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02.09 - Spain Today News 27 October 2025 · Spain Today - Last Spanish News

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  Welcome to another episode of Spain Today News, the summary of
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  the best Spanish news in English.
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  And welcome to the deep dive. Today we're looking at a really
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  interesting set of sources. They paint a picture of Spain
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  that feels, well, almost contradictory.
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  Like 4 different realities happening at once.
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  That's right, you've got these record highs in the economy on
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  one side. Yeah, amazing success there.
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  But then serious political turbulence, a really historic
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  legal situation playing out. And this deeply concerning data
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  about the Valencia floods, showing just how unprepared
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  things were. It's a lot to take in.
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  So our goal here for you is to try and weave these threads
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  together. What patterns emerge, you know,
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  resilience and finance fractures and politics, accountability
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  being tested and this frankly shocking vulnerability to
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  environmental disaster. OK.
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  So we've broken it down into those four areas.
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  First up, the good news, the IBEX 35 reaching that historic
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  peak. Then we pivot to the politics,
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  Jones deciding unanimously to break with the PSOE.
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  Big implications there. 3rd, we'll get into the details of
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  the attorney General's trial. Completely unprecedented First,
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  and finally, we'll dig into that data from Valencia.
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  The floods revealed a huge gap between the planning and the
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  reality. Let's start with the economy,
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  then, because this Ibex story isn't just numbers, it's about,
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  well, overcoming history. OK, let's unpack this high
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  point. But core Fact is pretty
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  spectacular. The IBEX 35, Spain's main stock
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  index, has just soared. It hit 15,957.6 points.
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  I mean, that's knocking on the door of 16,000 it.
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  Really is a phenomenal number, but here's where it gets really
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  interesting for you. The context, right?
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  What's fascinating psychologically is what record
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  it just broke. This isn't just any peak.
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  It surpasses the previous high set.
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  Get this 18 years ago November 2007.
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  Wow, 2007, just before the global financial crisis hit.
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  Exactly. So for anyone who remembers that
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  period, the crash, the recession, 2007 was the absolute
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  peak before everything went S getting past that benchmark, you
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  know, it's a massive psychological boost, like the
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  economy's finally shaken off the weight of that crisis.
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  And the momentum behind it is huge.
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  The index is up what year to date?
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  Yeah, the game is remarkable, 37.62%.
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  Incredible. And what's driving it?
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  The sources suggest it's a mix of things, right?
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  Not just domestic strength, correct?
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  It seems to be fueled by strong company results coming out this
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  week, anticipation around central bank meetings and also a
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  generally positive global mood, especially, you know, less
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  tension on the US China trade front before that expected sheet
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  Trump meeting. OK.
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  And who's leading the charge? Well, no surprise here.
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  The banking sector is a major powerhouse.
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  Big names like Sampander, BBVA, they were posting strong gains
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  and other banks too, Unicoja Banking Turk, Aixa Bank all
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  showing increases. It really underlines the
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  recovery of a sector that was, let's face it, Ground Zero in
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  the 2007 crisis. And beyond the banks?
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  We saw some other standouts. Indra had huge gains map free as
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  well. So it feels quite broad based,
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  this confidence. Broad yes, but still nuanced.
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  We should definitely mention the sources point out it wasn't
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  universal gains. Big players like Rovi, Acchiona,
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  Iberdrola, they actually saw losses.
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  So it's targeted growth, but clearly strong enough to lift
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  the whole index to this historic point.
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  OK. And how does this fit globally?
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  Well, Spain's definitely riding a wave of global optimism.
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  European markets were a bit mixed.
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  Paris and London down slightly, but Milan and Frankfurt were up
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  and Asia saw really strong gains.
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  The Cosby in South Korea broke 4000 points.
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  Tokyo, Shanghai, Shenzhen all up too.
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  So there's a lot of liquidity and confidence globally and
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  Spain, especially through its strong banks, is really tapping
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  into that. So you've got this incredible
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  economic confidence, this historic high, and then bam, you
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  slam right into political chaos. It really is the paradox of
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  Spain right now. It absolutely is.
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  The news confirms Jim's leadership with Karl's Pugdemont
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  apparently back in the move, voted unanimously.
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  Unanimously to break their agreement with PSOE.
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  Which just blows things wide open, right, creates this
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  uncertain scenario leaves the government without a majority
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  it's a. Huge strategic shift.
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  You have to remember that PACT was only signed last November,
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  November 2023. And it was the whole basis for
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  Sanchez getting invested as Prime Minister.
