a long term basis (in contrast to the UK and US, for example).</p>
<p>The different business cycles within the eurozone (with some countries booming economically, while others are in a slump) mean that trade surpluses and deficits will build up because inter-regional exchange rates can no longer be changed. </p>
<p>The normal way for a country to deal with a trade deficit is to devalue its currency, but this is not possible in the eurozone, since exchange rates between members were fixed in perpetuity in 1999. The most economically efficient countries, like Germany, accrue surpluses, while the more inefficient countries, like Italy and Spain, build up deficits. </p>
<p>To rectify this, surplus regions would have to recycle their surpluses back into deficit regions via transfers to keep the eurozone economies in balance. This is what happens in OCAs like the UK when the national government transfers tax revenues collected in England to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to correct regional imbalances. </p>
<p>But the largest surplus country in the eurozone, Germany, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07036337.2021.1877690">refuses to accept</a> that the EU is a “transfer union”. This is because the eurozone was set up on the explicit basis that market forces, not fiscal transfers, would be used to remove productivity differences between member states – and Germany was determined that it would not cross-subsidise inefficient members. </p>
<p>Yet deficit countries, including Italy and Spain, are using T2 for this very purpose. For them, T2 has effectively become a giant credit card. But unlike a regular credit card, neither the debt nor the interest that accrues on the debt ever needs to be repaid. </p>
<h2>Silent European debt mountain</h2>
<p>My research also shows that the size of the deficits being built up is causing citizens in those countries to lose confidence in their banking systems, leading them to transfer their funds to banks in surplus countries. T2 is being used to <a href="https://www.bis.org/publ/work393.pdf">facilitate this capital flight</a> to Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Large blue euro sign in front of skyscraper." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572301/original/file-20240130-19-vbdy3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572301/original/file-20240130-19-vbdy3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572301/original/file-20240130-19-vbdy3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572301/original/file-20240130-19-vbdy3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572301/original/file-20240130-19-vbdy3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572301/original/file-20240130-19-vbdy3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572301/original/file-20240130-19-vbdy3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">European Central Bank HQ is in Frankfurt, Germany.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/european-central-bank-euro-administers-monetary-1269309565">Yavuz Meyveci/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Then there is the fact that no member state individually controls the European Central Bank. This implies that they do not (and cannot) stand behind their government debts or currency in the way genuine sovereign nations do – by printing more money to repay their debts when their tax base proves to be insufficient. Eurozone member states are therefore “sub-sovereign” states, since they are effectively using a “foreign currency”. </p>
<p>The present situation is not viable in the long term. And my research suggests only two realistic outcomes. </p>
<p>The first is a full fiscal and political union, with Brussels determining the levels of tax and public spending in each member state. The second is that the eurozone breaks up. Either way, it will cost German taxpayers well over €1 trillion (£854 billion). </p>
<p>The current <a href="https://theconversation.com/germanys-economy-must-be-fixed-here-are-three-top-priorities-221464">faltering of the German economy</a> – in part, due to the massive increase in energy costs following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and, in part, due to China <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/german-engineers-under-pressure-from-china/a-48173351">no longer needing</a> German machine tools for its factories – could mean that Germany does eventually capitulate to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41253-022-00203-y">French demands</a> for fiscal and political union. </p>
<p>But if it does, it will be a union based on the protectionist model favoured by France, with much greater state intervention and regulation in the economy and with large state subsidies for favoured sectors and firms. </p>
<p>This is very different from the “ordoliberal” (or “ordered liberal”) model preferred by Germany which supports free markets but seeks to prevent powerful private interests from undermining competition. </p>
<p>However, there are no examples in history where a country – let alone a continent – has regulated its way to economic success. For now, T2 is the silent bailout system that people rarely talk about – but upon which the very survival of the euro depends.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220912/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Blake does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>German economic power is propping up the euro. But this cannot continue indefinitely.David Blake, Professor of Finance & Director of Pensions Institute, City, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2194752024-01-03T20:54:55Z2024-01-03T20:54:55ZAlberta sovereignty push: Learning from the economic fallout of similar separatist movements<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/alberta-sovereignty-push-learning-from-the-economic-fallout-of-similar-separatist-movements" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, while not explicitly advocating for outright independence, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/danielle-smith-sovereignty-act-judge-power-company-executive-1.7041743">continues to promote increased provincial autonomy.</a> </p>
<p>A shift from a theoretical discussion to actively pursuing an independence referendum by Smith or her successors could have <a href="https://theconversation.com/will-danielle-smith-veer-back-to-the-right-and-towards-alberta-separatism-207195">dramatic economic consequences for Alberta and Canada</a> similar to the impact separatist movements have had in other parts of the world, including in Spain and the United Kingdom.</p>
<p>In Canada, western alienation has persisted for <a href="https://centre.irpp.org/research-studies/the-persistence-of-western-alienation/">more than a century</a>, and polls show that <a href="https://biv.com/article/2023/07/even-albertans-arent-favour-separatism-survey-shows">27 per cent of Albertans</a> aged 18 to 34 support the concept of an independent Alberta. </p>
<p>Conventional wisdom holds that Alberta separation is unlikely to ever happen. But the stakes are too high to ignore the possibility of Alberta breaking away.</p>
<h2>‘Alberta Agenda’</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20061224170836/http://www.albertaresidentsleague.com/letter.htm">Alberta Agenda letter</a>, written in 2001, has influenced Alberta’s approach to federal relations over the last two decades. Among other changes, the letter proposed replacing the Canada Pension Plan with an Alberta Pension Plan and establishing an Alberta police force. </p>
<p>In line with the Alberta Agenda, the provincial government under then-premier Jason Kenney <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8326174/kenney-equalization-daylight-saving-time-referendum-results/">held a referendum in 2021</a> on the question of whether provisions requiring equalization payments should be eliminated from Canada’s Constitution. </p>
<p>While the majority (61.9 per cent) <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/referendum-alberta-equalization-daylight-time-senate-1.6225309">voted yes</a>, such a Constitutional change cannot be made without support from six other provinces. </p>
<p>Kenney’s referendum did not fully satisfy Alberta separatists and “Freedom Convoy” supporters, <a href="https://publicorderemergencycommission.ca/files/documents/Policy-Papers/Social-Cleaveges-Alberta-Separatism-and-the-Freedom-Convoy-Wesley.pdf">two groups that share a number of similarities</a>, leading to an <a href="https://www.readtheorchard.org/p/how-to-take-back-alberta-and-influence?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2">internal party rebellion</a> that resulted in Smith replacing Kenney as premier in 2022.</p>
<p><a href="https://macleans.ca/longforms/unsteady-reign-danielle-smith/">Smith has kept key elements</a> of the Alberta Agenda front and centre during her first year as premier. </p>
<p><a href="https://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/pure-magical-thinking-albertans-filled-premiers-inbox-with-emails-opposing-provincial-pension-plan">She’s advocating</a> for the Alberta Pension Plan, even though <a href="https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/full/10.3138/cpp.2023-044">experts have deemed it risky</a> and polls indicate <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/most-albertans-don-t-want-the-province-to-pull-out-of-cpp-survey-finds-1.6682653">weak support for the proposal</a>.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, it’s likely Alberta separatist groups will keep pressuring Smith to pursue this agenda item — and Smith has suggested she won’t back down. During the provincial election campaign, she vowed to defend Alberta in the face of alleged unfair treatment by Ottawa.</p>
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<p>She soon introduced the Alberta Sovereignty Act, which the NDP labelled a step <a href="https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/alberta-ndp-says-premier-s-rejection-of-federal-authority-lays-separation-groundwork-1.6187240">towards separation</a>. Even Kenney criticized its potential to lead Alberta to the <a href="https://www.nationalobserver.com/2022/09/07/news/kenney-separation-plan-pitched-possible-successor">brink of separation, which he said would damage the rule of law and the economy</a>.</p>
<h2>Similarities to Spain</h2>
<p>Canada’s current experience of separatist movements mirrors Spain’s to some extent. Traditionally, the province of Québec in Canada and the Basque region in Spain have been the primary regions pushing for independence. </p>
<p>However, Catalonia’s <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/9f2477f0-9eec-11e7-8cd4-932067fbf946">separatist movement</a> in Spain, which has now surpassed the Basque movement, represents a rapid rise of the kind that could conceivably be seen in Alberta.</p>
<p>In Catalonia, the rise in separatist sentiment was triggered by perceived <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/nana.12412">unfair economic treatment</a> from Spain’s central government. </p>
<p>The Catalan independence movement reached its pinnacle in 2017 when an <a href="https://time.com/4951665/catalan-referendum-2017/">unauthorized independence referendum was held</a>. The political leaders who participated in it <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/spanish-supreme-court-sentences-catalan-separatists-to-jail/2019/10/14/a0590366-ee59-11e9-89eb-ec56cd414732_story.html">were eventually imprisoned</a>. These events led to significant economic disruption, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2022.07.024">a negative impact on the Spanish business environment</a>. </p>
<p>Today, support for Catalonia’s independence has fallen to <a href="https://www.elperiodico.com/es/politica/20230113/encuesta-independencia-catalunya-icps-uab-81112066">less than 50 per cent</a>, although <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/18/large-protests-against-catalan-amnesty-deal-in-madrid-after-pm-sworn-in">the political impact lingers on</a> as two small Catalan separatist parties currently wield <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/who-are-catalonias-separatist-parties-why-do-they-matter-2023-09-29/">signficant influence over Spanish politics</a>.</p>
<p>The decline in Basque separatism and the rise in similar Catalan sentiment in the last two decades may relate to the two regions’ relative economic performance.</p>
<p>The Basque region has experienced <a href="https://www.elcorreo.com/economia/euskadi-comunidad-mayor-crecimiento-economico-2024-segun-bbva-20230628123809-nt.html">strong economic growth</a>, while the fallout from the events of 2017 seems to have <a href="https://www.lavanguardia.com/economia/20230910/9217134/cataluna-seria-segunda-region-menor-crecimiento-pib-crisis-2017-airef.html">dampened Catalonia’s economic prosperity</a> compared to other regions in Spain.</p>
<h2>Brexit parallels</h2>
<p>The U.K. offers other similarities to the rise of Albertan separatist sentiments.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/22/world/europe/david-cameron-brexit-european-union.html">The Brexit referendum, driven by the U.K. Independence Party and conservative factions under David Cameron</a>, prime minister at the time, was intended to quell separatist sentiments. However, it defied poll predictions, leading to the U.K.’s breakaway from the European Union. </p>
<p>Brexit has been a <a href="https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/impact-brexit-uk-economy-reviewing-evidence">major factor in the U.K.’s poor economic performance in recent years</a>, and <a href="https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2023/07/19/brexit-was-wrong-say-57-of-british-voters">57 per cent of the British public now want to rejoin</a> the EU. </p>
<p>In the case of both Catalonia and Brexit, it hasn’t just been regional economies that have suffered. The movements also negatively <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2023/01/26/spains-economy-is-recovering-from-the-pandemic-but-problems-persist">affected Spain</a> <a href="https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2023/08/31/europes-economy-looks-to-be-heading-for-trouble">and the EU</a> more broadly. </p>
<p>Likewise, even just a referendum on Albertan independence could affect both the Alberta and Canadian economies.</p>
<h2>‘No plan’</h2>
<p>Former European Council President Donald Tusk famously asked “<a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/__trashed-21/">what that special place in hell looks like for those who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out safely.</a>” </p>
<p>Before ramping up calls for independence, Alberta must rigorously analyze the real costs and time frames <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/pmj.21409">of such a momentous undertaking</a>. </p>
<p>An independent Alberta would face numerous challenges, including its landlocked geographical position and heavy reliance on the volatile oil and gas market, which is <a href="https://fortune.com/2023/10/24/global-oil-demand-peak-2030-iea-predicts-first-time/">expected to peak by 2030</a> before consumption begins to drop significantly. </p>
<p>Additional challenges include restructuring trade relationships, establishing an independent financial system and addressing potential investor dissent. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-spectre-of-alberta-separatism-means-for-canada-186897">What the spectre of Alberta separatism means for Canada</a>
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<p>Such a move could also deepen <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0008423921000792">urban-rural divisions</a>, raising questions about the fate of urban voters who prefer to remain in Canada and further complicating issues related to citizens’ rights, mobility and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/alberta-sovereignty-act-saskatchewan-first-1.6677493">Indigenous opposition</a>. </p>
<p>Catalonia and post-Brexit U.K. illustrate the dangers of radicalization, separatism and divisive rhetoric. </p>
<p>Both the Alberta and federal governments must act to address western alienation and prevent a catastrophic scenario. That requires not just policy adjustments but a commitment to constructive dialogue and inclusive efforts to resolve these issues.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219475/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carlos Freire-Gibb does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Catalonia and post-Brexit U.K. illustrate the dangers of separatism and divisive rhetoric. Both Alberta and Ottawa must act to address western alienation and prevent a catastrophic scenario.Carlos Freire-Gibb, Assistant Professor, School of Business, MacEwan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2199122023-12-18T19:10:06Z2023-12-18T19:10:06ZFrom laggard to leader? Why Australia must phase out fossil fuel exports, starting now<p>For years <a href="https://priceofoil.org/2021/11/12/fossil-fuelled-five-report/">large fossil fuel producers</a> — <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-know-if-a-country-is-serious-about-net-zero-look-at-its-plans-for-extracting-fossil-fuels-170508">including Australia</a> — have <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/production-gap-report-2023">expanded</a> fossil fuel production while maintaining rhetorically that the world needs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But global emissions are overwhelmingly caused by the extraction, transport and burning of fossil fuels. Unless fossil fuels are phased out, emissions will grow and the climate crisis will worsen.</p>
<p>At COP28 climate negotiations in Dubai, which wrapped up last week, this fact finally became the centre of attention. And fossil fuel producers were <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/opec-chief-urges-members-reject-any-cop28-deal-that-targets-fossil-fuels-2023-12-08/">feeling the pressure</a> — forced to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/opec-members-push-against-including-fossil-fuels-phase-out-cop28-deal-2023-12-09/">defend their expansion of fossil fuels</a> or change their tune.</p>
<p>Interestingly, Australia seems to be doing the latter, at least rhetorically. While successive governments have <a href="https://www.australianforeignaffairs.com/articles/extract/2021/07/double-game">worked assiduously</a> to keep fossil fuel production out of the spotlight at the UN talks, Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen <a href="https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/bowen/transcripts/press-conference-cop28-dubai-0">said</a> Australia supports the global phasing out of fossil fuels in energy systems by 2050. Clearly eager to avoid being seen as the villain at the talks, Bowen named Saudi Arabia as the main blocker to an agreement on phasing out fossil fuels.</p>
<p>But the text of COP decisions matters much less than the actions states and companies take. Australia — one of the <a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/P667-High-Carbon-from-a-Land-Down-Under-WEB_0_0.pdf">world’s largest producers and exporters</a> of fossil fuel-based carbon dioxide — is fuelling the problem, not solving it. Currently, Australian companies are moving to expand fossil fuel production: <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/publications/resources-and-energy-major-projects-2022">more than 100 major coal, oil and gas projects</a> are in planning, at a cost of around A$200 billion. Some of these are “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2022/may/11/fossil-fuel-carbon-bombs-climate-breakdown-oil-gas">carbon bombs</a>,” likely to add huge quantities of emissions.</p>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-973" class="tc-infographic" height="400px" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/973/534c98def812dd41ac56cc750916e2922539729b/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Why Australia faces charges of hypocrisy</h2>
<p>The Albanese government has already <a href="https://michaelwest.com.au/ten-and-rising-albanese-government-new-fossil-fuel-approvals-unveiled/">approved</a> a number of new fossil fuel projects, <a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/how-labor-out-loved-the-coalition-in-its-embrace-of-big-oil-and-gas/">embracing</a> the fossil fuel expansionism of its conservative predecessors. But now that Australia has declared support for a global phase-out of fossil fuels, it must curtail its own exports or face continued <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/19/missing-half-the-equation-scientists-criticise-australia-over-approach-to-fossil-fuels">charges of hypocrisy</a>.</p>
<p>How could Australia do that while managing the fallout? Interestingly, Bowen’s <a href="https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/bowen/transcripts/press-conference-cop28-dubai-0">rhetoric at COP</a> contained the seeds of an answer: a “phase out of fossil fuels is Australia’s economic opportunity as [a] renewable energy superpower”. In line with this sentiment, Australia should adopt the mission of leading the Asia-Pacific region to a prosperous future by simultaneously phasing out its fossil fuel exports while phasing up its clean energy exports; by becoming a <a href="https://www.bze.org.au/research/report/renewable-energy-superpower">clean energy superpower</a> instead of a dirty energy one.</p>
<p>Doing so would require a dramatic shift in Australia’s international climate posture: from a defensive, parochial, technocratic stance aimed at protecting fossil fuel expansion to proactive, outward-looking and pragmatic leadership; from merely focusing on its own territorial emissions to using all powers at its disposal in its <a href="https://insidestory.org.au/climate-policy-and-our-sphere-of-influence/">sphere of influence</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/hard-fought-cop28-agreement-suggests-the-days-of-fossil-fuels-are-numbered-but-climate-catastrophe-is-not-yet-averted-219597">Hard-fought COP28 agreement suggests the days of fossil fuels are numbered – but climate catastrophe is not yet averted</a>
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<h2>First a new project ban, then a net zero plan</h2>
<p>Our coal and gas exports are entirely within our sovereign control, and give us enormous leverage over our regional trading partners. No one is suggesting stopping fossil fuel exports overnight. But we could start by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/21/the-latest-ipcc-report-makes-it-clear-no-new-fossil-fuel-projects-can-be-opened-that-includes-us-australia">banning new projects</a>, and then convening our regional partners to work out a plan to phase out existing production and consumption. Australian leadership would involve supporting our neighbours —through investment, trade and aid —to ensure their populations can access energy from zero-carbon sources, just as we’re aspiring to do at home.</p>
<p>Phasing out fossil fuel exports is thus best conceptualised as part of a shift in our foreign and trade policy aimed at securing our and our region’s prosperity against the existential threat of climate change — and amid a global pivot to clean energy. Call it “<a href="https://www.bze.org.au/research/report/laggard-to-leader#:%7E:text=Laggard%20to%20Leader%20is%20a,and%20accelerated%20through%20international%20cooperation.">cooperative decarbonisation</a>”. Viewed in this light, the typical objections to a fossil fuel phase-out in Australia look pathetic.</p>
<h2>The weak objections to a phase-out</h2>
<p>The first objection claims we are not responsible for the overseas emissions produced from burning our exported coal and gas. This falsely conflates Australia’s national interest in reducing emissions globally with its international legal responsibility for <a href="https://legalresponse.org/legaladvice/reporting-requirements-under-article-13-paris-agreement/">reporting emissions</a> locally.</p>
<p>Nothing in the Paris Agreement prevents a country from taking actions that would reduce or avoid emissions in another country. It is reckless and self-defeating to concern ourselves only with emissions produced on our territory when our power to influence global emissions is so much greater. Let’s hope that Bowen’s rhetorical shift at COP28 signals acceptance of this fact.</p>
<p>The second objection is that leaving our fossil fuels in the ground will not affect global emissions, because if we don’t sell our coal and gas, someone else will. Aside from its immorality (the “drug dealer’s defence”), the objection defies Economics 101: if you reduce supply of a product, its price goes up, causing demand to contract. Other countries might supply <em>some</em> of the shortfall, but Australia is such a big producer that it is implausible to think we could exit the coal and gas markets without dramatically reducing global emissions.</p>
<p>Moreover, it’s shortsighted to think of fossil fuel export policy in isolation from the wider foreign policy choices we face. Australia’s current foreign policy is to <a href="https://www.australianforeignaffairs.com/articles/extract/2021/07/double-game">promote our coal and gas exports</a>: we literally pay public servants to help multinational companies sell more coal and gas. But if we gave our diplomats the nobler mission of leading our region’s decarbonisation, our leadership would help to make trade in fossil fuels redundant.</p>
