Rumblings Of A Coup D'État In Spain?

There Are Dark Rumblings Of A Coup D'État In Spain -- Wolf Richter, Testosterone Pit/Business Insider

Spain is on edge. Unemployment is nearly 26%, youth unemployment over 55%. The government is mired in a corruption scandal. The economy is grinding to a halt. On January 23, the Catalan assembly declared that the region constituted a “sovereign political and legal entity.” A step closer to secession.

And then a general gave a speech.

It’s just now percolating to the surface, but it happened on February 6, according to people who attended a conference on the Armed Forces and the Constitution at the Gran Peña, a club in Madrid that is a favorite hangout for retired military officers.

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My Comment: The last thing that Spain needs right now is a coup d'etat. To do so would only guarantee creating an even greater economic crisis .... on top of the political crisis that it would create.

Spain Wants Italy To Apologize For War Crimes During The Spanish Civil War

Ramon Serrano Suner, a former Spanish foreign minister and brother-in-law of late dictator Gen. Franco, seen at left with Gen. Franco, center, and Mussolini, right in this 1941 file photo taken in Bordighera, Italy. Each played their own part in the bloody 1936-39 Spanish Civil War. Toronto Sun

Barcelona Pursues Italy Over 1938 Bombing -- The Guardian

A Spanish court wants Italy to apologise for the war crime of mass bombardment during the civil war, in support of General Franco

His fellow eyewitnesses are dying off, but Alfonso Cánovas, 95, remembers Barcelona becoming one of the first major cities in the world to be subjected to a campaign of aerial bombardment.

"I wasn't even there for the worst of it," he said. "But I saw bombs fall, and I was told about how they bombed the Gran Vía, leaving the street littered with body parts, which also hung from the trees."

In 1938 Savoia bombers from Benito Mussolini's Italian air force rained bombs on the Spanish city as they broke non-intervention treaties to support General Francisco Franco's rightwing rebels in the Spanish civil war. The use of attacks from the air was designed to provoke panic, kill civilians and destroy morale. Within a few years, the technique would spread through war-torn Europe as cities such as Coventry, Hamburg and Dresden were subjected to blanket bombing.

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My Comment: You would think that Spain would have other more pressing problems.

Is Greece And Spain Becoming Failed States?

Protesters take part in a sit-in during a demonstration outside Madrid's Parliament, September 26, 2012. World markets improved slightly, Thursday morning, though investors remain worried about violent protests in Spain and Greece. Susana Vera/Reuters

Euro Turning Greece And Spain Into Failed States -- Robin Shepherd, The Commentator

Jobless rates in Spain and Greece have reached staggering proportions. And as long as these countries retain the euro, the prospects of recovery are slim.

Barely had European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso declared yesterday that the worst of the eurozone crisis was behind us than the European statistical office, Eurostat, released the kind of unemployment data that could make your hair stand up on end.

Greece and Spain, the figures showed, now have jobless rates of 26 and 26.6 percent respectively.

The more you look into it the worse it gets. Since November 2011, the Spanish unemployment rate has risen by 3.6 percentage points while Greece's unemployment rate has soared by 7.1 percentage points.

The trend, in other words, is emphatically upwards. Few could be surprised if either or both of these countries passed the 30 percent mark by the end of this year.

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My Comment: It may be convenient for some to blame the euro for the mess that exists in these countries .... but the sad fact is that it is the voters in these countries who voted in the politicians and their programs that put these countries into the mess that they are in right now. Before the crisis hit everyone in Europe knew that these countries had a culture of corruption, a habit of profligate spending and expanding entitlements that were not sustainable .... followed then by more spending and debt. So that when the perfect storm finally hit in 2008 .... no surprise .... everything collapsed.

Both Spain and Greece will not turn into failed states .... that in fact one day they will find their way .... my prediction .... I give it another 10 - 15 years. (I say 10 - 15 years because it is took that long for Russia to solve it's debt and financial/unemployment crisis when the old Soviet Union broke down).

Protests And Riots Breakout In Spain And Greece Over Austerity Measures

European Markets Jolted Amid Protests in Greece and Spain -- New York Times

ATHENS — After a period of relative calm, European markets shuddered once again on Wednesday as protests erupted across Greece and demonstrators surrounded the Spanish Parliament for a second day to protest the austerity program of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

Earlier this month, the European Central Bank announced its intention to buy unlimited quantities of debt from European nations, including the troubled economies of southern Europe. That kept the peace in the financial markets until Wednesday, when political instability spooked investors, with the Spanish stock market dropping 3.9 percent and even the German DAX falling by 2 percent. The interest rate on the 10-year Spanish bond, which had been declining, inched closer to the ominous 6 percent level.