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  Precisely. So you have to ask, what's the
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  calculation here for June's Why risk bringing everything down
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  now, especially when the government's survival hangs by
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  such a thin thread? Well, Gents has been pretty
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  clear about their reasons. They feel that the PSOE just
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  hasn't delivered on key promises.
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  They've listed them out like items in a debit column.
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  Things owed. The biggest one.
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  They keep mentioning official status for the Catalan language
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  in the European Union. That seems to be the main
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  sticking point. Although it is interesting,
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  isn't it? The sources note the government
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  quickly restarted talks with Germany on that very issue right
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  after Jones made their threat public.
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  A little bit of reactive diplomacy, maybe?
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  But it wasn't enough, clearly. What else was on their list?
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  Well, two other big ones, according to the sources.
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  First, the amnesty for Pwig Demont himself.
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  The application of that law is still pending a decision from
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  the constitutional courts. That's hanging fire, right?
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  Still unresolved. And second, the delegation of
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  immigration powers to Catalonia. That proposal got shot down in
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  Congress, which was a major political blow for them.
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  And this wasn't just simmering resentment, was it?
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  Things that have got quite tense recently.
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  Yeah, the sources mentioned a real escalation in tone lately,
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  specifically around block legislation.
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  Things like tougher laws on repeat offenders, multi re
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  incidencia and dealing with illegal property occupations,
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  occupaciones delin quinciale. OK, it seems like Jones felt
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  these blockages prove the pack just wasn't working for them
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  anymore. Perhaps the final straw.
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  So how's the government react? It's fascinating.
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  Officially, PSOE spokespeople are trying to project calm, you
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  know, tranquility, saying their focus is just on improving
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  Spanish lives. Business as usual.
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  But behind the scenes. Well, the negotiating sources
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  quoted in the articles, they admit it's left a mala
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  impression, a bad feeling. They see pre demon as
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  impredisable, unpredictable. Understandable, perhaps.
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  And they genuinely fear a legislative logjam now, which is
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  exactly what happens when you lose your key parliamentary
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  partner. It's just such a stark contrast
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  to the economic stability we were just talking about.
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  OK, let's shift gears again from political volatility to a
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  fundamental test for the judiciary.
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  We're talking about the trial of Alvaro Garcia Ortiz, the state
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  attorney general. That's right, accused of
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  revealing secretly related to Alberto Gonzalez Amador, who of
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  course is the partner of Madrid's regional president
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  Isabel Diaz Auso. And the key thing here, He's the
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  first state attorney general in Spanish history to face trial,
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  to sit in the dock. It's truly monumental.
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  The legal and political shock waves are huge.
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  We now have the timeline for the Supreme Court trial.
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  It's set for November 2nd to the 13th.
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  And Garcia Ortiz testifies last. Correct.
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  November 12th. That seems like a clear defense
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  strategy. Let let him hear all the witness
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  testimony first before he takes the stand.
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  And Speaking of witnesses, the list is quite something.
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  Reads like a who's who of this whole affair.
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  Absolutely. All eyes will be on Alberto
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  Gonzalez Amador himself. He's testifying on November 4th.
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  And he's expected to stick to his story that he okayed his
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  lawyer to negotiate, but that Ayuso's chief of staff leaked
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  that March 12th e-mail. That's the expectation, yes, to
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  ratify his complaint in previous statements and the Chief of
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  staff, Miguel Angela Rodriguez, who's already admitted leaking
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  that specific e-mail, he's also on the witness list.
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  OK, so you have the subject of the alleged leak and the person
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  who admits leaking a different document.
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  Exactly. And it doesn't stop there.
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  Other key figures from the prosecution side are testifying
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  to Julian Salto, the prosecutor who investigated Gonzales Amador
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  initially, plus the heads of the Madrid provincial and superior
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  prosecutor's offices. The court seems determined to
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  trace the information flow. So let's clarify the core
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  conflict for listeners. It's all about these two emails,
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  right? Precisely the case against
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  Garcia Ortiz, the Attorney General, hinges on the first
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  e-mail dated February 2nd. The allocation is that his
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  office leaked that e-mail, the one suggesting Gonzales Amador
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  was the one seeking A plea deal to the radio station Kadena SER.
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  Got it. And that leak directly
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  contradicted the story told by the other e-mail.
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  Exactly. The March 12th e-mail.
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  That's the one where the defense lawyer formally seeks
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  negotiations. And that e-mail was leaked later
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  by a USOS team, seemingly to push back against the narrative
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  suggested by the February 2nd leak.
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  So a battle of narratives played out through leaks.
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  Essentially, yes. And to try and figure out who
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  leaked what when, especially regarding that crucial initial
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  information. Journalists who reported on the
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  story back on March 13th are also scheduled to testify.