<p>The last oft-heard objection is that phasing out fossil fuel production would cost too much. The foreign-owned corporations that produce most of our coal and gas <a href="https://michaelwest.com.au/australia-wins-plaudits-for-move-on-multinational-tax-dodgers-but-much-more-is-needed-on-fossil-front/">pay little tax</a> and <a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/report/employment-aspects-of-the-transition-from-fossil-fuels-in-australia/">employ relatively few people</a>, while capturing <a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/P1378-Fossil-fuel-subsidies-2023-Web.pdf">billions of dollars in state and federal government subsidies</a>. Scaling up as a clean energy superpower could bring more economic growth, jobs and tax revenue than would be lost from fossil fuels — especially if we <a href="https://michaelwest.com.au/a-real-plan-to-tackle-energy-prices-climate-and-the-budget/">taxed the fossil fuel industry properly</a> on its way out.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hyped-and-expensive-hydrogen-has-a-place-in-australias-energy-transition-but-only-with-urgent-government-support-219004">Hyped and expensive, hydrogen has a place in Australia’s energy transition, but only with urgent government support</a>
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<h2>Phase-outs can be done: lessons from overseas</h2>
<p>Denmark, France, Ireland and Costa Rica are <a href="https://beyondoilandgasalliance.org/">among a number</a> of countries that have foregone new fossil fuel exploration and production opportunities; others are <a href="https://www.iisd.org/articles/just-transition-examples">working to phase out existing</a> operations. Doing so is undoubtedly challenging: firms, workers and the communities in which fossil fuel operations are located understandably tend to resist policies that would close their industry.</p>
<p>But government support can smooth the transition. The Spanish government, for instance, negotiated a “just transition agreement” with unions and businesses to phase out coal mining, support affected workers and invest in their communities. My coauthors and I <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/how-to-get-coal-country-to-vote-for-climate-policy-the-effect-of-a-just-transition-agreement-on-spanish-election-results/25FE7B96445E74387D598087649FDCC3">found</a> this strategy actually increased the government’s vote share at a subsequent election in the coal regions.</p>
<p>A phase-out of fossil fuel production is <a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/report/employment-aspects-of-the-transition-from-fossil-fuels-in-australia/">entirely feasible</a> for a country with our resources, skills and diverse economy. The standard objections provide fossil fuel companies, and the politicians they’ve captured, with convenient excuses for cashing in while the planet — and Australia — burns. It’s time, instead, for bold actions that lead us and our region to a prosperous, fossil-free future.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cop28-deal-confirms-what-australia-already-knows-coal-is-out-of-vogue-and-out-of-time-219906">COP28 deal confirms what Australia already knows: coal is out of vogue and out of time</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219912/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fergus Green is affiliated with the Powering Past Coal Alliance - is a coalition of national and subnational governments, businesses and organisations working to advance the transition from unabated coal power generation to clean energy. He is a member of the Alliance's Just Transition Expert Group.</span></em></p>Australia supported a phase-out of fossil fuels at the recent UN climate summit but is still expanding coal and gas production. It’s a contradiction that threatens the planet. There is a better way.Fergus Green, Lecturer in Political Theory and Public Policy, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2129402023-12-11T10:16:12Z2023-12-11T10:16:12ZHow 1930s American scientists came to think about the impact of climate on wine<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553527/original/file-20231012-21-jbnzzm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C29%2C4912%2C3228&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Depending on the region, rising temperatures can have negative or positive effects on wine quality. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Kohler/Unsplash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In Europe and beyond, the notion of <a href="https://www.brgm.fr/en/news/article/good-land-wine-how-geology-can-influence-quality-wine"><em>terroir</em></a> dominates ideas about the origins of the taste and quality of wine. While there’s intense debate over the term, generally it refers to the specific place where grapes are grown. The concept is largely focused on soil, but also includes the layout of the land and the elements to which it is regularly exposed – sun, rain, wind, seasons, and more. And although climate is seen as being part of the equation, the land upon which grapes are grown is its foundation. As such thinking took root over centuries, it was eventually codified into Europe’s <a href="https://www.inao.gouv.fr/Les-signes-officiels-de-la-qualite-et-de-l-origine-SIQO/Appellation-d-origine-protegee-controlee-AOP-AOC"><em>appellation d’origine contrôlée</em></a> (AOC) system, meaning “registered designation of origin”.</p>
<p>While European immigrants have long grown grapes and made wine around the world, the traditional regions were an ocean away, literally. So what could be done to improve wine quality in these new vineyards and wineries? The situation was particularly dire in the United States after the Prohibition forced many of its winemakers out of business.</p>
<h2>A world away</h2>
<p>After the Prohibition repealed in 1933, two scientists, Albert “Wink” Winkler and Maynard Amerine, launched an effort to revitalise California’s wine industry. Winkler was more of the viticulturalist and Amerine the oenologist, but both shared a passion for grapes, wine, and believed that the state could produce wines that rivalled the best of Europe. Their journey led them to collect vine samples from Fresno in the south to Ukiah in the north and westward to the coast. They planted many of these vines in test vineyards to see how they fared in different climatic regions, in order to advise growers on the best grapes for their plot of land. But vines were not the only bounty they sought.</p>
<p>Winkler and Amerine also collected grapes from willing viticulturalists turning them into a library of more than 500 site-specific wines over a decade. By 1943, they had observed enough seasonal variation in the hundreds of small batches of wines that Winkler and Amerine made and tasted every year to recommend specific grape varieties for specific regions. By expanding the vineyards where they collected grapes, they could both measure and taste the difference between vineyards in regions across California.</p>
<p>Winkler came to an epiphany from their sojourns in California’s vineyards and by analysing the wines these fields produce. The research let him to conclude that climate and regional differences were the most important factors in selecting varietals to produce high-quality wines. He came to this conclusion counter-intuitively.</p>
<p>By thinking about Europe and the idea of a “vintage” versus a “non-vintage” year, he realised the only thing that changed in the vineyard (not the vines, not soil type, not soil quality, not soil drainage) was the weather and, in particular, a vintage year was warmer in places like Bordeaux and Burgundy. He applied this same logic to California as he tasted the same grape in different regions and found some varieties like Zinfandel produced better wines in cooler climates in northern and coastal California while others like Alicante bouchés, which produced sweet wines, fared better in warmer, arguably hot, climates inland and in southern California. This observation had global impact.</p>
<h2>Knowing what to grow</h2>
<p>With Winkler’s development of a heat-based index, he and Amerine advised would-be California wine makers – from Gallo to Mondavi – not just on the varieties they should plant (or pull out) but also which ones would produce the best wines in their particular locations. The <a href="https://winedataresearcher.com/why-the-winkler-index-matters-to-the-wine-world/">Winker Index</a> rapidly transformed not just California vineyards but vineyards across the world as viticulturalists and oenologists paid more attention to the climate. In New World regions, it allowed them to choose varieties that produced wines best suited to the climate, thus improving the overall quality of wine.</p>
<p>But their research had an even deeper impact on varietal selection. Although the Winkler Index measured the temperature across the growing season, it was the taste and aroma of the wines in their wine library that was at the heart of their conclusions. In measuring the <a href="https://oeno-one.eu/article/view/7399">acid/sugar ratio</a> among other compounds in their wines, Amerine and Winkler judged how climate was reflected in the wines they swirled and sipped and how their wines changed over time, especially in years when the weather deviated from the norm.</p>
<p>These early observations on heat and its influence on wine quality allow historians, wine makers, and climate researchers to conclude that not only is the climate warming, but how a warming climate is changing the taste of wine based not just on acid/sugar ratios – though they are – but how hotter, sunnier growing season are increasing sugar in grapes, the alcohol in wine and reducing acidity, throwing wines out of balance. A vineyard that may have consistently produced high-quality wines from the 1930s through the 1990s now produced inconsistent wine.</p>
<p>The opposite can also be true: A region like Bordeaux, which was historically plagued by erratic weather, sometimes losing entire vintages to hail, frost or cold summers, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/climate-change-french-wine-taste-better">now had more consistent yields</a>, smoothing the difference between a vintage and a non-vintage year. Even inexpensive wines in Bordeaux benefited from warmer growing seasons because more grapes fully ripened.</p>
<p>Of course, as the climate warms, that impact has other negative consequences. Hotter weather reduces the acidity of wines making them flat, flabby, or turgid. An example of mitigating low acidity is Bordeaux’s experiment allowing new varieties to be blended into their iconic – and legislated – varieties of reds and whites to increase acidity and rebalance overripe wines.</p>
<h2>Where there’s fire there’s smoke</h2>
<p>An even more difficult and frightening consequence of a warming climate are wildfires. While fires do not always destroy vineyards (grapes are just spheres of water, after all), the smoke can contaminate wine made near wildfires, resulting in <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2113327118">smoke-tainted wine</a> – it tastes something like burnt rubber, cigarette ash or other unpleasant flavours. Once smoke has wafted into the vineyard and engulfed ripening grapes, it is impossible to remove. Worse, winemakers cannot tell if the wine will be smoke tainted by tasting the grapes themselves, as fermentation also affects how foul a wine will taste.</p>
<p>Though scientists around the world are trying to find a solution, they still do not understand exactly what makes a wine taste smoke tainted or how to mitigate it. It’s become a growing concern given the rising number of fires in wine-growing regions, including <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/11/us/california-wildfires-wineries/index.html">California</a> in 2020, <a href="https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20210824-provence-wine-producers-weigh-up-losses-after-deadly-wildfires-in-france-ros%C3%A9-french-riviera">France</a> in 2021, and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/wildfire-leaves-sense-total-destruction-spanish-winemaker-says-2022-07-21/">Spain</a> in 2022. The same year two wildfires burned more than <a href="https://www.icare.univ-lille.fr/wildfires-in-southwest-france-july-2022/">20,000 hectares of forest</a> in France’s Bordeaux region. Tests indicated that that year’s harvest <a href="https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20220831-bordeaux-wine-harvest-will-not-have-a-smoky-taste-after-summer-wildfires-winemakers-say">shouldn’t be affected</a>, but the coming years promise to be difficult for winemakers.</p>
<h2>Adapting to a changing world</h2>
<p>It is only because Winkler severed the link between wine and terroir that wine growers had the vision to plant and produce world-renowned wine made in places like <a href="https://visitcanberra.com.au/things-to-do/canberras-wine-region">Canberra</a>, Australia; <a href="https://www.winetourism.com/wine-region/mendoza/">Mendoza</a>, Argentina; <a href="https://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-sussex">Sussex</a>, England; and <a href="https://www.wineningxia.com/">Ningxia</a>, China.</p>
<p>Given that climate change is already changing the weather in Europe’s wine-growing regions – the ones whose methods and very identity are most closely linked to traditional notions of <em>terroir</em> – research is also seeking to help wine makers adapt to a changing world. It’s a process that’s already taking place, not only in the <a href="https://www.terraview.co/gdd-and-winkler-index-update/">Winkler Index itself</a>, but even in the <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/france-changes-aoc-rules-allow-153919195.html">venerable AOC system</a>. <em>Plus ça change</em>…</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article is the result of The Conversation’s collaboration with <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/research-and-innovation/en/horizon-magazine">Horizon</a>, the EU research and innovation magazine. In February, the authors published an <a href="https://projects.research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/en/horizon-magazine/wine-connoisseurs-face-testing-times-climate-change-alters-flavours">interview with the magazine</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212940/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabriella Maria Petrick a reçu des financements de EU Horizon 2020 MSCA project number 896298. </span></em></p>While the notion of terroir has long been the foundation of European wine, research in the 1930s in the US began to reveal the link between climate and wine.Gabriella Maria Petrick, Research Fellow Ruhr University Bochum, University of StavangerLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2185472023-11-28T14:18:04Z2023-11-28T14:18:04ZThe four challenges faced by Spain’s new government<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561924/original/file-20231127-21-kqh3fu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C2%2C2000%2C1326&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, makes a statement at La Moncloa to detail the composition and priorities of the new Executive.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/multimedia/galeriasfotograficas/presidente/Paginas/2023/201123-sanchez-declaracion-institucional.aspx">Pool Moncloa/José Manuel Álvarez. La Moncloa, Madrid</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Pedro Sánchez’ <a href="https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/lang/en/presidente/news/Paginas/2023/20231116_investiture-session.aspx">investiture</a> marks the beginning of <a href="https://www.bbc.com/mundo/articles/cgep52vpv5xo">the third consecutive parliamentary term led by the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE)</a>. After a fraught period of negotiations, Sánchez now leads a broad coalition government along with seven other parties.</p>
<p>The new government faces enormous challenges, not least the fallout from the controversial <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-spanish-amnesty-law-for-catalonia-separatists-explained-217705">Amnesty Law pardoning hundreds of Catalan separatists</a> which has been dominating headlines. This will continue to shape public discourse over the coming months and determine the continuity of the government.</p>
<h2>Turning weakness into strength</h2>
<p>The PSOE has formed a coalition government by making agreements with a raft of other parties: the left-wing party Sumar, Catalan separatist parties ERC and Junts, the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) and their left-wing rivals EH Bildu, and Coalición Canaria in the Canary Islands. </p>
<p>This diversity may, paradoxically, be the biggest source of strength for the new government. The coalition encompasses a number of regional parties, while both opposition parties – the right-wing People’s Party (PP) and the far-right Vox – take a hard stance against regional devolution. None of the coalition partners will want to side with them in parliament to oppose the initial budget proposals which will form the backbone of Spain’s political landscape over the coming years.</p>
<p>Against this tense backdrop, Pedro Sánchez’s government faces structural challenges in four key areas: territorial organisation, coexistence, foreign policy, and the digital transformation. </p>
<h2>Territorial organisation</h2>
<p>Catalonia is at the forefront of territorial debate, and its relation to Spain affects the nation’s coexistence and the rule of law. The constitutionality of the future amnesty law is still being questioned, as well as its potentially opportunistic passing to gain votes for Sánchez’ investiture. However, the issue goes beyond the <a href="https://theconversation.com/una-distincion-entre-la-consulta-popular-y-el-referendum-a-la-vista-del-proces-126077">Catalan push for independence</a>, and covers the broader topics of national identity and the distribution of economic resources. </p>
<p>One example of this is taxes, as Catalonia has, in the past, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-spain-politics-catalonia-tax/from-new-tax-office-catalonia-hopes-to-grab-billions-from-madrid-idUSKCN1BW10A/">attempted to wrest control of its finances away from the central government</a>. Were the region to have its own treasury it would weaken the national tax, pensions and benefits systems, and this would undoubtedly further fuel anti-Catalan sentiment. The Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) may likewise try to leverage their support at the start of next year to demand an improvement of the region’s treatment, possibly in an attempt to squeeze out EH Bildu who seem set to conquer the Basque government. </p>
<p>Regional disputes are reaching other regions such as Galicia, Valencia and Andalucia, but here the question is one of financing as opposed to separatist politics. Giving favourable treatment to Catalonia will also reinforce the narratives being pushed by populists such as the PP President of the Madrid region <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/isabel-diaz-ayuso-profile-spain-madrid-pop-polarizer-unlikely-rise/">Isabel Díaz Ayuso</a>.</p>
<p>The amnesty law may well be accepted by a political majority for the sake of coexistence. However, unequal or unfair handling of different territories will open the way to political instability and fuel inequality and resentment. The progressive coalition will have to be very careful to maintain a coherent party line in this respect.</p>
<h2>Coexistence</h2>
<p>The ongoing culture war will form a crucial part of Spain’s political landscape. First on social media, then in the press and on the streets, polarisation has taken root in Spanish society, as demonstrated by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9FQdA3UnJw">the widespread protests in Madrid against the proposed amnesty law</a>. These protests took place across the country, and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/biggest-protest-spain-against-catalan-amnesty-law-draws-170000-2023-11-18/">drew crowds of 170,000 in Madrid</a>. They were organised by both the PP and Vox, with the leaders of both parties addressing crowds at the demonstrations. </p>
<p>The opposition whipping up street protests such as these – several of which descended into <a href="https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-11-10/inside-the-violence-behind-spains-anti-amnesty-demonstrations.html">riots and clashes with the police</a> – feeds into polarisation that makes life very difficult for the PSOE and its partners.</p>
<p>The new government faces the daunting task of establishing coexistence based on respect for difference and the rule of law, and they will have to ensure that even handed justice is provided where necessary. This is made all the more difficult by recent events, which have included a <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/spain-shooting-madrid-vox-catalonia-b2444667.html">a far-right politician being shot in Madrid</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/08/dozens-injured-in-protests-at-spanish-socialist-party-madrid-headquarters">violent protests against the amnesty law outside the PSOE’s offices</a>. </p>
<p>Fighting corruption and the modernising the public administration will also be on the agenda, but creating national harmony and gaining the public’s trust while passing legislation will be a delicate balancing act. </p>
<h2>Foreign policy</h2>
<p>Spain’s international affairs have already been in the spotlight just a few days into the government’s term. While in Israel, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/23/palestinian-state-is-best-chance-for-security-and-peace-says-spanish-pm">Sánchez made a direct plea to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza</a>. He also said the number of Palestinians killed was “truly unbearable”, and stated Spain’s openness to recognising a Palestinian state. </p>
<p>Within the European Union, the government has now most likely missed its opportunity to use the rotating presidency to push directly for measures such as an agreement with Mercosur, the South American trade bloc. But there remains an opportunity for Spain, with its influence in Ibero-America, North Africa and the Mediterranean, to play a much needed role in breaking the dominant role played by France and Germany in European politics.</p>
<p>Spain’s foreign policy will be successful as long as its coalition partners behave predictably and it is able to consolidate its historical role as a reliable partner and ally. It has the potential to act as a friendly, intermediary power to more powerful nations.</p>
<h2>The digital transformation</h2>
<p>The digital transformation touches on many areas, and seems to have become something of a priority for the government, with an <a href="https://espanadigital.gob.es/en">allocated budget of €20 billion</a> and counting.</p>
<p>The overall aim of the transformation is to provide infrastructure and funding that will help businesses and public services to digitalise over the coming years. It presents a challenge not only for legal regulation, but also for industry, job creation, taxation, judiciary cooperation and external relations. The transition will affect the very way that Spain understands the state, the provision of public services and the emerging economic transformation. </p>
<h2>An uncertain future for Spain</h2>
<p>These challenges encompass many of the difficulties that lie in Spain’s near future. Support from the coalition government is delicate and conditional. It brings with it diversity of opinion and interests, and may well ensure that many long term needs are met across the country.</p>
<p>However, the opposite is also possible. Without a suitable solution to territorial issues that satisfies a social, rather than merely numerical, majority instability could send us back to the polls. If this happens, the results will, once again, be extremely unpredictable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218547/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Juan Luis Manfredi no recibe salario, ni ejerce labores de consultoría, ni posee acciones, ni recibe financiación de ninguna compañía u organización que pueda obtener beneficio de este artículo, y ha declarado carecer de vínculos relevantes más allá del cargo académico citado.</span></em></p>Pedro Sánchez faces a series of challenges after his party’s controversial investiture.Juan Luis Manfredi, Prince of Asturias Distinguished Professor @Georgetown, Universidad de Castilla-La ManchaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2160282023-10-26T10:39:21Z2023-10-26T10:39:21ZFive witchcraft myths debunked by an expert<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555782/original/file-20231025-29-zmv3lv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=22%2C0%2C3000%2C1706&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Three women executed as witches in Derneburg Germany in October 1555</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/three-women-executed-witches-derneburg-germany-237235090">Everett Collection</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>About 400 years ago, the European witch hunts were at their peak. Between the 15th and 18th centuries, an estimated <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780810872455/Historical-Dictionary-of-Witchcraft-Second-Edition">50,000 people</a>, mostly women, were executed for witchcraft across Europe. They were accused of devil-worship, heresy and harming their neighbours by using witchcraft.