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More News On Wednesday's Protests And riots In Spain And Greece

Anti-austerity protests erupt in Greece and Spain -- Financial Post/Reuters
Protests against budget cuts in Spain, Greece rock world markets -- USA Today
Anti-Austerity Protests Reignite on Streets of Greece and Spain -- PBS Newshour
Greek workers strike; Spanish protests growing -- American Thinker
Exclusive: IMF, EU clash over Greece's bailout prospects -- Reuters
Athens descends into violence as 200,000 march against austerity -- The Guardian
Greece protests turn violent during general strike -- The Telegraph
Rage against austerity: Protesters in gas masks, helmets clash with Greek police -- NBC
Greek anti-austerity protesters clash with police in Athens -- L.A. Times
Thousands protest austerity measures in Greece -- CNN
Athens clashes as Greek police fire tear gas - -BBC
Spain's crisis flares again as AAA club scuppers bank rescue deal -- The Telegraph
Spain: rubber bullets fired at violent anti-austerity protest -- The Telegraph
Photos Of The Giant Protests Rocking Greece And Spain -- Business Insider

Can Spain's Debt Crisis Result In The Country Splitting Apart?

Catalonia Threatens Early Elections Over Tax Dispute With Madrid -- Euronews

Catalonia’s leader is considering calling early elections in the wealthy region, as Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy calls for national unity to combat the national debt crisis.

The head of the regional government, Artur Mas, says a fairer tax system should be implemented as the region is contributing too much to Spain as a whole. The region claims that some EUR 16 billion a year of its taxes are used to fund central government and other parts of Spain.

Madrid has refused to grant the region more tax autonomy. Mas says that this position is unacceptable.

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More News On Spain's Debt Crisis

Spain’s Prime Minister Fails to Reach Revenue Deal With Catalonia -- New York Times
Catalonia says tax impasse opens door to early regional vote -- Reuters
Spanish PM Rajoy rebuffs Catalonia over budget powers -- BBC
Catalonia says fiscal independence bid rejected -- Expatica
Eurozone crisis live: Spain off the hook for now after successful bond auction -- The Guardian

Spain's Debt Crisis Is Fueling Catalan Independence

1.5 Million Take To Streets Of Barcelona In Support Of Independence -- The Telegraph

As many as 1.5 million took to the streets of Barcelona on Tuesday in an unprecedented show of mass support for autonomy from Madrid, blaming Spain's economic crisis for dragging their wealthy region down.

Surging unemployment and financial disarray have stoked a fever of separatism in Catalonia, a comparatively prosperous part of Spain whose leaders say their wealth is being sucked dry by the central government.

Crowds waved red and yellow striped Catalan flags – one of the oldest still in use in Europe – and sang the Catalan anthem on a national day marking the conquest of Catalonia by Spain's King Philip V in 1714 after a 13 month siege of Barcelona.

The regional government said the crowd was 600,000 strong. Local police gave figures as high as 1.5 million.

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More News On Tuesday's Demonstration In Support For Catalan Independence

Huge turnout for Catalan independence rally -- BBC
Spain's crisis fuels Catalan independence fervour -- Reuters
Throngs push Catalan independence amid Spain's economic crisis -- CNN
Catalan independence rally brings Barcelona to a standstill -- The Guardian
Spain: Marchers Demand Independence for Catalonia, as Budget Cuts Bolster Separatism -- New York Times
Catalans rally for independence from Spain -- Al Jazeera
Huge turnout for Catalan independence rally -- BBC
Spain’s Catalonia region – speeding toward separation? -- Euronews
Barcelona Warns Madrid: Pay Up, or Catalonia Leaves Spain -- Lisa Abend, Time
In pictures: Catalonia rally attracts 1.5 million people -- BBC

More Unrest Over Austerity Measures In Spain

Civil servants shout slogans during a protest against government austerity measures as they block Madrid’s main street Paseo de la Castellana, Spain. (Reuters)

Spain Anti-Austerity Protests End In Unrest -- BBC

Spanish police have fired rubber bullets to clear demonstrators in Madrid as a day of nationwide protests against spending cuts ended in unrest.

Protesters set alight rubbish bins as riot police charged them in the city centre, near the parliament building.