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  Wow. The outcome here could set a
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  massive precedent for accountability at the very
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  highest levels of the justice system.
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  No question about it. Right, let's move to our final
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  topic, and this one is frankly sobering.
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  It's the the analysis of the Valencia floods, the Dano carry
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  out by dados RTVE and the central finding is just
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  shocking. 40%, a full 40% of the buildings that ended up flooded
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  we're not even mapped as being in a flood risk zone, according
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  to Petrakova. Petrakova being the regional
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  flood prevention plan. Yes, the official plan and it
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  completely missed 40% of the damaged buildings.
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  It's terrifying and it gets worse.
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  If you add another 27% of buildings that were only
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  classified as being in very low risk zones, it means the damage
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  was considered, statistically speaking, unpredictable for 68%
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  of the entire affected area, 2/3. 68% unforeseen.
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  That's staggering. We're talking thousands and
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  thousands of property. Yeah, the numbers are huge,
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  18,000 parcels completely outside the plans risk zones,
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  plus another 12,000 in those very low risk areas.
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  And remember this plan was last updated in 2015.
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  It just wasn't adequate. For what happened and the sheer
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  force of the water just overwhelmed everything.
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  Completely, the sources give specific examples.
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  In Piporta, the flow in the Ramble Dev Pollo stream was
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  estimated to be double the absolute maximum flood level.
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  The plan anticipated double, resulting in 99, 10% of the
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  damaged properties there being outside what were considered non
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  floodable zones, 99% unbelievable.
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  And then you teal, the Magro River hit flows of 1000 cubic
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  meters per second, it's channeling capacity just 75
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  cubic meters per second. Utterly overwhelmed.
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  And the impact on infrastructure, on people's
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  lives. Devastating.
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  Over 600,000 people lost their water supply temporarily.
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  Think about that. Then you have 141,000 vehicles
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  destroyed. Huge damage to the rail network.
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  560 kilometers of the local Circanias lines. 150 kilometers
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  of the High speed Ave. lines. The economic disruption must
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  have been immense. Huge, yeah.
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  Around 64,000 businesses were affected, particularly in the
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  metal, wood and food industries, and the environmental impact to
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  the Albury Fair lagoon received something like 50 to 70% of its
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  entire annual water input in just one day.
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  Goodness, the long term effects on that ecosystem.
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  Major concerns there, yes, route changes to a structure,
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  contamination. And this all points to a massive
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  preparedness gap, especially for public services.
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  How so? Well, 106 schools were damaged,
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  139 sports facilities. And the sources highlight
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  something really telling. Some of these places, like in
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  Algemaisie and Alzira, actually had flood adaptation projects
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  approved back in 2023. Projects designed to protect
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  them. Exactly.
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  Yeah, but they hadn't been carried out yet when the flood
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  hit. It's a tragic example of
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  planning delays and infrastructure vulnerability
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  meeting reality. Hash tag outro.
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  OK, so let's try and tie these four quite powerful and sort of
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  conflicting stories together. What have you learned today from
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  this deep dive? Well, we've seen the Spanish
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  market hitting historic peak, showing real resilience, finally
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  surpassing that 2007 benchmark post crisis confidence you could
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  say. Right.
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  But at the very same time, you've got this profound
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  political fragmentation, Jones tearing up that crucial
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  agreement with the PSOE over a core issues like Catalan status,
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  immigration, leaving the government really exposed.
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  And then there's the legal system facing this unprecedented
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  test, with the attorney general actually on trial.
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  A massive moment for judicial accountability.
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  And underpinning all that, this terrifying data from Valencia
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  where the official flood planning, Patrick Cova just
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  drastically underestimated the real world risk by almost 70% in
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  terms of affected buildings being outside high risk zones.
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  So you've got the specifics now. The IBEX number, those key
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  political friction points, Catalan language amnesty,
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  immigration, the two e-mail conflict at the heart of the
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  Garcia Ortiz trial, and that shocking 68% unforeseen flood
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  damage figure. It paints a really complex
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  picture, economic highs clashing with political lows and
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  infrastructure failures. It does and leaves you with a
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  pretty provocative thought, doesn't it?
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  If the financial markets are showing this level of historic
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  confidence, this rebound, suggesting, you know, real faith
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  in Spain's economic future. But at the same time the
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  physical infrastructure, the regional planning documents
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  failed so dramatically to predict or mitigate a real world
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  disaster, underestimating risk by nearly 70%.
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  What does that huge, jarring gap between economic optimism and on
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  the ground vulnerability tell you about where Spain's focus,
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  its resources, maybe its fundamental priorities, should
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  really be directed next? A crucial question, something
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  for all of us to think about.