The 1620s was the most intense phase of persecution in places like <a href="https://brill.com/display/title/12801?language=en">Eichstätt</a> in Germany, where almost 300 witches were executed between 1617 and 1631. </p>
<p>The witchcraft trials have endured as a matter of curiosity, entertainment and debate. But despite this interest, popular understandings of the European witch-hunts are riddled with error and misconceptions. So, given it’s the season of the witch, it’s time to dispel some myths.</p>
<h2>1. Witchcraft is a medieval idea</h2>
<p>It isn’t – it’s modern. The Christian church was <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/witchcraft-and-magic-in-europe-volume-3-9780485891034/">sceptical</a> about the reality of witchcraft until the 15th century. Even then, many theologians and clergymen did not believe that witchcraft was a threat. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/article/263689">first trials</a> of people who were believed to be malevolent worshippers of the Devil who actively caused harm happened in the 15th century. The most intense period of witch hunting ran from about 1560 to about 1630. </p>
<p>Before that there were very few witchcraft trials, because acts of witchcraft were believed to be an <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/witchcraft-and-magic-in-europe-volume-3-9780485891034/">illusion</a> caused by the Devil with the permission of God.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woodcut of witches on broomsticks cavorting with the Devil." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555779/original/file-20231025-21-gw57iy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C4%2C1507%2C1264&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555779/original/file-20231025-21-gw57iy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555779/original/file-20231025-21-gw57iy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555779/original/file-20231025-21-gw57iy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555779/original/file-20231025-21-gw57iy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=633&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555779/original/file-20231025-21-gw57iy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=633&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555779/original/file-20231025-21-gw57iy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=633&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Witches on broomsticks, featured in The History of Witches and Wizards (1720)</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://wellcomecollection.org/works/abkab8tq/images?id=hbe9wc8m">The Wellcome Library</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2. Witchcraft trials occurred everywhere</h2>
<p>Most witchcraft trials happened in central, western, or northern Europe. These were the areas which were the cradle of the Protestant and Catholic <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article/115/2/351/10371?searchresult=1">Reformations</a>, which saw the transformation of the religious geography of Europe. And the <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/renaissance-quarterly/article/abs/witches-of-durer-and-hans-baldung-grien/5839650C1787984F1CAA1A9CD1B4B06E">northern Renaissance</a> and the <a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300260953/the-decline-of-magic/">scientific revolution</a> had transformed how the world was understood. </p>
<p>More than 50% of all trials in Europe happened in Germany. But even there, witch persecution was limited to a few of the very many autonomous and semi-autonomous territories of which it was comprised. </p>
<p>In places like <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/early-modern-european-witchcraft-9780198203889?q=Early%20Modern%20European%20Witchcraft%20Centres&lang=en&cc=gb">Iceland</a> and <a href="https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/a-history-of-magic-and-witchcraft-in-wales/9780752428260/">Wales</a>, there were very few witchcraft trials at all. It seems that local beliefs about magic and witchcraft, alongside the attitudes of clergymen and judges, may be the reasons for this. </p>
<h2>3. The Inquisition tried and executed most witches</h2>
<p>The Roman, Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions, established in the 16th century, were responsible for dealing with matters of heresy. They have become notorious for their rigour in rooting out opposition to Catholic orthodoxy. Yet, they burned very few witch suspects. Across the whole of the <a href="https://brill.com/edcollbook/title/8436?language=en">Iberian</a> and <a href="https://www.upress.virginia.edu/title/3515/">Italian</a> peninsulas, the inquisitions executed fewer suspects than were hanged in England.</p>
<p>The Spanish Inquisition put a stop to the witchcraft trials that had spilled over from France in the early 17th century by assuming jurisdiction over witchcraft accusations.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="An illustration of witches being burned while a man stokes the fire." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555777/original/file-20231025-21-87mzxr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555777/original/file-20231025-21-87mzxr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=828&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555777/original/file-20231025-21-87mzxr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=828&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555777/original/file-20231025-21-87mzxr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=828&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555777/original/file-20231025-21-87mzxr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1041&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555777/original/file-20231025-21-87mzxr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1041&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555777/original/file-20231025-21-87mzxr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1041&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The execution of alleged witches in central Europe, 1587.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Wickiana3.jpg">Zurich Central Library/Wikimedia</a></span>
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<h2>4. Only women were tried for witchcraft</h2>
<p>It’s true that 80% of those tried and executed for witchcraft were women. Many witch hunters, like those in <a href="https://brill.com/display/title/12801?language=en">Eichstätt</a>, also selected female suspects over male ones, even though the evidence could be very similar. </p>
<p>However, in some places, like <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/comparative-studies-in-society-and-history/article/male-witches-and-gendered-categories-in-seventeenthcentury-russia/F9FA9F79E0576D4F0AC5EA29E3EFF59A">Russia</a>, it was men who formed the majority of witch suspects. This was primarily because Russians conceptualised gender very differently to people in western Europe.</p>
<p>Regardless of whether the witch suspects were accused before magistrates or denounced under torture, their female neighbours were the ones most likely to accuse them. </p>
<p>In England, women on the margins of society were more vulnerable to accusations of witchcraft when things went wrong for their neighbours, such as inexplicable deaths or harm. This was the case with Ursley Kemp, one of the two witch suspects of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ehr/article/136/578/26/6121677">St Osyth</a>, Essex, who were hanged in 1582. Kemp was a marginal figure in the town, a woman with an illegitimate son making ends meet through her healing skills. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://brill.com/display/title/12801?language=en">Eichstatt</a>, it was a product of the processes of torture. When the suspects (more than 90% of whom were women) had to name names under torture, they gave those of their neighbours. The suspects’ networks were founded on their sex; women named women and the few male suspects named men. </p>
<h2>5. Witches were really the followers of a pagan fertility cult</h2>
<p>This myth was promoted by the Egyptologist <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0015587X.1994.9715877">Margaret Murray</a> in the early 20th century and was then <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Witchcraft_and_Demonism/Tm12ngEACAAJ?hl=en">debunked</a> by the historian C. L'Estrange Ewen almost as soon as it appeared. It was founded on a partial reading of the available witchcraft evidence. </p>
<p>It persisted because Murray wrote the Encyclopaedia Britannica article on witchcraft that remained in print for 40 years, until 1969, and actively supported the new <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-triumph-of-the-moon-9780198870371?q=triumph%20of%20the%20moon&lang=en&cc=gb">Wiccan religion</a> in print in the 1950s. This new religion was founded by <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-27782244">Gerald Gardner</a> who revived what he believed to be ancient pagan witchcraft in the 1930s. But it has no material connection to any form of historic witchcraft.</p>
<p>Most witches were ordinary Christian women who found themselves accused of witchcraft by their neighbours, or denounced by other suspects under torture.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Durrant does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Witchcraft is an enduring source of fascination but also prone to popular misconceptions.Jonathan Durrant, Principal Lecturer in History, University of South WalesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2150282023-10-16T05:09:49Z2023-10-16T05:09:49ZWolf protection in Europe has become deeply political – Spain’s experience tells us why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553526/original/file-20231012-29-38rraq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=119%2C0%2C2205%2C1449&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wolves are making a comeback throughout Europe – but not everyone's happy.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/couple-iberian-wolves-canis-lupus-signatus-557649439">Ramon Carretero/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Wolves are staging a comeback in many areas of Europe after centuries of persecution. Over the past decade alone, they have <a href="https://lciepub.nina.no/pdf/638036032684557257_LCIE%20CoE%20Wolf%20status%20report%202022.pdf">expanded their range</a> on the continent by more than 25%.</p>
<p>This resurgence was brought into sharp focus in September 2023 following a <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_4330">controversial statement</a> by Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission. She said: “The concentration of wolf packs in some European regions has become a real danger for livestock and potentially also for humans. I urge local and national authorities to take action where necessary.”</p>
<p>But what is the right action to take? Recent decisions by EU member states do not reflect a consensus on the matter.</p>
<p>The Swiss senate has <a href="https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/sending-a-signal_swiss-parliament-agree-to-loosen-protected-species-hunting-rules/45024236">voted to ease restrictions</a> on culling their roughly 200 wolves to safeguard livestock that roam freely in the Alps. Spain, which is home to <a href="https://rm.coe.int/inf45e-2022-wolf-assessment-bern-convention-2791-5979-4182-1-2/1680a7fa47">more than 2,000 wolves</a> and boasts <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13593-021-00751-7#:%7E:text=This%20study%20confirms%20that%20extensive,%2C%20Ripoll%2DBosch%20et%20al.">extensive livestock grazing systems</a>, has adopted a contrasting stance. </p>
<p>In 2021, the Spanish government <a href="https://www.miteco.gob.es/content/dam/miteco/es/biodiversidad/publicaciones/estrategialobo_cs_28072022_tcm30-543570.pdf">declared wolves strictly protected</a>. It aims to increase the wolf population by 18% and encourage farmers to implement livestock protection measures like installing fences or keeping guard dogs.</p>
<p>An examination of Spain’s motivations for protection may provide some insight into what motivates countries to adopt such different approaches to coexistence.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Ursula von der Leyen giving a statement to the press." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553530/original/file-20231012-29-jqsj8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553530/original/file-20231012-29-jqsj8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553530/original/file-20231012-29-jqsj8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553530/original/file-20231012-29-jqsj8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553530/original/file-20231012-29-jqsj8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553530/original/file-20231012-29-jqsj8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553530/original/file-20231012-29-jqsj8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/press-statement-by-ursula-von-der-2198915239">Alexandros Michailidis/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>What does coexistence mean?</h2>
<p>In <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3.10543">new research</a> that I carried out with several colleagues, we investigated how people in Spain interpret and experience coexistence with wolves. Our findings revealed three distinct and, to some extent, conflicting views of what coexistence means and how it should be achieved.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-live-with-large-predators-lessons-from-spanish-wolf-country-167326">How to live with large predators – lessons from Spanish wolf country</a>
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<p>“Traditionalists” cared deeply about the landscapes, livelihoods and biodiversity that evolved together throughout millennia of free-range pastoralism. They saw people as a part of nature and interpreted coexistence as a state where the wolf was controlled to not disrupt pastoral activities. </p>
<p>“Protectionists” wanted to restore “wild” nature (with minimal human influence) and believed that the wolf would catalyse this process. They saw coexistence as a state where human activities were controlled so that wolves could roam free. </p>
<p>“Pragmatists” were less fixated on a certain type of nature and more on the relationships and context within each location. They regarded coexistence as a state where the needs of different groups (including wolves) were balanced.</p>
<p>Relaxing or increasing wolf protection has come to represent these different visions of the future. Each of these visions offers advantages to some people and wildlife and presents challenges for others. As a result, the topic has become deeply political.</p>
<h2>The politics of wolf conservation</h2>
<p>In Spain, the proposal to protect wolves was put forward by protectionists, and aligned with the agenda of the incumbent left-wing government. Podemos, one of the left coalition parties, <a href="https://podemos.info/podemos-presenta-una-medida-legislativa-para-la-proteccion-del-lobo-iberico/">submitted a proposition</a> for strict wolf protection in 2016 (when they were in opposition) in collaboration with pro-wolf advocacy groups.</p>
<p>By contrast, Spain’s right-wing political parties were <a href="https://elpais.com/clima-y-medio-ambiente/2023-09-04/proteger-al-lobo-depende-del-partido-politico-que-gobierne.html">firmly opposed</a>. These parties tend to target rural voters, for whom the return of carnivores has come to symbolise the demise of pastoral cultures.</p>
<p>The proposal was ultimately endorsed by the government based on wolves’ “scientific, ecological and cultural value” – largely subjective criteria. For instance, one could argue that the fox, which is not protected, possesses similar values. These criteria do not consider how stringent wolf protection measures might affect other cultural or ecological values, like pastoral farming systems.</p>
<p>Spain’s decision was also influenced by the protectionists’ view of the wolf’s <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/csp2.18">conservation status</a>. A species that is classified as having a “favourable” status (adequate to guarantee its long-term survival) in the EU Habitats Directive can, in some instances, be hunted. However, conservationists disagree about the criteria and data on which this status is based.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/3746/144226239#assessment-information">an assessment</a> submitted to the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List in 2018 indicates that the Iberian wolf population is large, stable and slowly expanding. By contrast, a <a href="https://censoloboiberico.files.wordpress.com/2018/03/informe-mortandad-lobo-iberico-20171.pdf">report</a> published by a pro-wolf advocacy group in 2017 claimed that more wolves were killed than born in Spain during that year.</p>
<p>The latter <a href="https://www.europapress.es/castilla-y-leon/noticia-quinones-reconoce-expansion-lobo-no-espana-acusa-gobierno-enviar-ue-informacion-erronea-20230202154300.html">has been accused</a> of being biased and unscientific. However, it did not stop the Spanish Environment Ministry from using the report to reclassify the conservation status of wolves from “favourable” (as it was in previous reports) to “unfavourable”. In other words, information was interpreted, selected and presented in a way that justified increased protection. </p>
<p>The Swedish government, which has been led by a right-wing coalition since 2022, seeks to achieve the opposite. It has <a href="https://www.regeringen.se/pressmeddelanden/2023/07/regeringen-presenterar-uppdrag-for-att-utveckla-sveriges-vargforvaltning/">ordered the Environment Protection Agency</a> to review if the established threshold for favourable status, set to a minimum of 300 in 2019, can be lowered to enable increased culling.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Free-roaming sheep in Spain." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553680/original/file-20231013-19-oyrswo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553680/original/file-20231013-19-oyrswo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553680/original/file-20231013-19-oyrswo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553680/original/file-20231013-19-oyrswo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553680/original/file-20231013-19-oyrswo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553680/original/file-20231013-19-oyrswo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553680/original/file-20231013-19-oyrswo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Free-roaming sheep in the Picos de Europa National Park, Asturias, Spain.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hanna Pettersson</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
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<h2>This nature or that nature?</h2>
<p>To bridge the political divide between protection and persecution, as well as between the restoration of “wild” versus pastoral landscapes, a reevaluation of how decisions are made and what evidence is considered is needed. </p>
<p>Science plays a crucial role in evaluating various policy options and their consequences, such as the effect of an increased wolf population on sheep or deer behaviour. But it cannot determine the “correct” course of action. That choice depends on what people, livestock and wildlife in a particular place need to live well. In other words: context matters.</p>
<p>In most cases, the question is not a matter of choosing between “this or that”, but rather, how we get “a little bit of everything”. Reconciling different interests and <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/csp2.259">finding a way forward</a> requires public participation and, usually, professional mediation. These are the actions that the European Commission should encourage among member states.</p>
<p>With this in mind, it is concerning that the pragmatic interpretation is largely overlooked in the debate. Ultimately, the sustainable coexistence of humans and wolves does not hinge on whether wolves are hunted or protected, or even on the size of the wolf population. Rather, it hinges on how these decisions are made.</p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hanna Pettersson received funding from Leeds-York Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) SPHERES under grant NE/L002574/.</span></em></p>Some European countries view wolf protection differently to others. A look at Spain’s experience may explain why.Hanna Pettersson, Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2144222023-10-11T13:15:44Z2023-10-11T13:15:44ZNew treaty to protect the world’s oceans may hurt vulnerable African fisheries<p>Following two decades of fierce negotiations, over 60 countries recently signed a UN <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/dozens-nations-sign-un-ocean-treaty-implementation-still-awaits-2023-09-20/">Ocean Treaty</a> to conserve biodiversity on the high seas. </p>
<p>The “<a href="https://www.oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/facts/high-seas-governance.html">high seas</a>” are all ocean areas which aren’t under a specific country’s direct ownership or regulation. They make up <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05079-z">two-thirds</a> of Earth’s oceans, providing 90% of the habitat available for life. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/LTD/N23/177/28/PDF/N2317728.pdf?OpenElement">treaty</a> has been celebrated as <a href="https://oceans-and-fisheries.ec.europa.eu/news/historic-achievement-treaty-high-seas-adopted-2023-06-19_en#:%7E:text=Today%2C%20the%20Treaty%20of%20the,loss%20in%20the%20high%20seas.">historic</a>. It’s the first time that action will be taken against unregulated use of resources in this ungoverned space. </p>
<p>It’s <a href="https://unctad.org/news/90-fish-stocks-are-used-fisheries-subsidies-must-stop">estimated</a> that 90% of the world’s marine fish stocks are now fully exploited, overexploited or depleted. Although less than <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/a-global-ban-on-fishing-on-the-high-seas-the-time-is-now#:%7E:text=Pauly%3A%20Well%2C%20it%20will%20be,outside%20of%20Exclusive%20Economic%20Zones.">10%</a> of the total global fish catch is from the high seas, the unregulated nature of fishing there has a <a href="https://wwfeu.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwftmt_unregulated_fishing_on_the_high_seas_of_the_indian_ocean_2020.pdf">harmful impact</a> on marine life. </p>
<p>The treaty consists of <a href="https://bbnj-mgr.fas.harvard.edu/bbnj-treaty#:%7E:text=On%2019%20June%202023%2C%20nearly%20200%20countries%20adopted,Preamble%2C%2012%20Parts%2C%2076%20Articles%2C%20and%202%20Annexes.">76 articles</a>. Their goals include the protection and sustainable management of the marine environment, preserving the integrity of ocean ecosystems – such as <a href="https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/coral-reefs/">coral reefs</a> – and conserving biological diversity. Once ratified, the treaty will allow the establishment of <a href="https://oceans-and-fisheries.ec.europa.eu/news/win-ocean-high-seas-treaty-signed-united-nations-2023-09-20_en">marine protected areas</a> in the high seas.</p>
<p>Though it doesn’t explicitly prohibit commercial fishing in the high seas, it includes language that may allow for their “sustainable use”. So, the establishment of a protected area in the high seas is expected to address unsustainable fishing activities in the space, but only if <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s44183-023-00013-x#:%7E:text=The%20new%20Treaty%20lays%20out,high%20seas%2C%20among%20other%20things.">fully implemented</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/african-marine-rules-favour-big-industry-leaving-small-scale-fishers-in-the-lurch-171829">African marine rules favour big industry, leaving small-scale fishers in the lurch</a>
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<p>Part of my expertise lies in maritime and natural resource governance in Africa, so I’ve been following this development. There are reasons to celebrate the <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/06/1137857">Oceans Treaty</a> for what it represents – an extra mechanism to protect our oceans and their resources. But my main concern – which <a href="https://www.cffacape.org/publications-blog/an-ambitious-high-seas-treaty-must-not-come-at-the-expense-of-coastal-fishing-communities">has also been flagged</a> by others – is that the treaty could drive distant water fleets (fishing outside their own territory) to fishing grounds closer to land. And many of the most lucrative grounds belong to African countries. </p>
<p>The treaty has been described as “<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s44183-023-00013-x#:%7E:text=The%20new%20Treaty%20lays%20out,high%20seas%2C%20among%20other%20things">extremely broad</a>” and lacking specifics. Clear regulations must be put in place by the treaty’s implementing agency. It’s not yet clear who that will be. The treaty calls for state parties to allow for the establishment of various committees and working groups, together with a Conference of the Parties to guide implementation. </p>
<p>I argue that clear regulations must ensure that fisheries subsidies to vessels that once relied on the high seas must be cut. Subsidies given to <a href="https://oceana.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/OceanaDWF_FinalReport.pdf">distant water vessels</a> can encourage the <a href="https://theconversation.com/eu-targets-fragile-west-african-fish-stocks-despite-protection-laws-125679">overexploitation</a> of vulnerable species.</p>
<h2>Attractive fishing grounds</h2>
<p>Having lost access to fish on the high seas, fleets will need new fishing grounds. African waters are an attractive target for various reasons.</p>
<p>Firstly, they’re <a href="https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/a0053a27595217fd04745ae65f88e092-0320012022/original/Coastal-and-Marine-Biodiversity-and-Ecosystems.pdf">rich</a> in <a href="https://wwf.panda.org/discover/knowledge_hub/where_we_work/west_africa_marine/">diverse</a> species.</p>
<p>Secondly, these waters are not properly monitored, which means countries can take advantage of them. Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing already costs Africa <a href="https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news23_e/fish_12jul23_e.htm">over US$2.3 billion</a> annually. </p>
<p>Thirdly, coastal African states <a href="https://theconversation.com/african-marine-rules-favour-big-industry-leaving-small-scale-fishers-in-the-lurch-171829">appear willing</a> to enter into new <a href="https://chinadialogueocean.net/en/fisheries/opinion-some-fishing-deals-in-west-africa-make-little-economic-sense/">agreements</a> with nations that fish outside their own borders. </p>
<p>This is worrying because it’s going to put Africa’s vulnerable fish stocks at risk. Distant-water vessels are already known to be exploitative. </p>
<h2>Who are these vessels?</h2>
<p>About <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2022/03/high-seas-treaty-must-reflect-critical-role-of-fish-in-marine-ecosystems">97% of high-seas fishing</a> is done by vessels flagged to high-income countries – the vast majority (<a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2022/03/high-seas-treaty-must-reflect-critical-role-of-fish-in-marine-ecosystems">86%</a>) are from China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Spain. </p>
<p>Vessels from some of these countries, such as <a href="https://adf-magazine.com/2023/03/six-west-african-countries-account-for-20-of-worlds-illegally-caught-fish/">China</a>, <a href="https://cimsec.org/looking-past-gulf-of-guinea-piracy-chinese-twins-ghanaian-fishing-and-domain-awareness/">South Korea</a> and <a href="https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/business/spanish-french-fleets-blacklisted-indian-ocean-illegal-fishing-3844968">Spain</a>, already have fisheries arrangements with countries in Africa. And they’re known to contribute to the <a href="https://qz.com/africa/1807878/eu-subsidies-boost-overfishing-in-west-africa-and-migration#:%7E:text=Countries%20like%20Spain%20in%20particular,artisanal%20fishermen%20in%20West%20Africa">overexploitation</a> of fish on the continent through legal and illegal fishing.</p>
<h2>Harmful subsidies</h2>
<p>These high-sea fishing vessels come from the <a href="https://oceana.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/OceanaDWF_FinalReport.pdf">top 10 countries</a> providing fisheries subsidies. </p>
<p>Fisheries subsidies are financial support given by governments to help the private sector, including <a href="https://oceana.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/OceanaDWF_FinalReport.pdf">distant-water vessels</a>, to catch more fish. Some of these subsidies have been shown to be <a href="https://theconversation.com/eu-targets-fragile-west-african-fish-stocks-despite-protection-laws-125679">harmful</a>, particularly to vulnerable species. </p>
<p>Harmful subsidies <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/trust/archive/winter-2023/a-global-deal-to-end-harmful-fisheries-subsidies">encourage</a> overfishing, as the money is spent on capacity-expanding activities such as artificially lowering fuel and vessel construction costs. This allows large vessels to catch more fish than is sustainable by fishing farther out to sea and for longer periods. Many industrial fleets <a href="https://unctad.org/news/too-large-be-missed-how-fleet-size-and-harmful-subsidies-undermine-fish-stocks-sustainability">wouldn’t be profitable</a> without these subsidies.</p>
<p>The treaty doesn’t clearly address subsidies, but they are the subject of the World Trade Organization’s 2022 <a href="https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/rulesneg_e/fish_e/fish_e.htm">Fisheries Subsidies Agreement</a>. This, however, has not come into force as two thirds of the signatories have not yet accepted the deal. Under the proposed agreement, signatory countries must commit to stop providing harmful subsidies.</p>
<p>If harmful subsidies aren’t effectively addressed, a ban on fishing on the high seas could end up contributing to increased fishing activities within the jurisdictions of coastal countries. </p>
<h2>What must happen</h2>
<p>Aside from the treaty being effectively implemented, several measures and strategies can be deployed to ensure African countries are protected.</p>
<p>There must be more support from the international community for regional fisheries bodies – such as the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea and <a href="http://www.corep-se.org/">Regional Fisheries Commission for the Gulf of Guinea</a> – for countries in west Africa. The regional bodies must be in a better position to guide member states on sustainable fisheries practices, enforce regulations where they exist or update regulations as needed.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fisheries-subsidies-fuel-ocean-depletion-and-hurt-coastal-communities-142260">Fisheries subsidies fuel ocean depletion and hurt coastal communities</a>
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<p>There must be increased support in monitoring fishing. Partners and non-governmental organisations <a href="https://www.tm-tracking.org/joint-analytical-cell">share data</a> from satellite technology and vessel tracking systems that helps coastal states monitor what goes on in their waters. The international community must provide further support so that coastal states can enforce existing regulations by sharing capacity, technological know-how and assets.</p>
