Spain

New gender identity law in Spain

It has been six months since the “Ley Trans” (“Trans Law”) came into force in Spain on 2 March. The law permits gender self-ID for any Spanish citizen over 16. Those between 14 and 16 require parental authorisation; 12 to 14 need approval from a judge. Children under 12 still have no right to self ID. Those over the age of 16 will also be allowed to receive hormone therapy without parental consent or a psychological assessment. The law bans conversion therapy. 15 different autonomous communities in Spain had passed their own self-ID laws, Andalucia being the first to do so in 2014, but this is...

Behind the Rubiales row

Spanish football is in turmoil after weeks of uncertainty over the future of football federation (RFEF) President Luis Rubiales. At a ceremony after Spain’s World Cup win, the now-suspended football chief kissed midfielder Jenni Hermoso. Rubiales claims the kiss was consensual. Hermoso denies that, stating she was she said she was “the victim of an aggression”. The Spanish government, Fifa, and many high profile players have condemned Rubiales, but he refuses to resign. This is not the first scandal to hit women’s football in Spain. Less than a year before their World Cup win, Spain faced a...

Only Yes Means Yes

New sexual consent legislation came into effect in Spain in October 2022 – “La Ley de Garantía Integral de la Libertad Sexual” – stating that sexual consent must be explicit and cannot be assumed to have been given. Previously, victims of sexual abuse, harrassment and violence had to prove violence, threat of violence or coercion, or demonstrate that they had resisted the perpetrator. Under this new law, popularly known as the “Only Yes Means Yes” law (“La Ley del Solo sí es sí”), various lesser crimes have been recategorised as sexual assault. A range of behaviour that previously was not...

Did the Morning Star believe Putin’s denials?

Did the Morning Star believe Putin’s denials of plans to invade Ukraine? Here’s a brief synopsis of the paper’s repeated claims that Russia was seeking a peaceful resolution and that fears of invasion were down to Western propaganda. 19 Jan: “Western countries say an armed build-up in Russia’s west could be preparation for an invasion of Ukraine, something Moscow rejected as ‘total disinformation’” (report by “Foreign Desk”). 20 Jan: “Russia... called for the US to ‘end hysteria over the Donbas issue,’ referring to frequent claims being made that Russia is about to invade... ‘We stress again...

1888: Río Tinto and Spain’s first climate strike

In 1888 thousands of miners and farmers, along with their families, marched through the streets of Ríotinto, in the province of Huelva, and stood against the most powerful company in Spain. Led by anarchist trade unionists, this was Spain’s first climate strike and the beginning of a nascent environmental movement, demanding better pay, conditions, and, crucially, an end to open air copper refining (calcination). The valley of the Río Tinto river in southern Spain has been used for ore mining for approximately 5000 years. Sections of the river flow bright red and orange due to the presence of...

Women's Fightback: Spain extends IVF rights

Spain has extended free fertility treatment, including IVF, to women in same sex relationships, single cis women, trans and non-binary people. This restores rights removed by the conservative Partido Popular government in 2013. The PP government changed the law to only allow straight, married couples to access fertility treatment in public hospitals free of charge, meaning unmarried and LGBT people would have to pay for private health services. This obviously left poorer people less able to access reproductive technologies. Health minister Carolina Darias (PSOE), signed the order at a ceremony...

Lessons from Spain

“I really enjoyed working in the NHS”, said a Spanish nurse quoted by the Financial Times on 7 October.”You get longer holidays, more breaks. And workers’ rights are much better”. His comment tells us less about excellences in the NHS and more about problems in Spain. Those led big protests on 19-20 September about virus measures in Madrid to demand “More healthcare, fewer police”, and are a factor in why Spain’s hospitals have had great trouble coping with the pandemic, and an exceptionally high number of health workers infected. Spain’s General Nursing Council says the country is 125,000...

Socialist politics to combat new virus surge

We want furlough and the ban on evictions extended, and rent "holidays" added. We want full isolation pay for all. The Tories' £500 one-off self-isolation dole for workers on benefits is a concession, but inadequate Social care should be taken into the public sector, and its staff put on regular public sector pay and conditions. Test-and-trace should be taken out of the hands of Serco and the other profiteers, and made a coordinated public health effort. NHS logistics, at present also a mess of profiteering subcontractors, should be put into public ownership, and industry requisitioned to...

Private hospitals: don't subsidise, nationalise!

According to the Financial Times (16 June) the government is considering a longer term deal with private hospitals. In late March, as the first wave of Covid 19 was on the rise, the government worried that health resources in the UK would be overwhelmed, as they had been in Italy. The government made a deal with private hospitals — a rolling deal that can be terminated. The deal gives the NHS access to the facilities and staff of private hospitals. The government pays all overheads, including lending commitments and rent, for the private hospitals at an estimated cost of £100-120m per week...

Requisition and workers' control to get tests and PPE

In the Thursday 8pm “clapping for the NHS” on 2 April 2020, many people chanted “Test! Test! Test! PPE!” Health workers are pressing the government on its failure to meet its promises to expand testing hugely, to make PPE [Personal Protective Equipment] available to all, and to agree adequate PPE guidelines for health workers. So, even, are NHS bosses. NHS Providers, a confederation of NHS hospital, mental health, community, and ambulance trusts, said on 3 April: “There are still trusts that are unable to begin testing, and lack of swabs, reagents and test kits is a continuing concern”. They...

This website uses cookies, you can find out more and set your preferences here.
By continuing to use this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.