<p>By combining these strategies and fostering international cooperation, it is possible to strike a balance between implementing the treaty and fishing sustainably in Africa’s oceans.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214422/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ifesinachi Okafor-Yarwood receives funding from the Scottish Funding Council through the University of St Andrews and the PEW Charitable Trust. </span></em></p>A new ocean treaty could redirect the unsustainable fishing practices that were happening on the high seas to coastal African nations.Ifesinachi Okafor-Yarwood, Lecturer, University of St AndrewsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2133162023-09-29T12:28:24Z2023-09-29T12:28:24ZSoccer kiss scandal exposes how structural sexism in Spain can be a laughing matter<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551011/original/file-20230928-23-ozpk23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C22%2C4985%2C3293&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Showing sexism the red card.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/protesters-hold-placards-with-feminist-and-anti-machismo-news-photo/1639245914?adppopup=true">David Canales/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Amid <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/aug/21/luis-rubiales-kiss-outrage-spanish-football-fa-president-womens-world-cup-final-spain-jenni-hermoso">expressions of outrage and disgust</a> over a <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/66645961">nonconsensual kiss</a> between the male head of Spanish soccer and a Women’s World Cup-winning player, there was also laughter.</p>
<p>Luis Rubiales, the now ex-president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and former vice-president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/rubiales-resigns-spain-sexism-kiss-7ae39241dd3798d251230ba3c8ffa303">forced to resign from</a> <a href="https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/mediaservices/mediareleases/news/0285-18f470e2997c-4d1eded9d491-1000--uefa-takes-note-of-luis-rubiales-resignation/">those leadership positions</a> as a result of the forced kiss on Aug. 20, 2023, which took place in front of a packed stadium in Australia and a global audience. He is also <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/08/football/luis-rubiales-prosecutor-complaint-spt-intl/index.html">under investigation by prosecutors</a> in Spain for sexual assault and coercion. </p>
<p>Throughout the high-stakes and painful drama – which dominated Spanish media for weeks on end – there were jokes. The Rubiales kiss became fodder for <a href="https://www.moncloa.com/2023/09/03/memes-rubiales-protagonista-2157105/">internet memes</a>, <a href="https://www.eldiario.es/vertele/videos/actualidad/intermedio-echo-plato-clon-luis-rubiales-ridiculo-hecho-sido-mundial_7_10507627.html">skits by comedians on Spanish TV</a>, as well as many cartoons in national and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactive/2023/aug/29/david-squires-on-luis-rubiales-and-the-gaslighting-scandal-in-spanish-football">international</a> newspapers.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://mlli.umbc.edu/dr-erin-k-hogan/">scholars of Iberian cultures</a> <a href="https://www.csusb.edu/profile/mpuente">and gender representation</a>, we know that humor, much like soccer, is a national pastime in Spain. Moreover, Rubiales’ forced kiss of Jenni Hermoso, a member of <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/19/football/womens-world-cup-final-spain-england-spt-intl/index.html">Spain’s World Cup-winning team</a>, provided a perfect example of the role that comedy can play in unmasking and highlighting structural sexism.</p>
<h2>The humor of incongruity</h2>
<p>Humor is a social act that reflects human experience and, more to the point here, human folly. </p>
<p>In “<a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/language-in-society/article/abs/leon-rappoport-punchlines-the-case-for-racial-ethnic-and-gender-humor/B95936D4BF50FA01C5766A5698E8B0DB">Punchlines: The Case for Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Humor</a>,” <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Leon-Rappoport-2032746838">social psychologist Leon Rappoport</a> explains that, among other reasons, we laugh at incongruity. Humor is employed, Rappoport observes, to shed light on something “clearly absurd or contradictory.” </p>
<p>This appears to be the basis of much of the laughter in the Rubiales case. His outlandish, unexpected and unwanted gestures – not only the kiss, but also <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-12438939/Luis-Rubiales-Spain-caught-grabbing-crotch-Queen-daughter-World-Cup-Final-celebrations.html">grabbing his crotch</a> while cheering the Spanish women on to their first World Cup win – certainly came across as incongruous.</p>
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<img alt="A man in a suit grabs a female soccer player by the head while kissing her." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550759/original/file-20230927-19-xririg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550759/original/file-20230927-19-xririg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550759/original/file-20230927-19-xririg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550759/original/file-20230927-19-xririg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550759/original/file-20230927-19-xririg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550759/original/file-20230927-19-xririg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550759/original/file-20230927-19-xririg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The unwanted kiss that sparked scandal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/president-of-the-royal-spanish-football-federation-luis-news-photo/1622660427?adppopup=true">Noemi Llamas/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Much of the humor poked fun at Rubiales directly. While one editorial cartoon published in the digital newspaper <em>El Español</em> envisioned him as the <a href="https://www.elespanol.com/opinion/vinetas/20230826/rubiales-trump/789611033_19.html">Spanish counterpart of Donald Trump</a>, he was widely mocked across the media in posts that <a href="https://www.elconfidencial.com/television/programas-tv/2023-08-24/hilo-twitter-homer-simpson-predicen-rubiales_3723449/">compared him to a brutish Homer Simpson</a>. </p>
<p>The former UEFA vice president wasn’t the only person to be lampooned. His mother – with her <a href="https://apnews.com/article/spain-football-kiss-rubiales-mother-player-fifa-9d8c33c5a28f00bbe6a17092e4d7b32f">stranger-than-fiction hunger strike</a> demanding his exoneration – also opened herself up to ridicule. Rubiales’ many supporters at the RFEF couldn’t escape the farce-fest either. Even those who eventually turned on him were ridiculed, with one editorial cartoon portraying them as rats abandoning <a href="https://www.eldiasoria.es/noticia/z6112a909-06c6-425e-d182d5b65c24b045/202308/el-hundimiento-de-rubiales">Rubiales’ sinking Titanic ship</a>.</p>
<p>But some of the jokes called attention to bigger issues. Rubiales’ sexism on display at a major sporting event did not reflect well on the country’s international reputation, especially at a time when it is <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2023/3/15/morocco-joining-spain-portugal-in-footballs-2030-world-cup-bid">bidding to co-host the 2030 Men’s World Cup</a>. A humorist from the national newspaper El Mundo proposed that a crotch-grabbing Rubiales be adopted as the next World Cup <a href="https://www.elmundo.es/opinion/2023/08/25/64e8dbcb21efa0aa5f8b4598.html">official mascot</a>.</p>
<h2>A sexist laughingstock</h2>
<p>Such use of comedy takes a page from the book “<a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520299764/a-comedian-and-an-activist-walk-into-a-bar">A Comedian and an Activist Walk Into a Bar</a>,” in which authors Caty Borum Chattoo and Lauren Feldman discuss how humor can be used as a means to unify, guide public discourse, and inspire action.</p>
<p>It would be too much to claim that the jokes cracked during the fallout of Rubiales’ behavior led to his <a href="https://apnews.com/article/rubiales-resigns-spain-sexism-kiss-7ae39241dd3798d251230ba3c8ffa303">eventual resignation on Sept. 10</a>. But the humor in this case helped amplify public debate and inspired action to confront structural sexism in Spain and beyond.</p>
<p>An example of how it did this can be seen in a parody reenactment of Rubiales’ kiss posted on the social media accounts of a self-fashioned amateur writer who goes by the online name @LolaLaMonyos.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1695525232486850935"}"></div></p>
<p>In the sketch, two women impersonate Rubiales and Hermoso and stage the kiss, as <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/not-resign-says-defiant-spanish-104226421.html">recounted by Rubiales</a> in his public appearance before the RFEF’s general assembly. At the Aug. 25 gathering, he did not resign as some had expected. Instead, he defended his “peck” as consensual and positioned himself against both “false feminism” and gender inclusive language. </p>
<p>“When Jenni first showed up, she lifted me up from the ground. She grabbed me by the hips, by the legs, I don’t remember well. … She lifted me up from the ground – and we almost fell down.</p>
<p>"Then the peck happened during all of this celebration, with her patting me on the side a few times and then excusing herself with one more hand on the side and going off laughing,” he added.</p>
<p>Those words, set over the spoof reenactment, highlight just how nonsensical Rubiales’ imaginative interpretation is. Furthermore, the mismatch of his male voice and the two female bodies in the video points at the pervasive <a href="https://theconversation.com/luis-rubiales-these-seven-tactics-made-his-speech-excusing-his-assault-on-jenni-hermoso-a-textbook-case-in-silencing-women-212546">silencing of women</a> and sexist double standards. Since being posted on X, the platform formally known as Twitter, the sketch has been viewed almost 650,000 times.</p>
<p>Taking a somewhat different comedic approach, the popular Spanish satirical TV program “El Intermedio” recast the events in the <a href="https://www.lasexta.com/programas/el-intermedio/video-intermedio-minuto-que-resume-rigor-caso-rubiales-nos-quedado-muy-mono_2023090464f640eb9598e30001aac400.html">style of a wildlife documentary</a>. With the title “This turned out so ‘cute’” – a play on the Spanish word “mono,” which can mean “monkey” or “cute” – the skit uses a collage of monkey clips accompanied by an authoritative male voice-over.</p>
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<p>Funny though it is, there are also serious points being made. The writers of the sketch place the audience in a position of evolved superiority to Rubiales – reveling in the idiocy of the mockumentary’s subject. </p>
<p>What’s more, the piece suggests that Rubiales’ worldview and values are archaic and represent a step back in the fight for gender equality.</p>
<p>We would also argue that the video invites the audience to question patriarchal structures as being synonymous with the advancement of civilization. To us, the message implied is that society needs to redefine such assumptions. A world in which we can excuse harassment, sexual abuse, coercion or discrimination is incompatible with an aspiring civilized society.</p>
<p>None of these humorous responses to the scandal diminish the seriousness of the Rubiales incident, nor the debate they sparked. Rather, they have helped frame the way in which discussions have played out in Spain.</p>
<h2>For Rubiales, #itsover</h2>
<p>There is no doubt that the recriminations against Rubiales mark a tipping point in Spain’s reckoning with abuses of power related to sexual assault and broader gender inequality. For good reason, the <a href="https://www.eldiario.es/sociedad/jugadoras-suecas-suman-acabo-pancarta-primer-partido-espana-mundial_1_10537631.html">hashtag #seacabó</a> – translating to #itsover – has continued to trend since the scandal, after the term was directed at Rubiales by Spanish soccer star Alexia Putellas. Putellas, a two-time winner of the prestigious Ballon d’Or Féminin and <a href="https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/articles/putellas-wins-best-fifa-womens-player-award-for-second-year-running-mead-morgan">Best FIFA Women’s Player</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5-riKD3yhg">affirmed in December 2021</a>: “True victory will be when there is 100% equal opportunity for boys and girls in sports and in the world.”</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Female soccer players stand over a banner reading 'It's over. Our fight is the global fight.'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550758/original/file-20230927-23-2on7mx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550758/original/file-20230927-23-2on7mx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550758/original/file-20230927-23-2on7mx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550758/original/file-20230927-23-2on7mx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550758/original/file-20230927-23-2on7mx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550758/original/file-20230927-23-2on7mx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550758/original/file-20230927-23-2on7mx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Swiss and Spanish women’s national teams unite with the message: ‘It’s over. Our fight is the global fight.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/both-teams-players-hold-a-banner-reading-its-over-our-fight-news-photo/1690552213?adppopup=true">Cristina Quicler/AFP via Getty Images)</a></span>
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<p>The implications of the Rubiales tragicomedy have been sweeping and are still developing. It has allowed Spain, and inspired others, to confront discriminatory practices within and beyond the soccer field.</p>
<p>But is it also a laughing matter? We argue yes – because a sense of humor allows us to make sense of incongruities, confront them as a group and advance toward social change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213316/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The jokes, memes and skits came thick and fast – but behind the humor were serious points.Erin K Hogan, Associate Professor of Spanish, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyMaria Garcia-Puente, Associate Professor of Spanish, California State University, San BernardinoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2144912023-09-28T11:32:32Z2023-09-28T11:32:32ZWhy so many women in Spain are choosing to donate their eggs – The Conversation Weekly podcast<p>Spanish women are having fewer and fewer children, and yet the country has become the egg donation capital of Europe. In this episode of <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/the-conversation-weekly-98901">The Conversation Weekly</a></em> podcast, we find out about the experiences of women who decide to donate their eggs, and whether there are enough protections in place to prevent them from being exploited.</p>
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<p>Over the past 20 years, the number of egg donation cycles in Europe has been steadily increasing, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35795850/">reaching more than 80,000</a> in 2018. Around half of these take place in Spain, which has positioned itself as Europe’s go-to destination for people seeking donated eggs. </p>
<p>According to Anna Molas, a research fellow in anthropology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain currently has “the most flexible assisted reproductive law across Europe”. There is no age-limit for women who want to use private clinics, and no access restrictions in terms of marital status or sexual orientation. </p>
<p>An egg donation industry has developed in Spain to feed the demand for donor eggs, much of which is driven by women over the age of 40 who need help to have a baby. Adverts on social media encouraging women to donate their eggs are common. Around 15,000 women go through egg donation cycles every year in Spain. </p>
<p>When Molas interviewed women in Spain about their experiences, she found that the main reason they chose to donate was economic. A donor typically receives €1,100 (US$1,150) for an egg donation cycle, and the amount of compensation increases each time they donate. </p>
<p>“Even if it is a low amount of money for all the process that it involves, it still appeals to a lot of women,” says Molas. However, under Spanish law, donors are considered to be motivated by altruism. “The fact that they are treated as donors, as volunteers, makes it very difficult to have a discussion about how much they should be paid,” she says. </p>
<p>Listen to the full interview on The Conversation Weekly podcast, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can also read <a href="https://theconversation.com/spain-is-the-egg-donation-capital-of-europe-heres-what-its-like-to-be-a-donor-205780">an article Anna Molas</a> wrote about her research, which is part of <a href="https://theconversation.com/spain-is-the-egg-donation-capital-of-europe-heres-what-its-like-to-be-a-donor-205780">Women’s Health Matters</a> – a series about the health and wellbeing of women and girls around the world. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/2873/Spain_Egg_Donation_The_Conversation_Weekly_podcast_transcript.pdf?1697626904">transcript of this episode</a> is now available. </p>
<p><em>This episode was produced and written by Katie Flood with assistance from Mend Mariwany. Eloise Stevens does our sound design, and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Gemma Ware is the executive producer of The Conversation Weekly.</em> </p>
<p><em>You can find us on X, formerly known as Twitter, <a href="https://twitter.com/TC_Audio">@TC_Audio</a>, on Instagram at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/theconversationdotcom/">theconversationdotcom</a> or <a href="mailto:podcast@theconversation.com">via email</a>. You can also subscribe to The Conversation’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/newsletter">free daily email here</a>.</em> </p>
<p><em>Listen to The Conversation Weekly via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our <a href="https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/60087127b9687759d637bade">RSS feed</a> or find out <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-listen-to-the-conversations-podcasts-154131">how else to listen here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214491/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anna Molas receives funding from the Independent Social Research Foundation (ISRF).</span></em></p>Spain is the egg donation capital of Europe. We hear what is driving women to donate in this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast.Gemma Ware, Editor and Co-Host, The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The ConversationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2132172023-09-10T14:57:35Z2023-09-10T14:57:35ZMarrakech artisans – who have helped rebuild the Moroccan city before – are among those hit hard in the earthquake’s devastation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547343/original/file-20230910-15-27q05s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C25%2C8614%2C5716&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The earthquake has damaged many homes in Ijjoukak village, near Marrakech, Morocco.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/MoroccoEarthquake/e1a299f4c3d247e4938c9103b189828f/photo?Query=Morocco%20earthquake&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=714&currentItemNo=3&vs=true">AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A powerful earthquake that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/09/09/world/morocco-earthquake-marrakesh">hit close to the medieval city of Marrakech in Morocco</a> on Sept. 8, 2023, has killed thousands and injured many more. It has also put at risk buildings and monuments of major historic importance, among them <a href="https://www.aajenglish.tv/news/30333076/historical-marrakech-mosque-damaged-in-morocco-quake">the minaret of the Kutubiyya mosque</a>, a 12th-century structure that is an icon of the city.</p>
<p>The Medina, the medieval walled portion of the city, is now littered with rubble. The cultural significance of the Medina extends far beyond the antiques and trinkets sold to tourists.</p>
<p>It is the location of numerous artisan workshops that make the ceramic tiles, carved plaster and intricate woodwork that decorate the city. Many of these workshops have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1386/ijia_00023_5">maintained traditional methods for centuries</a>, transmitting skill sets down through the generations.</p>
<p>Part of Morocco’s bid for Marrakech’s UNESCO status was based on these craft traditions being “<a href="https://ich.unesco.org/en/what-is-intangible-heritage-00003">intangible cultural heritage</a>,” which the U.N. describes as knowledge or skills that are passed down orally rather than in written form. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A brick ancient wall with rubble scattered near it and some intact buildings across." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547333/original/file-20230909-152282-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=181%2C38%2C8433%2C5703&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547333/original/file-20230909-152282-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547333/original/file-20230909-152282-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547333/original/file-20230909-152282-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547333/original/file-20230909-152282-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547333/original/file-20230909-152282-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547333/original/file-20230909-152282-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">People drive past a damaged wall of the historic Medina of Marrakech after the earthquake.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/MoroccoEarthquake/9ca08fdd29e9410ea690ac0d1be7e9f2/photo?Query=morocco%20medina&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=160&currentItemNo=0">AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy</a></span>
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<p>I’ve been <a href="https://smu.academia.edu/AbbeyStockstill/CurriculumVitae">working in Marrakech since 2014</a>, living there on and off as I completed research on a book about the development of Marrakech as a medieval metropolis. Although my work focused on the 12th century, the more I learned about the city, the more I realized that most of the urban fabric and architectural sites I was looking at were thanks to the conservation efforts of local workshops.</p>
<p>The UNESCO designation was a historical acknowledgment of the traditions of poor and rural communities that can often get left out of larger conversations about art history. It is precisely these communities that have maintained Marrakech’s architectural heritage for generations, but the earthquake has destroyed the workshops and residences of many in the Medina.</p>
<p>These poor and rural communities are at their most vulnerable just when their skills will be needed the most to help rebuild the city after this disaster.</p>
<h2>Oral origins</h2>
<p>Marrakech was <a href="https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-the-almoravid-and-almohad-empires.html">founded in 1070</a> by the Almoravid dynasty, which derived from a tribe that was part of a larger non-Arab confederation of peoples <a href="https://www.pennpress.org/9780812251302/inventing-the-berbers/">now referred to as Berbers</a>. </p>
<p>It was one of the first major cities in the wider Islamic west, known as the Maghrib – now comprising Morocco, Algeria and parts of Tunisia - to be founded by a group indigenous to the region. </p>
<p>The majority of the community <a href="https://doi.org/10.24425/ro.2021.139544">spoke a dialect of Tamazight</a>, an Afro-Asiatic language distinct from Arabic. It was primarily an oral language, meaning that knowledge was more commonly handed down via poetic stories rather than written texts.</p>
<p>Some Arabic sources described the Almoravids as “unsophisticated” and “illiterate,” yet the <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/10630/15883">evidence of their architectural and artistic heritage</a> suggests otherwise. In Marrakech, they built an elegantly proportioned dome known as the Qubba al-Barudiyyin and commissioned the elaborate wooden minbar (pulpit) that now sits in the Badiʿ Palace Museum.</p>
<p>They were followed by the Almohad dynasty, another largely indigenous group, that faced similar accusations in historical accounts despite building the Kutubiyya minaret, Marrakech’s signature monument.</p>
<h2>Site of independence movements</h2>
<p>The city’s origins as a Berber capital contributed to making Marrakech the epicenter of contemporary Moroccan national identity, rooted in a pride and independence centuries old. Whereas other North African cities had roots in Arab or Roman tradition, Marrakech could claim to be distinctly Moroccan.</p>
<p>In the face of Ottoman expansion in the 16th century, the kingdom of Morocco, based out of Marrakech, was the sole region of the Arabic-speaking world <a href="https://www.proquest.com/docview/304006747/abstract/680536CC2D40436BPQ/1?accountid=6667">to maintain their autonomy from Turkish control</a>.</p>
<p>Although the French and the Spanish would compete for colonial rule of the country, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021853700005119">the Moroccan independence movements of the 20th century</a> were largely based out of Marrakech. The city was so prone to revolt that the French administration moved the colonial capital further north to Rabat.</p>
<p>Even the word “Morocco” is derived from an <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315073842-114/marrakech-morocco-robert-john">etymological transmutation</a> of “Marrakech.”</p>
<h2>A hidden history</h2>
<p>And yet, recovering the city’s significant past is an exercise in reading between the lines. </p>
<p>The oral traditions of the city’s founders were rarely faithfully transcribed. Written sources are often scattered and unpublished, and those that do exist are often written by <a href="https://www.rct.uk/collection/1022581/primera-parte-de-la-descripcion-general-de-affrica-con-las-todos-los-successos-de">outsiders or visitors</a> to the city. </p>
<p>The Ottomans were excellent record-keepers, enabling scholars to explore extensive centralized archives on every part of the Arabic world – except Morocco, whose archives remain dispersed and underfunded. Historians have had to work obliquely to uncover concrete details, relying on archaeological and anthropological research to supplement oral traditions.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547334/original/file-20230910-17-qpvn3v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Shops selling an array of colorful goods on either side of a narrow old marketplace while two women in headdress walk through the lane in the center." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547334/original/file-20230910-17-qpvn3v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547334/original/file-20230910-17-qpvn3v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547334/original/file-20230910-17-qpvn3v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547334/original/file-20230910-17-qpvn3v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547334/original/file-20230910-17-qpvn3v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547334/original/file-20230910-17-qpvn3v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547334/original/file-20230910-17-qpvn3v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Women walking through the old Medina in 2011.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APTOPIXMoroccoMarrakechTourism/ffb0896604584ab98dba6fddf6257745/photo?Query=Marrakesh%20&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=287&currentItemNo=41&vs=true">AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Integral to these efforts was the role of craft traditions in and around Marrakech. Craft was a <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/138704">key point of France’s colonial efforts in Marrakech</a>, where they established “artisan schools” in the Medina to ostensibly document and preserve their methods. In doing so, the French Protectorate - which ruled the country from 1912 to 1956 - created a kind of <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674980327">living nostalgia</a> within the Medina, conflating the people who actually lived there with the city’s medieval past.</p>
<p>This effectively <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/49723">created a form of economic and social segregation</a> in which craftsmen and their families were siloed into the old town, while the wealthier expatriates and tourists occupied the Ville Nouvelle outside the medieval walls.</p>
<h2>Preserving the past through craft</h2>
<p>At the same time, these craft traditions are also what made it possible to preserve and restore many of the sites in and around Marrakech that now draw thousands of tourists each year. </p>
<p>The Qasba Mosque, the city’s “second” major mosque after the Kutubiyya and originally built between 1185 and 1189, <a href="https://doi.org/10.58278/0.2023.13">underwent successive restorations in both the 17th and 21st centuries</a> after political instability led to their decline. In both cases, local artisans were employed to renovate the mosque’s stucco walls and the mosaic tile work known as zellij.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547332/original/file-20230909-17-7y2k4z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An wall with multicolored tiles and carved plaster decoration." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547332/original/file-20230909-17-7y2k4z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547332/original/file-20230909-17-7y2k4z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547332/original/file-20230909-17-7y2k4z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547332/original/file-20230909-17-7y2k4z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547332/original/file-20230909-17-7y2k4z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547332/original/file-20230909-17-7y2k4z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547332/original/file-20230909-17-7y2k4z.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Ben Youssef Madrasa in Marrakech.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Abbey Stockstill</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The 11th-century Almoravid pulpit required <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/THE_LUMINOUS_IMAGE/7Wk2_MI8oqEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false">a team of Moroccan craftsmen</a> to successfully restore the minbar’s intricate marquetry. </p>
<p>Artisans have also been important ambassadors for Morocco’s place in the larger canon of Islamic art, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/arts/design/metropolitan-museums-moroccan-courtyard-takes-shape.html">building a courtyard as part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s</a> 2011 renovation of their Islamic galleries using 14th-century techniques and materials.</p>
<p>With the Marrakech Medina partially destroyed, many of these artisans and workshops will face tough choices regarding their future. <a href="https://www.fairobserver.com/region/middle_east_north_africa/morocco-hostels-foreign-ownership-tourism-indsutry-news-15421/">Gentrification over the last decade</a> has priced many residents out of their ancestral homes, and many of these workshops operate on thin margins – too thin to both pay for damages and retain control over their property. </p>
<h2>Rebuilding intangible heritage</h2>
<p>Parts of the city walls cracked in the earthquake, and an 18th-century mosque in the main square lost its minaret. The <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/09/09/earthquake-strikes-morocco-historic-tourist-sites/">historic 12th-century site of Tinmal</a>, not far from Marrakech and nestled in the Atlas Mountains, has also collapsed.</p>
<p>The human toll of the earthquake is still being tallied, and the material damage is likely to be extensive. Nothing can replace the loss of life. Yet the history and resilience of a place are <a href="https://doi.org/10.14324/111.9781787354845">instrumental in any recovery</a>. </p>
<p>It will be the role of Marrakech’s intangible heritage – its artists and artisans – to rebuild after this disaster. In the midst of narratives about caliphs and sultans, philosophers and poets, it can be easy to forget that the people who built these places often went unnamed in the historical texts.</p>
<p>But these artists will need support to maintain Marrakech’s history, to preserve the past for future historians to discover.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213217/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Abbey Stockstill received funding from American Institute of Maghrib Studies. </span></em></p>A scholar who has been working in Marrakech writes about the artisan communities, which have maintained the city’s architectural rich heritage for generations and have been hit hard by the earthquake.Abbey Stockstill, Assistant Professor of Art History, Southern Methodist UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2124902023-08-31T15:24:23Z2023-08-31T15:24:23ZWorld Cup kiss: feminist progress is always met with backlash, but Spain’s #MeToo moment shows things are changing<p>Winning the women’s World Cup was a significant moment for Spanish football. Spain is now one of only two teams who are world champions in both the male and female competitions (Germany is the other). </p>
<p>This momentous achievement cannot have been lost on Spanish football executives. For that reason, it is particularly incomprehensible that the president of the Spanish football federation kissed the women’s team player Jenni Hermoso on the lips in plain view of the entire world, turning what should have been a celebration into a reckoning.</p>
<p>Luis Rubiales’ defence is that he kissed Hermoso in a moment of euphoria (diminishing his own responsibility) and, more importantly, that it was by mutual consent. This he explained to a large crowd of the football federation’s members in a general meeting, despite Hermoso <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/jenni-hermoso-kiss-luis-rubiales-spain-b2396423.html">saying publicly</a> that she did not consent or “enjoy” the kiss. </p>
<p>So far, Rubiales has evaded calls to resign, both from the public and Spanish football federation officials (though he has been suspended by Fifa). But his protestations of innocence have been drowned out by a vociferous feminist movement, as well as the Spanish government, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66628521">Fifa</a> and other <a href="https://fifpro.org/en/who-we-are/what-we-do/foundations-of-work/players-worldwide-stand-with-jennifer-hermoso/">teams worldwide</a>.</p>
<p>Even some <a href="https://www.canalsur.es/noticias/andalucia/sevilla/todos-somos-jenni-homenaje-de-los-jugadores-del-cadiz-y-sevilla-a-la-campeona-del-mundo/1959225.html">men’s teams</a> are wearing shirts with the message #SeAcabó [it’s over], #contigo Jenni [with you, Jenni] and todos somos Jenni [we’re all Jenni]. </p>
<p>Immediately hailed as Spain’s #MeToo moment, it appears to mark a turning point. In a society where feminist progress has historically been met with backlash, it shows how far Spanish society has come to reject rancid machismo instantaneously.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/luis-rubiales-these-seven-tactics-made-his-speech-excusing-his-assault-on-jenni-hermoso-a-textbook-case-in-silencing-women-212546">Luis Rubiales: these seven tactics made his speech excusing his assault on Jenni Hermoso a textbook case in silencing women</a>
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<h2>Machismo, on and off the pitch</h2>
<p>The kiss was not the only moment of such machismo that this team has had to contend with. In the autumn of 2022, 15 players demanded better working conditions, because they feared for their physical and mental health. “Las 15”, as they became known, play football for first division clubs (Barcelona, both Manchester clubs, Atlético de Madrid), so they knew what can be achieved with better resources and conditions. </p>
<p>These legitimate concerns made in private were leaked to the press and spun as a revolt of spoilt, female brats against the head coach Jorge Vilda. Las 15 published a <a href="https://twitter.com/alexiaputellas/status/1573350333417488385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1573350333417488385%7Ctwgr%5Eec1be4714d06976b1de2b1d04a278cee6b1d52a9%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.larazon.es%2Fdeportes%2Ffutbol%2F20220924%2Frxmf67rrczgyzpfskvirm2bnwi.html">letter</a> clarifying that their concerns referred to better management of the team to achieve peak performance, and a less controlling leadership style that treats players professionally.</p>
<p>Rubiales, unsurprisingly, gave Vilda <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/rubiales-kiss-jorge-vilda-spanish-football-women-b2402458.html">unconditional support</a>. And from Las 15, only three players were selected for the World Cup (Batlle, Bonmatí, Caldentey), making their win against a formidable English team even more remarkable. </p>
<h2>Backlash to progress</h2>
<p>These moments are best understood within the context of wider legal, social and cultural changes that have taken place in Spain. While there was slow but steady progress for women’s rights in the 1980s and 1990s, it was not until the administration of José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero (2004-2011) that progress accelerated, and the longstanding machismo culture began to face a real challenge. </p>
<p>Two landmark legislative changes were made to combat <a href="https://evaw-global-database.unwomen.org/en/countries/europe/spain/2004/constitutional-act-1-2004-of-28-december--on-integrated-protection-measures-against-gender-violence">gender violence in 2004</a> and progress <a href="https://www.global-regulation.com/translation/spain/1445731/law-organic-3-2007%252c-of-22-march%252c-for-the-effective-equality-of-women-and-men.html">gender equality in 2007</a>.</p>
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<p>The most recent new legislation, passed in October 2022, strengthens criminal charges for sexual aggression, among other advancements for women’s rights. These changes were described as a <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/02/1133747">fundamental feminist achievement</a> by the UN. </p>
<p>This wording, while accurate, plays into the hands of the far right political party Vox, who all too happily spin these advancements as the making of a (too) leftwing government. Vox is vocal in its condemnation of feminism and blames women for destroying the nuclear family as the basis for society. </p>
<p>Most shockingly, they want to protect men from <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/02/1133747">“fake feminism”</a>, such as supposedly fake stories about gender violence. This is the <a href="https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/spanish-fa-boss-luis-rubiales-refuses-to-quit/">exact phrasing</a> Rubiales used in his defence, showing how this ideology can be accepted and used by powerful men. </p>
<p>Throughout history, feminist movements have had to contend with setbacks and false narratives against them. As American journalist Susan Faludi argued in her <a href="https://susanfaludi.com/backlash.html">1991 book Backlash</a>, the underlying cause for such a response against feminist movements is male anxiety about the loss of power in the public and private sphere. </p>
<p>In Spain, you can see these backlashes whenever there were radical (or even not so radical) legal changes. Even during the dictatorship in the 1960s, the slightest progress for <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14753820.2012.646812">female rights</a> was perceived as a danger to a male-dominated society. </p>
<p>Equally, during the transition from dictatorship to democracy (1975-1982) <a href="https://shura.shu.ac.uk/6745/">women’s demands for rights</a> were at best considered as an afterthought and at worst seen as a serious danger to society.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/se-acabo-de-las-universidades-al-futbol-el-consentimiento-esta-en-boca-de-todos-212473">Se acabó: de las universidades al fútbol, el consentimiento está en boca de todos</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Solidarity</h2>
<p>The vocal opposition to Rubiales’ behaviour shows progress is being made culturally as well as politically.</p>
<p>Yolanda Díaz, a deputy prime minister, swiftly and confidently reacted to Rubiales’ kiss in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd3ctFoMOAw">press conference</a>: “Spanish society is profoundly feminist, it’s in the vanguard of equal rights, and that’s why these abnormal behaviours stick out so much.” </p>
<p>This assertion that Spain is a feminist nation is borne out by the statistics both at European and global level. The EU <a href="https://eige.europa.eu/gender-equality-index/2022/ES">Gender Equality Index</a> ranks Spain 6th of 27 countries, while the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/reports/global-gender-gap-report-2023/">Global Gender Gap</a> report ranks it 18th of 146 countries (the US is ranked 43rd). </p>
<p>The vast majority of reactions to Rubiales’ power play was to say “todos somos Jenni/we are all Jenni”, although the most prominent male players were conspicuous by their <a href="https://www.elperiodico.com/es/deportes/20230830/silencio-jugadores-fuente-caso-rubiales-91489349">silence</a> – there is still work to be done.</p>
<p>Female and male feminists from all walks of life took to the streets demonstrating in Spanish cities, showing Rubiales the <a href="https://elpais.com/deportes/futbol/2023-08-28/la-manifestacion-feminista-contra-luis-rubiales-repartida-por-espana-en-imagenes.html">red card</a>. It’s over for Rubiales, not even football tolerates toxic masculinity anymore.</p>
<p>An editorial in <a href="https://elpais.com/opinion/2023-08-26/se-acabo.html">El País</a> is brutally frank in its judgement of this powerful man who has behaved like a textbook perpetrator. No country can control its lunatics, but how it deals with them is a sign of its maturity. </p>
<p>Spanish feminism - one, machismo - nil.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212490/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anja Louis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The nonconsensual kiss of team captain Jenni Hermoso has sparked a massive and instant rejection of machismo.Anja Louis, Professor of Transnational Popular Culture, Sheffield Hallam UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2057802023-08-17T10:35:54Z2023-08-17T10:35:54ZSpain is the egg donation capital of Europe – here’s what it’s like to be a donor<p>Spain performs more than half of all <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35795850/">egg donation treatments across Europe</a>. The country is the largest provider of donor eggs across the continent. And every year, thousands of international fertility patients travel to Spain to access treatments.</p>
<p>Spain is a popular choice for private fertility treatments because any woman or man regardless of their civil status, sexual orientation or age can access them. Indeed, many come to Spain because of <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-44667-7_14">restrictions and bans in their home countries</a>, particularly related to egg donation. Spain also tends to have very short waiting lists.</p>
<p>At the same time, egg banks in Spain <a href="https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/maq.12767">have proliferated in recent years</a>, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17450101.2023.2220976">shipping donor eggs around the world</a>, as part of this multi-million-pound industry. </p>
<p>Close to 15,000 women undergo egg extraction cycles every year in Spain. Many are <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24626802/">financially motivated</a> – donors in Spain receive one of the highest rates of financial compensation across Europe (around €1,100 (£945) for a successful cycle). </p>
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<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542294/original/file-20230811-4652-hn8w80.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542294/original/file-20230811-4652-hn8w80.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542294/original/file-20230811-4652-hn8w80.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542294/original/file-20230811-4652-hn8w80.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542294/original/file-20230811-4652-hn8w80.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542294/original/file-20230811-4652-hn8w80.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542294/original/file-20230811-4652-hn8w80.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>This article is part of <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/womens-health-matters-143335">Women’s Health Matters</a>, a series about the health and wellbeing of women and girls around the world. From menopause to miscarriage, pleasure to pain the articles in this series will delve into the full spectrum of women’s health issues to provide valuable information, insights and resources for women of all ages.</em></p>
<p><em>You may be interested in:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-orgasm-gap-and-why-women-climax-less-than-men-208614">The orgasm gap and why women climax less than men</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/five-old-contraception-methods-that-show-why-the-pill-was-a-medical-breakthrough-207572">Five old contraception methods that show why the pill was a medical breakthrough
</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/science-experiments-traditionally-only-used-male-mice-heres-why-thats-a-problem-for-womens-health-205963">Science experiments traditionally only used male mice – here’s why that’s a problem for women’s health</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>While research has previously shown that some women claim to give their eggs for <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24626802/">altruistic reasons</a> (often alongside financial motivation), very little is known about women’s experiences of egg donation. They are for the most part invisible. This is why I wanted to find out more about what it’s like being an egg donor in Spain.</p>
<p>As part of my research, I interviewed egg donors and doctors and also observed women in fertility clinics to get a better sense of what the process was actually like.</p>
<h2>The reality of egg donation</h2>
<p>Fertility clinics’ websites usually describe egg donation as a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41292-020-00218-0">fast and easy procedure</a>. But women wanting to become egg donors have to do a fair bit of preparation before the donation can actually take place.</p>
<p>First, a screening happens which includes health-related and psychological questionnaires as well as gynaecological and genetic tests. Potential donors will then be given hormone injections for about ten days. </p>
<p>After that, egg retrieval occurs which involves surgery under general anaesthetic to remove the eggs through a vaginal ultrasound scanner which is connected to a needle. It’s a time-consuming, inconvenient and at times painful process. </p>
<p>It also carries medical risks such as <a href="https://www.rcog.org.uk/for-the-public/browse-all-patient-information-leaflets/ovarian-hyperstimulation-syndrome-patient-information-leaflet/">ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome</a>, which is when the ovaries become enlarged and can lead to several serious problems such as blood clots or bleeding. </p>
<p>Donors can also experience medication intolerance or side-effects alongside a risk of infection during surgery. But the longer-term risks of being an egg donor remain largely unknown, because of the limited amount of studies <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28473127/">carried out in this area</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A liquid nitrogen bank containing egg samples." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541471/original/file-20230807-27-kgcqd9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541471/original/file-20230807-27-kgcqd9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541471/original/file-20230807-27-kgcqd9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541471/original/file-20230807-27-kgcqd9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541471/original/file-20230807-27-kgcqd9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541471/original/file-20230807-27-kgcqd9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541471/original/file-20230807-27-kgcqd9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Egg donors are not usually aware of how many times, where and when their eggs will end up being used.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/liquid-nitrogen-bank-containing-sperm-eggs-2341721623">HealthyCapture Studio/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>I also discovered that the reality of egg donation can mean busy schedules balanced between work, studies and personal life. To avoid losing any income, most of the women I spoke to didn’t usually stop any of their usual activities during the cycle. Instead, they tried to make it all fit into their busy lives – which sometimes created risks in terms of their health. </p>
<p>This was particularly obvious when it came to the egg extraction. The scheduling of the surgery relies on the pace of the hormonal drugs in the body, so it cannot be decided according to the donors’ convenience. When the eggs are ready to be collected they are ready to be collected – and this can differ from patient to patient. When donors are ready, they have to administer the final injection, which is the one that makes them ovulate before they are scheduled for the surgery the next morning.</p>
<p>The result is that although clinics advise resting for 24-48 hours after the extraction, many egg donors work the next day, or even the same day, on their afternoon shifts.</p>
<h2>Payments and compensation</h2>
<p>Compensation for a cycle is usually paid in cash at the end of the process. And is only secured after the extraction surgery if there are extractable eggs – donors are paid the same amount regardless of the number of eggs.</p>
<p>If the process has to be stopped before the extraction for reasons that aren’t the donor’s fault, such as the medication not producing the expected effects on egg production, most clinics do not offer compensation. </p>
<p>If donors undergo the extraction surgery but there are no extractable eggs, the matter is usually discussed among doctors, with significant differences across clinics. If there is an indication that the donor may not have administrated the last injection of hormones or that she did so at the wrong time, the clinic will usually not pay her at all. </p>
<p>If the clinic believes she followed the rules but that she ovulated earlier than expected, different clinics have different rules: some might give her the full amount, others only a partial payment and some nothing at all.</p>
<p>Donors may also be required to reimburse all expenses for the treatments if they decide to abandon the process halfway through for <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/25729861.2020.1781371">non-medical reasons</a> – something most can’t afford to do.</p>
<p>In the event of side effects or complications following the extraction, donors are usually referred to the emergency room of public hospitals, as the donation contract does not include private health insurance.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Artificial insemination, in vitro fertilisation IVF of human egg cell." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541472/original/file-20230807-21-ue4ret.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541472/original/file-20230807-21-ue4ret.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541472/original/file-20230807-21-ue4ret.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541472/original/file-20230807-21-ue4ret.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541472/original/file-20230807-21-ue4ret.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541472/original/file-20230807-21-ue4ret.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541472/original/file-20230807-21-ue4ret.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Egg donation is used in IVF.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/ovum-artificial-insemination-202104430">Naeblys/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The few studies on egg donors’ experiences in Spain that do exist show problems and gaps in terms of the information donors are provided with and the conditions in <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/01622439231164666">which egg donation is undertaken</a>. </p>
<p>Most of the women I spoke to didn’t know how many eggs were extracted, the number of women that might be treated with them, or whether they will be used in the clinic, frozen to be banked or shipped abroad. </p>
<p>It is clear then that as the demand for egg donation increases, urgent action is needed to ensure that women in the global egg donation industry are properly informed, cared for and insured in case of complications and side-effects.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205780/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anna Molas receives funding from the Independent Social Research Foundation (ISRF).</span></em></p>As part of my research, I interviewed egg donors and doctors and also observed women in fertility clinics to get a better sense of what the process was actually like.Anna Molas, Research Fellow in Anthropology, Autonomous University of BarcelonaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2099462023-08-16T15:40:24Z2023-08-16T15:40:24ZA new climate law in the Balearic Islands will protect the wellbeing of present and future generations - if such thing can be defined<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541482/original/file-20230807-28322-3irzbj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C7%2C2496%2C1579&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/beautiful-seaside-cala-santanyi-beach-bay-587987573">vulcano / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Mediterranean is one of the most climate vulnerable regions in the world, <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGII_CCP4.pdf">with temperatures rising 20% faster than the global average</a>. In the Balearic Islands, this means that by 2100 <a href="https://qrcode.link/a/pdf">the temperature</a> <a href="https://www.mallorcapreservation.org/climate-change-and-the-balearic-islands/">could have increased by 3-5ºC</a> and <a href="https://ideib.caib.es/impactes_costa_canvi_climatic/">the sea level could have risen by 37 to 90cm</a>. </p>
<p>The islands’ limited access to resources and the high dependence on<a href="https://www.mallorcapreservation.org/climate-change-and-the-balearic-islands/">emissions-heavy industries</a>, such as transport and energy, are deeply interlinked with <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2rY7xupQ72DesjX1XxA62E?si=dd5a847d18c244d4&nd=1">over-tourism</a>. This makes any kind of move towards a <a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2022-0225_EN.pdf">green transition</a> especially hard.</p>
<p>Taken as a whole, the conditions caused by global warming threaten to jeopardise the quality of life on the Balearic Islands and have a profound environmental impact on the region. Transitioning towards more sustainable ways of living presents its own substantial set of challenges.</p>
<p>On April 13, 2023, the regional Parliament of the Balearic Islands passed <a href="https://intranet.caib.es/eboibfront/ca/2023/11722/672155/llei-10-2023-de-5-d-abril-de-benestar-per-a-les-ge">a pioneering law on the wellbeing of present and future generations</a> (English translation <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mFYjOtCmFW5nW0aPSralqDXFxZX54slD/view?usp=sharing">here</a>). Its adoption was the result of the first citizens’ initiative ever approved by the Balearic Parliament. </p>
<p>Crucially, the law demands the creation of <a href="https://books.google.nl/books?hl=en&lr=&id=nQaTDQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=gosseries+future+generations&ots=fJEGyhHkHT&sig=uH8iKxrjJl9zuO_u62NWTkc2WSk#v=onepage&q=gosseries%20future%20generations&f=false">a Commission</a> to safeguard the wellbeing of present and future generations, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ethics-and-international-affairs/article/abs/introduction-representing-vulnerable-communities-and-future-generations-in-the-face-of-climate-change/6D0135BF56392CEF0FAB717C24BCD986">particularly in the face of climate change</a>. The law has the potential to provide inspiration and important lessons for similar initiatives in other climate vulnerable regions. <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1h67UIr8SVM_7uucax-WSCJbWEaewNNks/view?usp=sharing">A seminar</a> was held at <a href="https://www.uu.nl/en">Utrecht University</a> to examine it from a legal and ethical climate perspective.</p>
<p>This law is unique in Spain, though not in Europe: it follows the precedent set by <a href="https://www.futuregenerations.wales/about-us/future-generations-act/">the Wales Act</a> of 2015, which similarly focuses on the objectives of wellbeing and the creation of a commission that oversees a long-term perspective on policy-making. Future generations are also represented in <a href="https://www.eduskunta.fi/EN/valiokunnat/tulevaisuusvaliokunta/">Finland</a>, and in <a href="https://www.ajbh.hu/web/ajbh-en/the-role-of-the-ombudsman">Hungary</a>, <a href="https://futureroundtable.org/es/web/network-of-institutions-for-future-generations/roundtable">among others</a>.</p>
<p>However, the law needs to overcome some foundational challenges if the proposed Commission is to be successful. </p>
<h2>Recognising future and present wellbeing</h2>
<p>One of the initial challenges faced by the proposed Commission in the Balearic Islands is that of balancing the interests of future and present generations. Protecting the wellbeing of future generations will likely mean imposing certain restrictions on those presently alive. Such restrictions should take into account that safeguarding the wellbeing of present generations is an equally important part of the Commission’s task.</p>
<p>This is in keeping with the idea of what is known as a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_transition">just transition</a> – the idea that a societal shift towards climate neutrality can only be regarded as a success if it is also a transition towards <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">a fairer society, where no-one is left behind</a>. </p>
<p>As an example, we can consider the environmental impact of tourism on the islands: limiting the number of tourists would incur short term economic losses for local people and businesses, but such limitations would preserve the islands’ ecosystems for future generations. In this case, a just transition might mean that compensation or re-schooling is offered to the people whose lives are negatively impacted by limiting the influx of tourists. </p>
<h2>What does it mean to protect wellbeing?</h2>
<p>The law defines some broad objectives that must be met, but for the Commission to achieve its aims of promoting the wellbeing of current and future generations, it must explicitly consider <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/well-being/">what <em>kind</em> of wellbeing</a> is at stake. Many people equate wellbeing with a feeling of happiness and satisfaction, or the sensation that we are doing well and getting what we want. The Commission could choose to focus on ensuring that people in the future still have access to the same resources –building materials, natural resources, and so on – that we have at present.</p>
<p>However, our current society is driven by consumption, and such definitions rest on the assumption that wellbeing can only be achieved by preserving our current way of life, meaning that we can only be happy in an unsustainable world. The Commission must therefore address the wider question of what it means to be able to lead lives that are both sustainable and satisfying, and what social and political obstacles there are to such lifestyles. </p>
<p>This may include <a href="https://theconversation.com/eat-green-to-save-the-environment-says-ipcc-how-to-tell-if-that-really-means-you-121795">promoting locally grown food</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-focusing-on-how-individuals-can-help-is-very-convenient-for-corporations-108546">subsidising public transport</a>, ensuring access to sustainable energy sources, and challenging existing patterns of consumption that are rooted in social norms.</p>
<h2>Future generations are difficult to represent</h2>
<p>The law also states that the Commission should consist of a range of experts on the social and environmental aspects of climate change, including representatives from academia, social organisations, and environmental agencies. While this interdisciplinary makeup of the Commission is welcome, it is also <a href="https://books.google.nl/books?hl=en&lr=&id=c5CCDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=easterly+experts&ots=yM9BjB3FUL&sig=NoahW-ijP46rjSp78jxrEtcC4Pc#v=onepage&q=easterly%20experts&f=false">limited</a>. The Commission would do well to give <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ethics-and-international-affairs/article/who-should-represent-future-generations-in-climate-planning/4E2F0FFE034DE020B558F320B5DEA051">representatives of the most socially and climate vulnerable communities</a> in the Balearic Islands a prominent voice.</p>
<p>Not only would this strengthen the democratic basis of the law, it would also ensure that the first-hand experiences of climate vulnerable people and communities, who face the threat of climate change in their daily lives, are included. This would result in fairer, more responsive, and more sustainable climate policies and plans.</p>
<h2>A promising but disputed initiative</h2>
<p>The Law for the Protection of the Wellbeing of Current and Future Generations of the Balearic Islands is a citizen-led initiative that shows great promise. </p>
<p>It not only has the potential to ensure that the Balearic Islands are habitable in the future, but also to improve the living situation of many of the Islands’ most socioeconomically vulnerable populations. By addressing the key challenges, its proponents can seize this opportunity to strengthen the law and inform the proposed Commission on how to represent the best interests of those whom it is meant to protect. </p>
<p>Defending the law is all the more important in the aftermath of the recent May 2023 regional elections, as the two political parties now governing the Balearic Islands <a href="https://www.diariodemallorca.es/mallorca/2022/11/29/prospera-primera-iniciativa-legislativa-popular-79289984.html">either abstained from voting for the law –as the People’s Party, the Spanish conservative party did–, or voted against it –as Vox, a far-right party did</a>. Tragically, the enforcement of a law meant to protect long-term interests and the wellbeing of future generations is immediately under threat from shortsighted political interests.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209946/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Las personas firmantes no son asalariadas, ni consultoras, ni poseen acciones, ni reciben financiación de ninguna compañía u organización que pueda obtener beneficio de este artículo, y han declarado carecer de vínculos relevantes más allá del cargo académico citado anteriormente.</span></em></p>The Balearic islands have passed a pioneering law protecting the well-being of present and future generations. Can it be successful?Morten Fibieger Byskov, Teaching Fellow, Utrecht UniversityJeroen Hopster, Assistant Professor in Ethics, Utrecht UniversityJúlia Isern Bennassar, Sustainability Lawyer, Utrecht UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2108172023-08-02T15:10:46Z2023-08-02T15:10:46ZWild times in Madrid’s roaring 20s: how Spain’s youth partied hard before Franco took away their dance halls<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540445/original/file-20230801-16611-vs9gal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C11%2C1908%2C1161&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">'For a peseta a drink you can dance all afternoon, even if you wear racket trousers, with a line-up of pretty girls'. Photograph by Contreras y Vilaseca illustrating a news item about dances in the magazine 'Estampa' of 31 July 1928.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/hd/es/viewer?id=0e65f3cb-c456-43f4-bf10-31e6a80081e2&page=33">Hemeroteca Digital / BNE</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It is often thought that wild dance clubs only arrived in Spain in the late 1970s and 80s, once the dictatorship ended and the country had been freed from the ghosts of Franco’s conservatism. But evidence shows that 100 years ago (or even more) so-called <a href="https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=7992681">“<em>dancings</em>” were happening in Madrid and Barcelona</a>. In these clubs, boys and girls went to move their bodies for hours – and to find someone to end the evening with. </p>
<p>The dictatorship closed down many of them and severely condemned the free and carefree behaviour they harboured. However, traces of their existence can be found today in the country’s historical archives. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512213/original/file-20230224-2021-hria2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An article on dances in Madrid in 1935." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512213/original/file-20230224-2021-hria2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512213/original/file-20230224-2021-hria2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512213/original/file-20230224-2021-hria2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512213/original/file-20230224-2021-hria2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512213/original/file-20230224-2021-hria2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512213/original/file-20230224-2021-hria2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512213/original/file-20230224-2021-hria2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Article in <em>Estampa</em> of 16 February 1935 illustrating the dance fever in Madrid.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/hd/es/viewer?id=ac5c5b61-eb01-46e7-9c08-007ebf012d3e&page=28">Hemeroteca Digital /BNE</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Dance fever</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512188/original/file-20230224-804-upvii2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Crónica magazine report on a dance marathon in Madrid lasting 1,000 hours." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512188/original/file-20230224-804-upvii2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512188/original/file-20230224-804-upvii2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=823&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512188/original/file-20230224-804-upvii2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=823&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512188/original/file-20230224-804-upvii2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=823&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512188/original/file-20230224-804-upvii2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1035&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512188/original/file-20230224-804-upvii2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1035&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512188/original/file-20230224-804-upvii2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1035&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Crónica magazine report on a dance marathon at the Circo Price in Madrid lasting 1,000 hours.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/hd/es/viewer?id=65d3c64b-4b11-471f-b241-1ddc4315f42f&page=12">Hemeroteca Digital / BNE</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The origin of these dance halls goes back to the interwar years (1918-1936). During those frenetic decades, big cities started to host new places for fun and socialising, such as cinemas, cabarets, modern bars and also commercial dances. </p>
<p>At that time, urban youth lived immersed in the “dance craze”, an obsession with dancing that followed the opening of the first <em>dancings</em> “for all audiences”, which, like today, were accessible by paying an entrance fee (cheap, in general, and even more so for girls). </p>
<p>In Madrid, before the outbreak of the civil war, there were around 50 such theatres.</p>
<p>The newspapers of the time were quick to echo this new fashion which, <a href="https://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/hd/es/viewer?id=8d217ba2-7757-4fac-8e4f-f81b8619d857&page=16">they said</a>, had duped the youth: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>What does it matter to those infinite, innumerable crowds of dancers stubbornly parodying totemic monsters suddenly and fantastically animated by African tam-tam or Yankee jazz, the spiritual and aesthetic problem of their respective homelands? Don’t talk to them about books, or art, or science, or nature, or morality, or home, or love other than flirtations in dancing or the cinema, the stadium bleachers and the front seat of the car. What matters to them is to disjoint the body, to seek the grotesque arrhythmia of the forms, to obey the stridencies of what is already very accurately called “a cocktail of music”. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>These commercial dances were closed premises in which, daily in the evenings, and all day on Sundays and holidays, <em>dancings</em> called <em>populares</em> or <em>de modistillas</em> were organised. They were animated by the music of a barrel organ, a gramophone or a modern tango orchestra or jazz band. Halls might be humble or grand but all were defined by a large central dance floor. This could be surrounded by wooden benches or couches, tables, lighting, mirrors, carpets, curtains and other decorative elements, in the finest examples. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512221/original/file-20230224-1850-xbycv0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Reportaje en la revista Crónica de 1931 sobre academias de baile." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512221/original/file-20230224-1850-xbycv0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512221/original/file-20230224-1850-xbycv0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512221/original/file-20230224-1850-xbycv0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512221/original/file-20230224-1850-xbycv0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512221/original/file-20230224-1850-xbycv0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512221/original/file-20230224-1850-xbycv0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512221/original/file-20230224-1850-xbycv0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Report in the magazine <em>Crónica</em> of May 1931 on dance academies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/hd/es/viewer?id=1e195c93-5def-462f-9784-59d846639c7c&page=12">Hemeroteca Digital / BNE</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The love of dancing among young people was not a phenomenon exclusive to the interwar years. Earlier, open-air dances were often organised in picnic areas, parks and open fields. But the appearance of the new commercial halls transformed these informal celebrations – especially because, unlike their predecessors, the new <em>dancings</em> were exclusively for young people. </p>
<p>Boys and girls from very different neighbourhoods of the city went to them to spend time partying far from the gaze of their families. This allowed them to let themselves be carried away by the unbridled rhythms of the new modern music and also to surrender to the weaknesses of the flesh. </p>
<h2><em>Dancing</em> – and flirting</h2>
<p>The new commercial dance halls unleashed open and uninhibited amorous and sexual behaviour among popular youth. To begin with, the very nature of these venues demanded close encounters and contact between boys and girls. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512183/original/file-20230224-991-b4cons.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A newspaper page from 1936 on the subject of open-air dances." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512183/original/file-20230224-991-b4cons.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512183/original/file-20230224-991-b4cons.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=803&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512183/original/file-20230224-991-b4cons.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=803&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512183/original/file-20230224-991-b4cons.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=803&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512183/original/file-20230224-991-b4cons.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1009&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512183/original/file-20230224-991-b4cons.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1009&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512183/original/file-20230224-991-b4cons.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1009&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Page from the magazine <em>Cronica</em> on 19 July 1936 in which it talks about open-air dances and the opportunity to meet a partner.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/hd/es/viewer?id=5b3da161-816b-4dcd-a989-9ab4404b01df&page=14">Hemeroteca BNE</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Even if you went there alone, you would dance with a partner and finding this partner was the mission of every young man. So much so that for those who were not very fortunate, the service of “taxi-girls” was introduced in some venues: girls who were hired by the venue’s impresario to dance with the unpaired. </p>
<p>Boys and girls took advantage of their proximity to the opposite sex to exchange glances, get closer, talk and touch each other. They went to flirt and find a partner without needing the approval of their parents. </p>
<p>Dances thus became true incubators of formal courtships, but also of transient romances or “express boyfriends”, as they were called at the time. <a href="https://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/hd/es/viewer?id=5b3da161-816b-4dcd-a989-9ab4404b01df&page=14">As the magazine <em>Crónica</em> pointed out in July 1936</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“At these dances of our democratic era, where you can find a partner without having to be introduced, […] you girls of today dance with this boy whom you did not know yesterday and you do not know what he may be for you tomorrow.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Although at first sight it might seem an insignificant phenomenon, the appearance of these <em>dancings</em> brought about a cultural change of enormous importance. By making these new forms of meeting and contact between young people possible, these venues helped to widen the margins of what was considered normal or respectable in terms of flirting and erotic exchanges within leisure spaces, and also outside them. Although they did not know it, the foxtrot and tango steps those young people took were helping to build the new culture of modern entertainment.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210817/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cristina de Pedro Álvarez receives funding from Complutense University of Madrid.</span></em></p>Let’s take a walk around Madrid a hundred years ago and meet the discotheques, pubs and unrestrained dancing of the roaring twenties.Cristina de Pedro Álvarez, Investigadora posdoctoral. Especialista en historia Urbana, historia de la sexualidad, historia de género y cultura popular, Universidad Complutense de MadridLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2104762023-07-26T18:01:55Z2023-07-26T18:01:55ZWhat’s happening in Spain after the general election (and what it means for the presidency of the Council of the EU)<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539475/original/file-20230726-25-2y87qu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C11%2C3749%2C2794&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Picture of the Spanish Congress of Deputies on Thursday 18 May.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.congreso.es/es/fotonoticias?p_p_id=fotonoticias&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&_fotonoticias_mvcPath=detalle&_fotonoticias_fotonId=4382">Congreso de los Diputados</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Spaniards voted in a general election on 23 July. <a href="https://theconversation.com/spanish-elections-why-devastating-local-losses-to-the-right-have-forced-socialist-prime-minister-pedro-sanchez-to-call-an-early-national-vote-206774">The election was called early</a>. Pedro Sánchez, the current acting prime minister, brought it forward after the Socialist Party (PSOE) polled poorly in municipal and regional elections on 28 May, and the prospect of an internal rebellion within the party loomed.</p>
<p>The polls, up to 22 July, indicated that the winner of the general election would be the right-wing bloc: the People’s Party (PP) would be able to form a government with Vox (<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/02633957211019587?casa_token=iLmNQm2DV9cAAAAA%3AKT22sCE8dMomH2NDzCx9HQyRQugrFKDzEReObgGxf36yUMUirXUBjyR0pONEFXlSCOLCKdrxnG-ihg">populist far right-wing party</a>), with which it has already governed in coalition in regions and municipalities. </p>
<p>At the same time, the polls saw the Socialist Party (PSOE) and Sumar (a grand coalition of left-wing parties) losing votes. </p>
<h2>Seat mathematics</h2>
<p>Pending the results of voters abroad, which may lead to changes in some constituencies but would not substantially alter the overall situation, <a href="https://efe.com/elecciones-23j/2023-07-24/elecciones-resultados-encuestas-23j-fallar/">this predicted triumph has not materialised</a>. </p>
<p>In the Spanish parliamentary system the election of the prime minister takes place in the 350-seat Congress of Deputies. The absolute majority is therefore reached at 176 seats. </p>
<p>The PP, the winner of the elections, has won 136 seats and Vox 33, totalling 169 between them. To this could be added two more seats from regionalist parties, reaching a maximum of 171 seats. </p>
<p>The coalition of the left could count on the PSOE, which won 122, and Sumar 31. That is, 153. All the minority left-wing or pro-independence Basque or Catalan parties that are likely to support the PSOE (and which already did so, in one way or another, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-spains-new-left-wing-coalition-fits-into-europes-shifting-political-allegiances-127144">in the previous government</a>) add another 19 seats, which would make a total of 172 in that bloc. In other words, the PSOE and its partners are a little closer to forming a government than the PP.</p>
<p>The fact that the PP can agree with Vox, <a href="https://theconversation.com/vox-how-to-understand-the-peculiarities-of-spains-hard-right-movement-115525">with an increasingly conservative and illiberal discourse</a>, disqualifies it from agreeing with other old partners. For example, the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), of former Christian Democrats, which has another five seats, has flatly refused to sit down at the negotiating table with Vox.</p>
<p>The seven seats that have not yet been counted would be those belonging to the Catalan pro-independence party Junts per Catalunya, the party of <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/d9ca7c62-6790-4601-a104-14a378db44e9">Carles Puigdemont</a>, who remains in exile in Belgium more than six years on from arranging an illegal referendum.</p>
<h2>What happened?</h2>
<p>To begin with, the question in the minds of the leaders and voters of the PP and Vox, which performed worse than expected, is what went wrong? The private polls contracted by the media were predicting a right-wing government. Only the public polls of the CIS (Sociological National Research Agency) showed the PSOE as the winner. </p>
<p>The problem has been expectation vs reality. The results of the regional elections were projected as if they could be the results of the national elections, without taking into account possible changes, for structural and circumstantial reasons.</p>
<p>An important structural element is the will consolidated in the 1978 Spanish Constitution <a href="https://www.boe.es/biblioteca_juridica/anuarios_derecho/abrir_pdf.php?id=ANU-M-1998-10027900308">for all regions to be represented</a> in Congress. Electoral legislation establishes that the 52 constituencies have a minimum of two deputies each. The complicated outcome of the elections stems, in large part, from this territorial representation. </p>
<p>Moreover, when extrapolating the results of 28 May, when the right wing triumphed, several regions had not voted, because they do not elect representatives at the same time as the rest of the country. The results were therefore skewed by the absence of votes from the Basque Country, Catalonia and Andalusia, among others. In the case of the general election, the consequence has been a left-wing vote or one that has added seats to the left-wing option. </p>
<p>But regional votes pose <a href="https://theconversation.com/does-spanish-nationalism-exist-209052">a challenge for possible left-wing coalition</a> negotiations. In the Basque Country it would mean counting on the support of EH Bildu (still controversial for being the “political arm” of the former terrorist group ETA). And in Catalonia, the nationalist parties Junts per Catalunya and ERC would have to be included. Both, despite declining in support compared to 2019, are now decisive. It should be borne in mind that Junts, in exchange for an agreement, is asking for a referendum on independence for Catalonia, something that the PSOE flatly rejects. </p>
<p>The electorate also appears to have been unclear about what the limits of a PP pact with Vox would be. It remains to be seen whether this could have been a factor in the abstention of PP voters and the alienation of the party’s core voters.</p>
<h2>What happens now?</h2>
<p>King Felipe VI must call the party most likely to form a government, i.e. the one with the most support in Congress. If its candidate gets enough support in a first vote (absolute majority), the king will name a prime minister. If not, 48 hours later another vote will be held in which a simple majority will be sought.</p>
<p>If, after two months, no candidate obtains sufficient support, the king will be informed and new elections will be called, which would take place at the end of the year.</p>
<p>The current election result produced a distortion in this process, as the party with the most votes is not the one with enough support to form a government. Currently, PP is asking PSOE to reach an agreement with it and allow Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of PP, to become prime minister. This is not likely to happen.</p>
<h2>The EU Council presidency</h2>
<p>All this chaos has repercussions at a European level. </p>
<p>From 1 July until 31 December, <a href="https://theconversation.com/spains-eu-presidency-is-an-opportunity-to-reset-relations-with-latin-america-and-the-caribbean-209341">Spain holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union</a>. </p>
<p>The incumbent government, on behalf of the country, is responsible for running the meetings related to this role. Political leadership is required to seek consensus, and develop international relationships. Consensus-building in the context of the European Union entails calm work, which must be carried out by experts with legitimacy and political capacity. </p>
<p>Institutional representation corresponds to the presiding country, but the capacity to advance policies lies with those political leaders who seek agreements and advance ideas. It remains to be seen whether the incumbent, acting government has the capacity to exercise such leadership.</p>
<p>However, the proposals of the Spanish presidency have been decided beforehand in an agenda coordinated by the previous and two subsequent presidencies.</p>
<p>EU institutions are used to changes of government, as they are in an eternal electoral cycle in the member states. In this case, the novelty is the heavy responsibility that falls on the shoulders of the Spanish presidency during these months. Amid a possible deadlock in Spain and an end-of-year general election, Pedro Sanchez would lead Spain for almost the entirety of its presidency of the council. </p>
<p>Internationally, Spain is considered a politically stable country, with institutions and parties that respond to general interests and a position in the European context that, despite some complicated periods, responds to obligations. An election resulting in difficulties in forming a government should not ultimately alter that.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210476/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carmen Isolina Egea Gutiérrez - Cortines no recibe salario, ni ejerce labores de consultoría, ni posee acciones, ni recibe financiación de ninguna compañía u organización que pueda obtener beneficio de este artículo, y ha declarado carecer de vínculos relevantes más allá del cargo académico citado.</span></em></p>The general elections in Spain have left a confusing scenario in which party agreements will be the main protagonists.Carmen Isolina Egea Gutiérrez - Cortines, Profesora Políticas Públicas y Unión Europea, Universidad Francisco de VitoriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2100092023-07-20T20:59:32Z2023-07-20T20:59:32ZEarly elections in Spain: The socialists’ risky bet against the rising power of the right<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538325/original/file-20230719-23-fll0xs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C0%2C1920%2C1267&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Left or right: that will be the choice of Spanish voters in the early general elections on July 23, which could see a far-right party enter government.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Spanish voters are headed to the polls on July 23, in the midst of the summer holiday period.</p>
<p>Two questions will keep analysts busy until well after the election. First, will it be possible to form a government supported by a stable majority in parliament? And second, will the government include elected officials from Vox, a far-right party <a href="https://www.elconfidencial.com/espana/2022-02-06/abascal-aboga-natalidad-nacional-frenar-despoblacion_3370945/">hostile to immigration</a>, as <a href="https://elpais.com/espana/elecciones-generales/2023-06-27/vox-intenta-ganar-el-voto-de-las-mujeres-ofreciendoles-proteccion-mientras-las-priva-de-derechos.html">well as the rights of women</a> and <a href="https://elpais.com/espana/elecciones-generales/2023-06-29/ni-matrimonios-ni-adopcion-ni-cambio-de-sexo-en-la-sanidad-publica-los-derechos-lgtbi-que-vox-quiere-restringir.html">sexual</a> and <a href="https://www.telecinco.es/noticias/espana/20230619/santiago-abascal-entrevista-ana-rosa-violencia-genero-no-existe_18_09826565.html">gender</a> minorities?</p>
<p>If the conservatives of the Partido Popular (PP) win and Vox holds the balance of power, <a href="https://theconversation.com/espagne-lextreme-droite-pourrait-faire-son-entree-au-gouvernement-202569">the far right will join a governing coalition for the first time since the consolidation of Spanish democracy</a>.</p>
<p>As a doctoral student and lecturer in sociology at the Université du Québec à Montréal, my research focuses on the collective memory of the fascist past in democratic Spain and Italy.</p>
<h2>From regional and municipal elections to general elections</h2>
<p>The parties in the Spanish governing coalition suffered a historic defeat in the May 28 regional and municipal elections.</p>
<p><a href="https://elpais.com/espana/elecciones/autonomicas/">The PP should soon lead 11 regions, against three for the socialists</a>. Before the regional elections, these two parties led five and nine regions, respectively. <a href="https://www.elconfidencial.com/espana/2023-06-12/vox-llama-pp-pactar-135-ayuntamientos-necesita-votos-rechaza-chantajes_3663852/">The PP is also expected to govern in coalition with Vox in 135 municipalities</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://cadenaser.com/nacional/2023/05/28/el-pp-arrasa-en-las-elecciones-del-28-m-y-tine-de-azul-el-mapa-local-y-autonomico-cadena-ser/">The PP’s progress has been marked</a>: Nationally, the party gained nearly two million votes compared to the November 2019 general election, peaking at 31.5 per cent of the vote. The socialists (PSOE) suffered a modest decline of 430,000 votes compared to 2019, receiving 28 per cent of the vote. Still, the collapse of Podemos, their coalition partner, puts the left in a precarious position.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Three men in suits stand beside a woman wearing white" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537127/original/file-20230712-28-aqfqaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537127/original/file-20230712-28-aqfqaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537127/original/file-20230712-28-aqfqaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537127/original/file-20230712-28-aqfqaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537127/original/file-20230712-28-aqfqaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537127/original/file-20230712-28-aqfqaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537127/original/file-20230712-28-aqfqaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Partido popular’s candidate Nunez Feijóo shakes hands with Spanish Prime Minister and socialist candidate Pedro Sánchez before the televised debate ahead of the Spanish general election in Madrid on July 10, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The PP, for its part, absorbed <a href="https://www.publico.es/politica/tragicomedia-ciudadanos-cinco-actos.html">Ciudadanos, a right-wing party whose centrist turn was obviously a failure</a> and <a href="https://www.eldiario.es/politica/ciudadanos-decide-no-presentarse-generales-23j-certifica-defuncion_1_10251795.html">who gave up running in the general elections</a>. Vox, for its part, has made significant progress compared to previous regional and municipal elections, and holds the balance of power in five regions won by the PP.</p>
<p>Thus, Vox continues its momentum, driven by the tensions that the plurinational nature of Spain (Catalonia, Basque Country) entails, and by the reluctance of the most conservative component of the Catholic electorate to develop the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people. It follows the example of other far-right political forces that have gained power in Europe in recent years. The party hopes to see a similar progression to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/italy-giorgia-meloni-government-1.6624580">Giorgia Meloni</a>’s Fratelli d'Italia and Matteo Salvini’s Lega, which took power in Italy last October. <a href="https://elpais.com/espana/elecciones-generales/2023-07-09/abascal-quiere-negociar-con-feijoo-medidas-copiadas-del-ultra-orban-que-rechaza-el-pp-europeo.html">The party dreams of emulating its ally, Viktor Orban</a>, who has ruled Hungary since 2010.</p>
<p>Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the PP, had carefully avoided the question of alliances between his party and Vox until recently, <a href="https://elpais.com/opinion/2023-06-14/feijoo-bendice-a-vox.html">attributing solely a regional level of coalition between these parties</a>. He has been confronted by this question on a daily basis since the general election was called.</p>
<h2>Democracy against the far right?</h2>
<p>The outgoing prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, is used to risky endeavours. In 2019, he called early elections in November, after being elected a minority during the April election. Lacking the desired gains, he then formed a coalition with Podemos.</p>
<p>In the aftermath of the May 28 elections, he called a general election, <a href="https://elpais.com/espana/2023-05-29/sanchez-adelanta-las-elecciones-al-23-de-julio-ante-el-fiasco-de-las-autonomicas.html">invoking the clear message sent by the population, to the end of Spain’s term of office as rotating president of the Council of the European Union</a>.</p>
<p>In strategic terms, Sánchez’s decision is a risky venture. He hopes to dampen the conservative momentum in the hope that the PP and Vox will run out of a majority. In the May 28 elections, the <a href="https://www.larazon.es/espana/sanchez-adelanta-elecciones-porque-vox-llegan-40_20230530647595e43d230000013b2a0f.html">PP and Vox won 38.68 per cent of the vote</a>, which, in the general election, would result in 160 seats, far from the 176 needed for a parliamentary majority. The long-term trend is to erode the socialist vote and increase the number of votes in favour of the PP: A vote in July rather than in December could leave the right with too little time and cost it the majority.</p>
<h2>The left bets on unity</h2>
<p>Socialists are calling for a stand-off against the far right. The election campaign coincides with negotiations on the formation of coalitions to govern the autonomous regions. <a href="https://elpais.com/espana/elecciones-autonomicas/2023-06-13/el-pp-y-vox-acuerdan-formar-un-gobierno-de-coalicion-en-la-comunidad-valenciana.html">The PP has already agreed with Vox to form coalitions in Valencia</a> and <a href="https://elpais.com/espana/elecciones-autonomicas/2023-06-30/lea-el-texto-de-la-alianza-de-pp-y-vox-en-extremadura.html">Extremadura</a>. The conservatives negotiated the abstention of the far right in the Balearic Islands in <a href="https://www.elmundo.es/baleares/2023/06/28/649c5feffdddffe6418b45cc.html">exchange for the presidency of parliament</a>, but without conceding a ministerial portfolio to Vox. <a href="https://www.eldiario.es/politica/sanchez-clama-movilizacion-izquierda-evitar-papelon-gobierno-feijoo-abascal_1_10305593.html">The PSOE relies on these alliances to mobilize its electorate</a>.</p>
<p>In order to better deal with the threat posed by the far right, the left is committed to unity. Political forces to the left of the PSOE rallied in a new party, Sumar, led by outgoing Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz. This will avoid the division of the vote that cost Podemos dearly on May 28.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman takes a pictures of a political banner" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537132/original/file-20230712-15-tqsi4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537132/original/file-20230712-15-tqsi4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537132/original/file-20230712-15-tqsi4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537132/original/file-20230712-15-tqsi4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537132/original/file-20230712-15-tqsi4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537132/original/file-20230712-15-tqsi4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537132/original/file-20230712-15-tqsi4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A banner unfurled in Pedro Zerolo Square urges people to vote against the hate alliance on July 10th, 2023, in Madrid.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP/IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR AVAAZ — NGO)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the campaign, the PSOE and Sumar agree on the options available to voters: a left-wing bloc, heir to a progressive government; and a right-wing and far-right bloc, which wants to dismantle the social policies put in place by the left.</p>
<h2>The right hesitates, then assumes its alliances</h2>
<p>To counter the socialist call to block the far right, Feijóo’s PP adjusted its strategy. <a href="https://cadenaser.com/nacional/2023/06/01/feijoo-sobre-los-pactos-con-vox-si-quieren-derogar-el-sanchismo-pueden-facilitarlo-cadena-ser/">He first called on Vox to let his party govern the regions where he came out on top without making concessions to the far right</a>.</p>
<p>He also called on Sánchez and his party’s elected representatives to pledge to abstain during the inauguration of the future Spanish government, if this is necessary to allow the winning party to govern alone. <a href="https://www.telecinco.es/elprogramadeanarosa/20230704/gobierno-pedro-sanchez-ana-rosa_18_09953987.html">The socialist leader refused to commit to this, recalling the opposition of the PP to the inauguration of the socialists following the two general elections of 2019</a>.</p>
<p>The right wanted to capitalize on the momentum given to it in the May 28 elections by avoiding giving ammunition to the socialists with too close an alliance with Vox. The PP is now transparent <a href="https://elpais.com/espana/elecciones-generales/2023-07-03/feijoo-afirma-que-gobernara-en-solitario-si-tiene-mas-escanos-que-la-izquierda-y-que-se-aliara-con-vox-si-necesita-su-sus-votos.html">about its readiness to bring Vox into the central government</a> if the support of its members of parliament is needed for its inauguration.</p>
<h2>The right has few allies</h2>
<p>This change of course reflects a persistent problem for the PP: in a fragmented party system, the <a href="https://elpais.com/podcasts/hoy-en-el-pais/2023-06-12/podcast-sirve-un-cordon-sanitario-para-frenar-a-la-extrema-derecha.html">right has few potential allies in parliament</a>, <a href="https://www.eldiario.es/politica/feijoo-defiende-pacto-extrema-derecha-vox-accedio-propuesta-hizo-acuerdo-sencillo_1_10294812.html">deeming alliances with the Basque and Catalan nationalist parties illegitimate</a>.</p>
<p>To those who ask him about the risks of a coalition with Vox, Feijóo passes the ball back to Sánchez with what many see as a <a href="https://elpais.com/defensor-a-del-lector/2023-06-25/por-que-llamamos-ultra-a-vox-y-no-a-podemos.html">false equivalence</a>. The socialist leader, at the head of a coalition with the left-wing populists of <a href="https://elpais.com/espana/elecciones-generales/2023-07-05/sanchez-y-feijoo-se-lanzan-a-la-caza-del-voto-fronterizo-entre-psoe-y-pp.html">Podemos, sometimes needed the support of the Basque and Catalan separatists during the last legislature, but he did not allow them to govern</a>.</p>
<h2>Voter turnout, a key element for socialists</h2>
<p>While Sánchez calls for curbing the rise of the far right, <a href="https://www.larazon.es/espana/feijoo-proclama-candidatura-presidencia-gobierno-unir-espanoles-que-espana-deje-perder_202305306475deb75199f300018d3afc.html">Feijóo wants to frame the July 23 election as a referendum on the Sánchez years</a>.</p>
<p>Voter turnout will be a key element of socialist success, but elections held in the summer tend to demobilize the electorate, which risks benefiting the right.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="In a bar, people sit at a table with the TV on" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537126/original/file-20230712-19-c78e4y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537126/original/file-20230712-19-c78e4y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537126/original/file-20230712-19-c78e4y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537126/original/file-20230712-19-c78e4y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537126/original/file-20230712-19-c78e4y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537126/original/file-20230712-19-c78e4y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537126/original/file-20230712-19-c78e4y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People watch, indifferently, the televised debate between the candidates in the July 23 election. Elections held in the summer tend to demobilize the electorate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In this context, <a href="https://elpais.com/espana/elecciones-generales/2023-06-05/sanchez-plantea-seis-debates-cara-a-cara-con-feijoo-hasta-las-elecciones-uno-por-semana.html">Sánchez wants to force his opponent to debate</a>, while <a href="https://www.eldiario.es/politica/feijoo-rechaza-seis-cara-cara-propuestos-sanchez_1_10267825.html">Feijóo is happy with a weak engagement of the electorate</a>. <a href="https://www.ondacero.es/elecciones/generales/asi-sido-debate-cara-cara-pedro-sanchez-nunez-feijoo_2023071164ac8277bcaee000012a3461.html">He accepted only a face-to-face debate with Sanchez</a>, while the latter takes advantage of all the invitations on the <a href="https://elpais.com/espana/elecciones-generales/2023-07-05/entrevistando-a-pedro-sanchez.html">television sets</a> to try to convince the public to grant him another mandate.</p>
<h2>Calculated risk?</h2>
<p>Sánchez plays big in these elections: his failure would bring the far right to power for the first time in 45 years of democracy. This would be an indelible stain on his political career.</p>
<p>For now, <a href="https://elpais.com/espana/elecciones-generales/2023-07-13/el-pp-aumenta-su-ventaja-y-suma-seis-escanos-desde-el-cara-a-cara-con-sanchez.html">polls show the PP winning, but a coalition with Vox may not be enough to give it a majority</a>. Under the circumstances, Sánchez clings to the hope of staying in power despite the expected victory of the PP. If he gets the chance, he’ll certainly face an uphill battle in negotiating the support of the many parties he’ll need for his inauguration.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210009/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michel-Philippe Robitaille received funding from the Fonds de recherche du Québec - Société et culture and the Canada Research Chair in the Sociology of Social Conflict.</span></em></p>If the conservatives win the election and Vox holds the balance of power, the far right will take part in a governmental coalition for the first time since the consolidation of Spanish democracy.Michel-Philippe Robitaille, Doctorant et chargé de cours en sociologie, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2100632023-07-20T08:47:22Z2023-07-20T08:47:22ZThe 1930s municipal elections that put an end to the monarchy in Spain<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538230/original/file-20230719-25-bubhbt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C992%2C736&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Proclamation of the Second Republic in Spain. Crowds with banners and flags.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://catalogos.mecd.es/IPCE/cgi-ipce/ipcefototeca?TITN=193844">Archivo Baldomero y Aguayo, IPCE, Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Sometimes, when we take certain decisions, we get more than what we bargained for. This unforeseen turnaround is especially striking when a political leader triggers an electoral process which, along the way, is redefined by the opposition or by the citizens.</p>
<p>We have seen this in the case of referendums that were intended as mere ratification procedures. Take the unexpected victories of the “No” vote in the plebiscites on the <a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/en/sheet/3/los-tratados-de-maastricht-y-amsterdam">Maastricht Treaty</a> in Denmark in 1992, for example, or on the European Constitution in France and the Netherlands in 2005. We saw it in the surprise approval of Brexit in the United Kingdom in 2016, too.</p>
<p>In these examples, the result was the opposite of what was expected, as voters cast their ballots to punish the government, protest against the elites or vent national anger rather than pronounce themselves on the issue at hand.</p>
<p>This repurposing can also impact on other elections. This was partly the case of the Spanish municipal and regional elections on 28 May.</p>
<p>For many people, the ballot did not decide the local or regional future: it was simply a referendum on the continuity of the socialist government. The opposition’s ability to focus the debate on the government of Pedro Sánchez resulted in a victory for the (ultra-)conservative bloc in almost all the fiefdoms at stake.</p>
<p>This is also how Sánchez himself understood it. <a href="https://theconversation.com/spanish-elections-why-devastating-local-losses-to-the-right-have-forced-socialist-prime-minister-pedro-sanchez-to-call-an-early-national-vote-206774">To prevent the defeat from turning into a tsunami</a>, the following day he called a general election for 23 July.</p>
<p>Almost a century ago, another call for local elections led to the fall of the Spanish Monarchy and the birth of the Second Republic.</p>
<h2>The Republican 14 April</h2>
<p>Under the Bourbon Restoration (1874-1931), all elections in Spain were won by the party that called them. These victories had little to do with luck or political merit and everything to do with a series of carefully crafted political mechanisms that ensured continuity.</p>
<p>Among them, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turno">“peaceful turn”</a>, a pre-agreed alternation in the government of the conservatives and the liberals, ensured that both parties would get to govern every other legislation.</p>
<p>Another one, the <a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encasillado"><em>encasillado</em></a>, saw designated ministers from the incoming government allocate seats to MPs in a bid to help them secure the comfortable majority required to govern.</p>
<p>Finally, the <a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caciquismo_(Espa%C3%B1a)"><em>caciquismo</em></a>, which extended its tentacles well into the 20th century, established clientelist relationships between politicians and powerful people in different regions, facilitating frauds in the general elections. </p>
<p>However, the system gradually deteriorated, reaching its worst point under the dictatorship of General Miguel Primo de Rivera (1923–1930).</p>
<p>Deeply unpopular under the dictatorship, King Alfonso XIII sought to burnish his credentials by returning to the previous political system. The ruler began by calling local elections. Convinced that they were less bureaucratic and closer to the people, Alfonso XIII also thought they were least prone to political surprises.</p>
<p>A majority of citizens begged to differ, however, turning to the ballot boxes to speak out against the continuity of the House of Bourbon.</p>
<p>Elections were held on 12 April 1931 and the count took some time. Two days later, the 14th of April, the Second Republic was proclaimed.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535336/original/file-20230703-267810-2coxks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A newspaper front page indicating that the Spanish municipal elections of April 1931 were won by the Republic" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535336/original/file-20230703-267810-2coxks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535336/original/file-20230703-267810-2coxks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=910&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535336/original/file-20230703-267810-2coxks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=910&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535336/original/file-20230703-267810-2coxks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=910&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535336/original/file-20230703-267810-2coxks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1143&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535336/original/file-20230703-267810-2coxks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1143&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535336/original/file-20230703-267810-2coxks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1143&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Front page of the <em>Heraldo de Madrid</em>, 13 April 1931.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:13_d%27abril_portada.jpg">Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What mattered was not the overall result. The regime won the majority of councillors by dominating the more rural provinces, where elections often only comprised of one candidate and were therefore prewritten. The important votes were the ones where universal male suffrage – women’s suffrage was still not allowed – could freely express its choice. That is, mostly urban areas.</p>
<p>In Madrid and Barcelona, the Republican opposition managed to respectively triple and quadruple the scores of monarchist candidates. The triumph reverberated in the majority of provincial capitals, turning the plebiscite into the <a href="https://www.catarata.org/libro/las-elecciones-que-acabaron-con-la-monarquia_147249/">“elections that ended the monarchy”</a>.</p>
<p>The episode long stuck with the Spanish political class. In fact, when the historical circumstances were repeated, that memory was a major conditioning factor. Seeking to transition from a dictatorship to a democratic regime after Franco’s death, the government of Adolfo Suárez delayed the local elections until 3 April 1979.</p>
<p>In the meantime, Suárez called two referendums (a political reform law in 1976 and on the constitution in 1978) and two general elections (the Constituent Assembly in 1977 and the first legislature in 1979). That meant that local and provincial councils maintained their Francoist composition for more than three additional years after the dictator’s death.</p>
<h2>A coin toss</h2>
<p>There are also precedents of electoral gambles that paid off.</p>
<p>On 12 March 1986, prime minister Felipe González honoured his electoral pledge by calling a referendum on Spain’s membership of NATO. The plebiscite was to testify of a change in the position of the socialist (Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, PSOE) leadership, leaving behind its initial “NATO, no from the outset”.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535338/original/file-20230703-266856-scz41f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Ballot asking citizens whether they want Spain to join NATO" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535338/original/file-20230703-266856-scz41f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535338/original/file-20230703-266856-scz41f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=839&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535338/original/file-20230703-266856-scz41f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=839&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535338/original/file-20230703-266856-scz41f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=839&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535338/original/file-20230703-266856-scz41f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1054&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535338/original/file-20230703-266856-scz41f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1054&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535338/original/file-20230703-266856-scz41f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1054&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ballot for the 1986 NATO referendum.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Papeleta_OTAN_blanco.png">Junta Electoral/Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The opposition, however, had other ideas, and attempted to frame the referendum as an opportunity to undermine the government’s absolute majority and a first round of the general elections scheduled for that same year.</p>
<p>Thus, the entire left wing of the PSOE actively called for a “No” vote. They were joined by some dissident leaders, the Socialist Youth and the (then still) sister union of the UGT. The Popular Coalition (PC) – the forerunner of today’s conservative Popular Party (PP) – advocated abstention to pile pressure on the government, and Jordi Pujol’s conservative <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convergence_and_Union">CiU</a> went so far as to discreetly campaign in favour of a “No” vote to wear down the socialist government.</p>
<p>Some would voice regret years after these tactics discredited them both at home and abroad, and above all, failed to achieve their goal.</p>
<p>Although the “No” vote won in Catalonia, the Basque Country, Navarre and the Canary Islands, “Yes” triumphed overall with 56.85%. Much to the delight of the opposition at the time, González had gone so far as to condition his continuation on the final result… and he won.</p>
<p>Moreover, not only did he overcome the abyss of the plebiscite, but he also took advantage of the changing tide. He brought forward the elections from November to June and renew, despite losing 18 seats, the absolute majority of 1982.</p>
<p>Regardless of who ends up losing out on 23 July, the fact is that such agonising approaches alienate citizen consensus and democratic quality.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210063/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jaume Claret no recibe salario, ni ejerce labores de consultoría, ni posee acciones, ni recibe financiación de ninguna compañía u organización que pueda obtener beneficio de este artículo, y ha declarado carecer de vínculos relevantes más allá del cargo académico citado.</span></em></p>After the country’s municipal elections in May 2023, perceived as a plebiscite on the government, President Pedro Sánchez called for general elections.Jaume Claret, Historiador. Profesor agregado en los Estudios de Artes y Humanidades y director del Máster Universitario de Historia del Mundo Contemporáneo, UOC - Universitat Oberta de CatalunyaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2090522023-07-20T08:46:54Z2023-07-20T08:46:54ZDoes Spanish nationalism exist?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535483/original/file-20230704-25-5q2shi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C8%2C1911%2C1069&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/spanish-flags-sky-confetti-1496384390">Negro Elkha/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the last two decades, the Spanish political scene has been characterised by <a href="https://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/analisis/la-resiliencia-democratica-espanola-tras-una-decada-convulsa/">convulsion</a>. Among the many variables that shape this reality, one of them is the confrontation between the centre – Madrid – and the peripheral areas, some of which have their own distinct identity.</p>
<p>In Spain there are <a href="https://gredos.usal.es/bitstream/handle/10366/80052/Aproximacion_al_nacionalismo_espanol_con.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">different nationalisms</a>, including Catalan or Basque nationalism. There is also a Spanish nationalism of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castilian_nationalism">Castilian origin</a>. This nationalism has been deeply rooted in Spanish politics from the time of the Restoration in the second half of the 19th century.</p>
<p>In fact, allusions to peripheral nationalisms and their claims are constant, while there is hardly any reference to Spanish nationalism.</p>
<p>Does this “invisibility” mean that in Spain there is no feeling of identity to the whole nation that opposes regional nationalisms? To discover the answer to that question, we just need to review a little history.</p>
<p>In the fifteenth century, the Kingdoms of Aragon and Castile had been unified and the process of expansion to America, led by the Crown of Castile, had begun. At that time, we can only identify a certain “pre-national” identity that is more related to loyalty to the Spanish Monarchy and to the Spanish Empire than to a line of thought having to do with a national concept of Spain.</p>
<h2>When did the idea of Spain as a single nation arise?</h2>
<p>It was in the nineteenth century when a school of thought that promoted the unity and identity of Spain as a single and indivisible nation really emerged. This came about in a context of social unrest after the domestic <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peninsular_War">Peninsular war</a> and the traumatic loss of the American colonies. It was put forward by figures such as Spanish politicians <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_C%C3%A1novas_del_Castillo">Antonio Cánovas del Castillo</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Donoso_Cort%C3%A9s">Juan Donoso</a>, among others.</p>
<p>Ideas of centralism and the territorial unity of Spain were a significant part of this ideology. Patriotism and the defence of the nation were also central, as was Catholicism and traditionalism, reinforced by an opposition to more liberal currents that promoted the modernisation of Spain. These were perceived as a threat to Spanish identity and traditionalism.</p>
<p>This feeling of Spanish identity was reinforced <a href="https://e-revistas.uc3m.es/index.php/hispnov/article/view/1874">during the Franco dictatorship</a> of 1939-1975. Francoism used the ideological concepts of Spanish nationalism to justify its authoritarian and centralist regime, as well as harsh repression against any form of political dissent or claim for regional autonomy.</p>
<p>As was to be expected, during the transition to democracy (1976-1982), there was a strong resurgence of regional identity in Catalonia and the Basque Country. This demanded greater amounts of autonomy and self-government. In opposition to this, there wasn’t a significant reaction by Spanish nationalism, which had been weakened by its ideological proximity to Franco’s regime. </p>
<p>However, the consolidation of democracy and the overcoming of the Franco dictatorship – starting in the 1980s – entailed the strengthening of new political currents. These began to claim the national identity and territorial unity of Spain more vehemently, doing so in opposition to the peripheral nationalist movements.</p>
<h2>Is nationalist sentiment always right wing?</h2>
<p>Among the political parties that defend Spanish nationalism with great intensity is the People’s Party of Jose María Aznar, as well as several extreme right-wing groups. </p>
<p>But it is important to point out that Spanish nationalism is not an exclusive phenomenon of the political right. <a href="https://letraslibres.com/politica/izquierda-y-nacionalismo-teoria-historia-y-estrategia/">There are nationalist lines of thought on the left</a> that also defend the identity and unity of Spain. However, they do it from a broader perspective of dialogue.</p>
<p>Aznar’s tenure (1996-2004) was characterised by placing Spanish nationalism at the centre of the political scene. His government implemented initiatives that entailed a substantial change in the Spanish political context. </p>
<p>Among the most noteworthy is the breaking, by the Spanish government, of the balance established by <a href="https://app.congreso.es/consti/constitucion/indice/titulos/articulos.jsp?ini=137&fin=158&tipo=2">Title VIII of the Constitution</a>, which set <a href="https://app.congreso.es/consti/constitucion/indice/sinopsis/sinopsis.jsp?art=151&tipo=2">different levels of competence</a>
between historical autonomous communities (Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque Country) and <a href="https://app.congreso.es/consti/constitucion/indice/titulos/articulos.jsp?ini=143&tipo=2">the rest of the Spanish autonomous communities</a>. The Constitution of 1978 differentiated between those communities that had a statute of autonomy prior to the Spanish Civil War and those that did not. And gave these three more power to decide over their territories.</p>
<p>But the application of <a href="https://app.congreso.es/consti/constitucion/indice/titulos/articulos.jsp?ini=152&tipo=2">article 152</a> culminated in a policy of transfer of power that practically equated the competences of all communities.</p>
<p>Likewise, some other political initiatives have brought about a feeling of unfair treatment and contributed to a spiral of demands by the Catalan and Basque governments, which wish to maintain special status within the Spanish autonomous framework. These initiatives include the consolidation of a Spain that spreads in a radial manner out from Madrid, the tax policy of the Community of Madrid – more lax than in other communities – and the lack of investments in the Mediterranean region.</p>
<p>Finally, starting in 2010 and coinciding with the <a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentencia_del_Tribunal_Constitucional_sobre_el_Estatuto_de_Autonom%C3%ADa_de_Catalu%C3%B1a_de_2006">Constitutional Court’s ruling on the Catalan Statute</a>, a very turbulent stage of Spanish politics began, characterised by strong political confrontation between the various nationalisms.</p>
<h2>The feeling of identity of recent years</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RdsKh0N9Rc">The “Procès”</a> (Catalan Process for Sovereignty; 2010-2017) became a spiral of confrontation between Catalan nationalism and Spanish nationalism. The first one wanted to be recognised as a political player with the right to self-determination. Whereas the second one denied any possibility of negotiation, using all the State’s mechanisms available to prevent the referendum being held on October 1 2017.</p>
<p>It is within this context of “response to the Catalan independence movement” that we must note the significant growth of a feeling of Spanish identity in recent years. The implementation – from Spain’s right-wing conservative, liberal, and radical parties (PP, Cs, and Vox) – of policies and campaigns aimed at confrontation with peripheral nationalisms were also born after that event.</p>
<p>They intend to reinforce the principles of centralisation, national identity, and territorial unity – principles so typical of <a href="https://aragondigital.es/politica/2019/11/03/vox-considera-a-aragon-un-muro-de-contencion-de-los-nacionalismos-vasco-y-catalan/">Spain’s sense of identity</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209052/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Víctor Climent Sanjuán no recibe salario, ni ejerce labores de consultoría, ni posee acciones, ni recibe financiación de ninguna compañía u organización que pueda obtener beneficio de este artículo, y ha declarado carecer de vínculos relevantes más allá del cargo académico citado.</span></em></p>Spanish history recounts the existence of various peripheral nationalisms (Catalan and Basque), while, in many cases, the existence of a Spanish nationalism of Castilian origin is ignored.Víctor Climent Sanjuán, Profesor Titular de Sociología, Universitat de BarcelonaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2054402023-07-18T21:11:35Z2023-07-18T21:11:35ZOur perception of wine has more to do with its commercial history than we think<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525691/original/file-20230511-19-w9pz4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C2%2C1905%2C1276&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some of our cultural conceptions of wine, including its authenticity, stem from the commercial nature of the product. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Consumers tend to think of wine as a product of culture and authenticity. Because of this, they see it as distinct from other manufactured commercial goods. </p>
<p>As an agricultural product, we think about wine as linked to a place and sometimes to an individual producer. After that it is considered a historical product rooted in the traditions of a region. And finally, wine is treated as an aesthetic product, in a similar way to the arts, with its key consumers, terminology, prominent producers and specific media attention. </p>
<p>But is wine really distinctive?</p>
<p>In 2021, the <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/09/08/2089700/0/en/Global-Wine-Industry.html">value of the global wine market</a> was over $53 billion, with global production around 260 million hectolitres, the equivalent of 34 billion bottles. Of this, about half is exported and therefore consumed outside its place of origin. The <a href="https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/wine-producing-countries">main producing countries</a> by volume are Italy, France, Spain, the United States and Australia.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523623/original/file-20230501-14-4s1z98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523623/original/file-20230501-14-4s1z98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523623/original/file-20230501-14-4s1z98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523623/original/file-20230501-14-4s1z98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523623/original/file-20230501-14-4s1z98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523623/original/file-20230501-14-4s1z98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523623/original/file-20230501-14-4s1z98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Vineyards in Cafayate, Argentina. The South American country has joined the top five wine-producing countries.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Yet wine has been a commercial product for 3,000 years. And paradoxically, many of the cultural ideas which shape how we perceive wine today actually stem from its history as a commercial product. </p>
<p>As an anthropologist and professor in the department of social and public communication at Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), I see wine as a cultural object. That is to say, wine carries meanings that are socially constructed and through which both producers and consumers think about it in unconscious ways. </p>
<p>I carried out my first anthropological research fieldwork on wine in Calabria, in southern Italy, in 2000-2001, and have returned there three times. I conducted a second anthropological investigation in British Columbia, in the Okanagan Valley, in 2017-2018. I will present some of the results of this research later in <em>The Conversation</em>. </p>
<p>I am also a wine lover and have been running the website <a href="https://www.sommeliervirtuel.com">sommeliervirtuel.com</a> with my brother Mathieu for over 10 years. Through this activity we have become recognized as wine influencers in Quebec, and I have been able to deepen my knowledge of the wine market and its consumer culture. </p>
<p>In this first article, I demonstrate how some of our cultural conceptions of wine actually arose from the commercial nature of the product. </p>
<h2>The importance of place</h2>
<p>A central element of wine is that it is attached to place. We can talk about a Bordeaux, a Burgundy or a Chianti without having to add that we are talking about wine. Yet as far back as ancient Greece, and later in the Middle Ages, it was different elites that created a market for <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780203013267/wine-vine-tim-unwin">wines from recognized, distant regions</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523621/original/file-20230501-344-oupm3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523621/original/file-20230501-344-oupm3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523621/original/file-20230501-344-oupm3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523621/original/file-20230501-344-oupm3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523621/original/file-20230501-344-oupm3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523621/original/file-20230501-344-oupm3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523621/original/file-20230501-344-oupm3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tasting a Chianti, in the Chianti region of Tuscany. The name of the region is associated with its flagship product.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the same time, the wine that was produced and consumed locally had no specific identity and <a href="https://www.persee.fr/doc/ahess_0395-2649_1996_num_51_6_410925_t1_1383_0000_000">was considered a common agricultural product among others</a>. </p>
<p>It was through trade, especially over long distances, that the place of origin of wines became important and significant.</p>
<h2>The utopia of terroir versus the realities of trade</h2>
<p>Trade also helps explain why wine production became concentrated in certain regions and not others. </p>
<p>Official speeches (guidebooks, wine books, laws) claim that this is because of the quality of a specific region’s terroir, according to the idea that wine production is concentrated in the places most suitable for quality production. In fact, <a href="http://delbussoediteur.ca/publications/le-vin-comme-performance-culturelle/">trade is what explains how vineyards came to be concentrated in certain regions, but not others</a>. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.cnrseditions.fr/catalogue/histoire/histoire-de-la-vigne-et-du-vin-en-france/">French geographer and historian Roger Dion</a> has shown how wine production became concentrated in France because of the country’s vanguard position vis-à-vis the markets of northern Europe. He points to how the wine-producing regions were concentrated around rivers, which were essential for the transport of heavy cargoes before the arrival of the train.</p>
<p>So it was actually France’s <a href="https://www.persee.fr/doc/reae_0755-9208_1990_num_17_1_1247">geographical position</a> that explained the <a href="https://www.persee.fr/doc/anami_0003-4398_1989_num_101_187_7467_t1_0335_0000_2">development and historical renown of its wine regions</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523619/original/file-20230501-20-g47ltu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523619/original/file-20230501-20-g47ltu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523619/original/file-20230501-20-g47ltu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523619/original/file-20230501-20-g47ltu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523619/original/file-20230501-20-g47ltu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523619/original/file-20230501-20-g47ltu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523619/original/file-20230501-20-g47ltu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Vineyards in Saint-Émilion, France. Wine production would be concentrated in France because of the country’s vanguard position vis-à-vis the markets of northern Europe.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Historically, regions that specialized in wine production were able to do so because they had the possibility of selling their production in other markets. That’s because a <a href="http://delbussoediteur.ca/publications/le-vin-comme-performance-culturelle/">peasant family could not subsist on wine</a>. The utopic concept of terroir, however, has been used to conceal these origins, attributing <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3631680">the renown of wines to regions and nature, while, historically, their reputations were actually built through trade</a>.</p>
<h2>From agricultural to luxury product</h2>
<p>With the development of wine consumer markets in what were then non-producing countries, such as England, Northern Europe and America, a specific conception of wine emerged. </p>
<p>In these markets, wine was not considered an agricultural product. Wine was a luxury product, reserved for certain social groups. Even when wine spread throughout society, it remained a rare and occasional product. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523630/original/file-20230501-22-fr3cui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523630/original/file-20230501-22-fr3cui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523630/original/file-20230501-22-fr3cui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523630/original/file-20230501-22-fr3cui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523630/original/file-20230501-22-fr3cui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523630/original/file-20230501-22-fr3cui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523630/original/file-20230501-22-fr3cui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A wine tasting in Worns, Germany. In the northern European and US markets, wine is still an exceptional product, to be drunk on special occasions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This view of wine remains the dominant one today, even in the wine-producing countries themselves, <a href="https://www.editions-larousse.fr/livre/histoire-sociale-et-culturelle-du-vin-9782035841766">where the habit of daily wine consumption has yielded to one of occasional consumption</a>. </p>
<h2>Bordeaux and the English market</h2>
<p>The case of the Bordeaux region is instructive and has played a key role in the development of several contemporary notions of wine.</p>
<p>The Bordeaux vineyard developed in response to demand from the English and Dutch markets, which, in turn, controlled the region and its trade starting in the 17<sup>th</sup> century. In this context, it was the English market that drove consumers and merchants to pay specific attention to vintages, as well as growths, and the <em>crus</em> of Bordeaux, that is to say the “Châteaux,” such as Ho Bryan (Haut-Brion) or Margose Wine (Margaux) whose first mentions are in English.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523631/original/file-20230501-14-ld7s5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523631/original/file-20230501-14-ld7s5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523631/original/file-20230501-14-ld7s5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523631/original/file-20230501-14-ld7s5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523631/original/file-20230501-14-ld7s5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523631/original/file-20230501-14-ld7s5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523631/original/file-20230501-14-ld7s5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Château and vineyard in Margaux, in the Bordeaux region. The Bordeaux vineyard developed in response to demand from the English and Dutch, who in turn controlled the region and its trade starting in the 17th century.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/bordeaux-wine-producer-profiles/bordeaux/1855-bordeaux-classification/">famous classification of Bordeaux wines of 1855, still in force today</a>, was created at the universal exhibition in Paris on the basis of wine prices that were established by the English market.</p>
<p>The emergence of new consumer markets, particularly in Asia, is now putting upward pressure on the wine market and driving up the prices of specific wines from the most sought-after areas or regions. At the same time, <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/geohist/2287?lang=en">China</a> has started to produce and export its own wine, increasing the already strong competition between <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/geocarrefour/13442">different wine-producing regions of the world</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523628/original/file-20230501-18-8re5rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523628/original/file-20230501-18-8re5rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523628/original/file-20230501-18-8re5rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523628/original/file-20230501-18-8re5rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523628/original/file-20230501-18-8re5rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523628/original/file-20230501-18-8re5rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523628/original/file-20230501-18-8re5rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A shelf full of wine bottles in a supermarket in Shanghai, China. The country has started producing and exporting wine.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Asian markets, wine remains a prestige product, especially as a gift, for example in <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/146735840000200405?journalCode=thrb">Japan</a>. If the conceptions of wine so far are mainly Western, perhaps the Asian markets will influence the way we think about wine in the medium or long term.</p>
<p>These are just a few examples of how the commercial nature of wine, through its long history, has influenced our perception of the product. Is wine perhaps hiding its true nature behind the rhetoric of its authenticity? Because objectively, wine is only fermented grape juice.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205440/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vincent Fournier ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Wine has been a commercial product for 3,000 years. Paradoxically, many of the cultural ideas we have about wine today actually come from its commercial history.Vincent Fournier, Professeur au Département de communication sociale et publique, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2096532023-07-14T10:26:37Z2023-07-14T10:26:37ZEuropean heatwave: what’s causing it and is climate change to blame?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537471/original/file-20230714-26-ttindx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5250%2C3596&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Blistering temperatures are spreading across southern and eastern Europe.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/tourist-refreshes-his-head-water-fountain-2187538929">Massimo Todaro/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Europe is currently in the midst of a heatwave. Italy, in particular, is expected to face blistering heat, with temperatures <a href="https://www.meteoam.it/it/home">projected to reach 40°C to 45°C</a>. There’s even a chance that the current European temperature record of 48.8°C, set in Sicily in 2021, could be surpassed.</p>
<p>Searing temperatures have spread to other countries in southern and eastern Europe, including France, Spain, Poland and Greece. The heat will complicate the travel plans of those heading to popular holiday destinations across the region.</p>
<p>Heatwaves, <a href="https://public.wmo.int/en/media/news/wmo-has-no-immediate-plans-name-heatwaves">which are defined</a> as prolonged periods of exceptionally hot weather in a specific location, can be extremely dangerous. Europe has experienced its fair share of devastating heatwaves in the past. </p>
<p>In 2003, a heatwave swept across Europe, claiming the lives of over <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1631069107003770">70,000 people</a>. Then, in 2022, another heatwave hit Europe, resulting in the deaths of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02419-z">almost 62,000 people</a>. </p>
<p>The current heatwave is being caused by an <a href="https://ecn.ac.uk/what-we-do/education/tutorials-weather-climate/anticyclones-and-depressions/anticyclones">anticyclone</a> named Cerberus after the three-headed monster-dog that guards the gates of the underworld in Greek mythology. An anticyclone – or high-pressure system – is a normal meteorological phenomenon in which sinking air from the upper atmosphere brings about a period of dry and settled weather with limited cloud formation and little wind. </p>
<p>High-pressure systems tend to be slow moving, which is why they persist for days, or even weeks at a time. They often become semi-permanent features over large areas of land. When high pressure systems form over hot land, in regions like the Sahara, the stability of the system generates even hotter temperatures because the already warm air is heated even more. </p>
<p>Eventually, the anticyclone will weaken or break down and the heatwave will come to an end. According to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/10/italy-heatwave-temperatures-european-record-forecast">Italian Meteorological Society</a>, the Cerberus heatwave is expected to persist for around two weeks.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537473/original/file-20230714-23-dcw8rk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A map showing scorching temperatures across Europe." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537473/original/file-20230714-23-dcw8rk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537473/original/file-20230714-23-dcw8rk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537473/original/file-20230714-23-dcw8rk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537473/original/file-20230714-23-dcw8rk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537473/original/file-20230714-23-dcw8rk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537473/original/file-20230714-23-dcw8rk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537473/original/file-20230714-23-dcw8rk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">July 10 2023: land surface temperatures across Europe.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/">ESA/Copernicus Sentinel data (2023)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What role does climate change play?</h2>
<p>High pressure systems, like the one currently affecting Europe, have been expanding northwards in recent years. It’s difficult to ascribe a single event, such as a heatwave, directly to climate change. But as temperatures continue to warm, we are seeing <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-31432-y.epdf?sharing_token=htzOD3_IxFByNII1xKKbu9RgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0NZB4mVVJx48b3OYyN0FB4TtSpM6vNgwOVqCswO_4qi7R7ahx93uxCizPKL-UhdF0hyqN-mMfXkfXPXdJ19qFSbcxhuB9YPGUewA-TS4I_FHyHRsmGnf0z3nh3FS_m93pA%3D">changes in atmospheric circulation patterns</a> that can lead to increased occurrences of extreme temperatures and drought in Europe. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGII_SummaryForPolicymakers.pdf">Research</a> by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirms this trend. Its data shows an increase in the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events since the 1950s. A <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2022EA002567">separate analysis</a> of European heatwaves revealed an increasing severity of such events over the past two decades.</p>
<p>In the summer of 2022, southern Europe experienced higher temperatures than usual for that time of the year. <a href="https://www.copernicus.eu/en/news/news/observer-wrap-europes-summer-2022-heatwave">Spain, France and Italy</a> saw daily maximum temperatures exceed 40°C. The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service <a href="https://climate.copernicus.eu/record-breaking-european-heatwaves-role-climate-change-and-weather-patterns">attributed these unusually hot conditions</a> to climate change and suggested that such events are likely to become more frequent, intense and last longer in the future – indicating a concerning trend that may continue this year.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A close-up of a digital thermometer reading 38 degrees Celcius." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537474/original/file-20230714-21-ymm8xc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537474/original/file-20230714-21-ymm8xc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537474/original/file-20230714-21-ymm8xc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537474/original/file-20230714-21-ymm8xc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537474/original/file-20230714-21-ymm8xc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537474/original/file-20230714-21-ymm8xc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537474/original/file-20230714-21-ymm8xc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Heatwaves will become more frequent, intense and last longer in the future.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-digital-thermo-heater-outdoor-temperature-1722166657">ddproimages/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The dangers of extreme heat</h2>
<p>Heatwaves and extreme temperatures <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(20)32290-X/fulltext">impact human health</a> in a number of ways. These conditions can cause heatstroke, leading to symptoms like headaches and dizziness. Dehydration resulting from the heat can also affect respiratory and cardiovascular performance.</p>
<p>There have already been reports of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66183069">heat-related health incidents</a> in Europe during the ongoing heatwave. An Italian road worker died, and there have been numerous cases of heatstroke reported across Spain and Italy. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-13/italy-issues-emergency-warnings-as-europe-s-heat-wave-takes-hold?leadSource=uverify%20wall">Italian Ministry of Health</a> has advised residents and visitors in affected areas to take precautions like staying out of the sun during the hottest part of the day, remaining hydrated and to avoid alcohol consumption.</p>
<p>But the effects of heatwaves go beyond individual health. They have broader <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/07/heatwaves-europe-climate-change/">social and economic consequences</a> too. Extreme heat can damage <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/90321/html/">road surfaces</a> and even <a href="https://www.networkrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Asset-management-WRCCA-plan.pdf">cause railway tracks to buckle</a>. </p>
<p>Heatwaves can also lead to reduced water availability, affecting electricity production, crop irrigation and drinking water supply. In 2022, scorching heat meant French nuclear plants were <a href="https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Heatwave-forces-temporary-change-to-water-discharg">unable to run at full capacity</a> as higher river temperatures and low water levels affected their cooling ability. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26050-z#:%7E:text=During%20the%20analysed%20years%2C%20heatwaves,2010%20due%20to%20extreme%20heat">Research</a> indicates that extreme heat has already had a negative impact on economic growth in Europe, lowering it by up to 0.5% over the past decade. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man drinking water from a public water fountain." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537475/original/file-20230714-25-864izn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537475/original/file-20230714-25-864izn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537475/original/file-20230714-25-864izn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537475/original/file-20230714-25-864izn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537475/original/file-20230714-25-864izn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537475/original/file-20230714-25-864izn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537475/original/file-20230714-25-864izn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Residents and visitors in affected areas are being advised to take certain precautions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/rome-italy-july-16-2022-man-2184272509">Henk Vrieselaar/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As temperatures continue to rise, heatwaves will become more severe. It’s crucial that governments worldwide take swift and decisive action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions immediately. </p>
<p>However, it’s important to note that even if we were to completely halt global greenhouse gas emissions today, the climate would still continue to warm. This is due to the heat that is already <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/climate-qa/can-we-slow-or-even-reverse-global-warming">absorbed and retained by the oceans</a>. While we can slow down the rate of global warming, the effects of climate change will continue to be experienced in the future.</p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Europe is gripped by a heatwave called Cerberus - it may be a sign of things to come.Emma Hill, Head of Apprenticeships Liverpool Business School, Liverpool John Moores UniversityBen Vivian, Assistant Professor in Sustainability & Environmental Management, Coventry UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2085282023-06-28T14:56:45Z2023-06-28T14:56:45ZHow Ernest Hemingway transformed Pamplona and the Sanfermines<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534251/original/file-20230627-28-mq1dy1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1%2C757%2C526&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Pamplona, Spain, summer 1926. L-R (at table): Gerald Murphy, Sara Murphy, Pauline Pfeiffer, Ernest Hemingway and Hadley Hemingway.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Murphys,_Pauline_Pfeiffer,_and_the_Hemingways,_Spain,_1926.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Jake Barnes is an American newspaper correspondent working in Paris in 1922. Cohn, a friend who wanders around. Brett, the beautiful divorcee who has turned the French capital into a platform between two trains. Mike, the promise of a husband she has procured in the meantime. And Bill, a friend of Jake’s who only seems to think about fishing.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533775/original/file-20230623-2432-8bzn3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Book cover showing a woman sitting crestfallen beside a tree" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533775/original/file-20230623-2432-8bzn3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533775/original/file-20230623-2432-8bzn3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=872&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533775/original/file-20230623-2432-8bzn3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=872&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533775/original/file-20230623-2432-8bzn3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=872&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533775/original/file-20230623-2432-8bzn3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1096&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533775/original/file-20230623-2432-8bzn3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1096&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533775/original/file-20230623-2432-8bzn3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1096&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Cover of the first English edition of <em>The Sun Also Rises</em>.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:The_Sun_Also_Rises_(1st_ed._cover).jpg">Wikimedia</a></span>
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<p>Ernest Hemingway brings together all of them, and the bullfighter Pedro Romero, a transcript of the Niño de la Palma, in the Pamplona of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Sun-Also-Rises"><em>The Sun Also Rises</em></a> (1926).</p>
<p>The novel unfolds amid the Sanfermines, the legendary <em>fiesta</em> that celebrates the co-patron saint of Navarre, Saint Fermín, son of Firmo, a Roman officer Christianised around the 3rd century by Saint Saturninus, Bishop of Toulouse. According to legend, Fermín settled in Amiens and died a martyr’s death, his throat slit. Oral sources declare that the red <em>pañuelico</em> (scarf) worn around the neck on feast days is reminiscent of his fate.</p>
<h2>Origin and history of Sanfermines</h2>
<p>The history of the Sanfermines would take too long to recount. Over the centuries it has undergone many changes. Between the 14th and 16th centuries, there was a change of dates so that celebrations that once took place in the autumn were rescheduled for the solstices and finally moved to the summer. The ritual of the <em>txupinazo</em>, the explosion of a rocket that starts the <em>fiesta</em>, was devised at midday on the 6th of July 1939.</p>
<p>The best-known part of the feasts is the <em>encierro</em>, the 8 a.m. journey taken by the six bulls that are going to take part in the afternoon bullfight. This starts at the stable and ends at the bullring, crossing the old quarter of Pamplona. In the olden days, the bulls were led by the ranchers. The current tradition of running in front of the animals until they reach their destination has been preserved from this custom.</p>
<p>But this isn’t the only tradition that occurs during the Sanfermines. Among the many traditions that surround them are the mass and procession of Saint Fermín, patron saint of Pamplona and Navarre, the <em>encierrillo</em> – in which every day at 10 p.m., the bulls that will take part in the <em>encierro</em> the following morning are taken to the stable – or the <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/es/title/955346910"><em>riau riau</em></a>, a popular celebration in which the citizens sing and dance a 19th-century waltz, occupying the streets of the centre and blocking the way of the municipal corporation. The riau riau has been absent from official celebrations for several years, although it continues to be performed unofficially.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533763/original/file-20230623-29-6np9vj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A narrow street crowded with people partying while more people watch from the balconies of the buildings" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533763/original/file-20230623-29-6np9vj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533763/original/file-20230623-29-6np9vj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=684&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533763/original/file-20230623-29-6np9vj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=684&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533763/original/file-20230623-29-6np9vj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=684&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533763/original/file-20230623-29-6np9vj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=859&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533763/original/file-20230623-29-6np9vj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=859&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533763/original/file-20230623-29-6np9vj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=859&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Photograph of a street in the old quarter of Navarre during the Sanfermines.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/es/fotos/YNlDe1XTCgQ">Unsplash</a></span>
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<p>The Sanfermines are an amalgam of Christianity and paganism. Hemingway was able to see that instantly. The bullfight, he states in his novel, is “a tragedy in three acts”. Later, however, he observes that “San Fermín is also a religious festival”.</p>
<p>In fact, it can be said that it is precisely Hemingway’s literary recreation of the Sanfermines that shaped what we know today. A glance at the novel is enough to prove it.</p>
<h2>Pamplona was a moveable feast</h2>
<p>There are several themes in <em>The Sun Also Rises</em>. The first is Jake’s drama: his impotence, caused by a war wound, is underlined by the irony of Brett’s preference for him among the men who want her (Mike, Romero, Cohn) and by the exaltation of virility that the bullfighting festival represents.</p>
<p>Another underlying theme is the mood, which makes <em>The Sun Also Rises</em> an emblem of <a href="https://books.google.es/books?id=OYYNMqtvj7EC&redir_esc=y">what Gertrude Stein called the “lost generation”</a>, traumatised by the First World War. In fact, it was Stein who advised Hemingway to visit the Sanfermines.</p>
<p>Jake’s wound thus invites a symbolic reading, and points to an evil that is not exclusive to him. The book suggests that, like Ulysses, this group of Americans are reluctant to return to their homeland after the conclusion of a war that has overturned all their certainties. Behind the visible hunger for action lurks ennui.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533761/original/file-20230623-23-c4qk77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A bullfighter fights a bull in a crowded bullring" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533761/original/file-20230623-23-c4qk77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533761/original/file-20230623-23-c4qk77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533761/original/file-20230623-23-c4qk77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533761/original/file-20230623-23-c4qk77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533761/original/file-20230623-23-c4qk77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533761/original/file-20230623-23-c4qk77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533761/original/file-20230623-23-c4qk77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A bullfighter in Pamplona, Spain. Ernest Hemingway attended the event as part of the San Fermín Fiesta.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/EHPH/003/EHPH-003-026">John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A third theme has to do with Hemingway’s personality. The writer was someone who not only wrote about adventure but turned writing itself into it, someone who liked to hunt crocodiles in Florida, fish for tuna in Cuba or shoot wild beasts in Africa.</p>
<p>That is what the characters seek, a binge of adventure and exoticism with three obvious manifestations: the aforementioned sexual tension, bullfighting and drinking. It should not be forgotten that <em>The Sun Also Rises</em> is written during Prohibition and that the author comes from Chicago, a city that has become the centre of the illegal liquor trade.</p>
<p>In contrast to that dilemma between abstinence and drunkenness, between illegality and puritanism, what these North Americans find in the Sanfermines is a festive and joyous experience. They drink publicly, without remorse and with joy.</p>
<h2>Hemingway and the Sanfermines</h2>
<p><em>The Sun Also Rises</em> wasn’t the only thing that Hemingway wrote about Pamplona. In October 1923, he had published the article “Pamplona in July” in Toronto’s <em>Star Weekly</em>, after his first visit of an eventual ten. He would later mention the fiestas in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Death-in-the-Afternoon"><em>Death in the Afternoon</em></a>, 1932, his book on bullfighting. It was, however, <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/99/07/04/specials/hemingway-rises.html">his consecration as a writer</a>… and the universal consecration of the Sanfermines (despite the fact that most of the novel <em>does not</em> have this <em>fiesta</em>, but Paris, San Sebastian, Bayonne and Madrid, as its setting).</p>
<p>Hemingway was able to see this for himself after a long hiatus. During the 1940s he was unable to visit Pamplona (he had spoken out in favour of the Republic and written <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/For-Whom-the-Bell-Tolls-novel-by-Hemingway"><em>For Whom the Bell Tolls</em></a>, a plea against the policy of non-intervention), but when diplomatic relations between the United States and Spain were re-established, he did not have time to take the plane. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533760/original/file-20230623-25-fqvcib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="In front of Café Iruña, four men and a woman talk" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533760/original/file-20230623-25-fqvcib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533760/original/file-20230623-25-fqvcib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533760/original/file-20230623-25-fqvcib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533760/original/file-20230623-25-fqvcib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533760/original/file-20230623-25-fqvcib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533760/original/file-20230623-25-fqvcib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533760/original/file-20230623-25-fqvcib.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tyrone Power, Eddie Albert, Errol Flynn, Ava Gardner and Mel Ferrer in the adaptation of Henry King’s <em>Fiesta</em>, 1957.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051028/mediaviewer/rm3259585280?ref_=ttmi_mi_all_sf_6">IMDB</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What he found was something of a <em>boomerang</em>: instead of the local party in a small town, he now saw the cosmopolitan tumult brought about by the popularity of his own novel (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051028/">and of the 1957 film adaptation made in Mexico by Henry King</a>).</p>
<p>In short, life imitated art: the feast was now a crowd of foreigners eager to emulate the adventures of Jake, Mike and Brett in a sort of theme park. The local population, meanwhile, had added to the traditional red <em>pañuelico</em>, with a uniform of white shirt and trousers that was only really seen in King’s film – the kitsch logic of those who wish to confirm a postcard peculiarity for the outsider. And, of course, the more pagan side was beginning to prevail over the religious.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.eunateediciones.com/libro/hemingway-en-los-sanfermines_118014/">He didn’t like it, they say</a>
.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208528/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabriel Insausti Herrero-Velarde no recibe salario, ni ejerce labores de consultoría, ni posee acciones, ni recibe financiación de ninguna compañía u organización que pueda obtener beneficio de este artículo, y ha declarado carecer de vínculos relevantes más allá del cargo académico citado.</span></em></p>The Sanfermines were a popular but local Spanish fiesta… until Hemingway arrived.Gabriel Insausti Herrero-Velarde, Filología. Literatura moderna, Universidad de NavarraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.