Seven people were arrested and at least six injured, officials said.

Earlier, tens of thousands of people held largely peaceful protests across Spain against the latest government austerity measures.

Public sector workers crowded the streets of Madrid, Barcelona and several other cities, chanting slogans against government "robbery".

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Update #1: Spain struggles to cope with empty coffers -- Deutsche Welle
Update #2: Spain police clash with austerity protesters -- Al Jazeera

My Comment: I can understand why people are demonstrating .... but the 'bottom line' is the following .... the country is broke .... it has debts piled on debts .... the measures that the government has introduced are not enough .... and no one is willing to lend money to them.

Crisis In Spain

A trader talks on the phone during a Spanish Treasury bills auction at a private bank in Madrid on April 17, 2012. Spain, whose short-term borrowing costs jumped at a sale of short-term government debt on Tuesday, has become the new focus of the euro zone's debt crisis. Andrea Comas/Reuters

Spain Faces Crisis 'Of Huge Proportions' Over Unemployment And Banks -- The Guardian

Figures show almost 25% of people out of work amid concerns Spanish banking sector may need bailout of up to £100m

Spain is in a crisis "of huge proportions", the foreign minister, José Manuel García-Margallo, has said after official figures showed unemployment had hit almost 25% amid concerns that the country's banking sector may need a €120bn (£98bn) bailout before the end of the year.

The jobless rate stood at an 18-year high after the latest figures showed it at 24.4%, or 5.6 million people out of work. Unemployment is now the focus of debate in the country as policymakers worry about the effects of a collapse in consumer spending, a drop in tax receipts and spiralling bad debts.

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My Comment: On the one hand I feel sorry and sympathy for what the people of Spain are going through. I lived through the mess of what was the Soviet Union, and then the economic collapse that occurred when it broke up .... so I have a good idea on what they are going through. But .... I also know that Spaniards freely and eagerly elected politicians who spent like crazy .... wracked up huge debts and obligations .... and who turned a blind eye to fiscally conservative politicians and the economic "experts" who were predicting disaster if these policies were to be implemented.

Sighhh .... you elect the government that you deserve .... that also includes living with the consequences of your decisions and actions. My prediction .... Spain has yet to see the bottom of it's fiscal mess.

Spanish Debt Concerns Rise

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde, seen here on April 12, said that she is hoping to make “real progress” at this week’s meetings. Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg

Euro Area Seeks Bigger IMF War Chest on Spanish Concerns -- Bloomberg

European officials travel to Washington this week seeking a bigger global war chest to combat the debt crisis as Spain’s government battles to quell renewed market turmoil over its finances.

Three weeks after European leaders unveiled emergency euro- area funding exceeding the symbolic $1 trillion mark, concerns about Spain’s position have ratcheted the nation’s borrowing costs to the highest levels this year. Crisis-fighting resources will dominate talks at the International Monetary Fund’s spring meeting in Washington from April 20-22.

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My Comment: Countries like Spain have such a massive debt obligation over their heads that it will be next to impossible for them to pay it off. But to keep the crisis from happening and escalating NOW .... Europe is trying its best to postpone and minimize this inevitable debt catastrophe.

Spain Calls For Early Elections In November

Zapatero Calls Early Spain Election Amid Economic Woes -- BBC

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has called a general election for November, four months earlier than expected.

He said this would enable a new government to confront Spain's economic problems from January.

Hours earlier, a credit rating agency warned it might downgrade Spain's rating due to weak growth prospects.

The opposition has demanded an early vote since May, when Mr Zapatero's Socialist Party lost in local polls.

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More News On Spain Setting early Elections In November

Spain prime minister calls early election for 20 November -- The Guardian
Spain set for early general elections in November -- AFP
Spain Calls Snap Elections -- New York Times
Spanish PM Calls for Elections -- Wall Street Journal
Zapatero Calls Early Spanish Elections -- Bloomberg
Zapatero calls Spanish election in November -- RFI
Instant view - Spain calls early general elections -- Reuters
TIMELINE-Spain announces new elections -- Reuters

Spain's Youthful 15-M Movement Spreads In Europe

Inspired By Arab Spring, Spain's Youthful 15-M Movement Spreads In Europe -- Christian Science Monitor

Young Spaniards railing against political stagnation and high unemployment are protesting in 166 cities across the country and have sparked other protests in Europe.

Tens of thousands of disenchanted and unemployed young Spaniards refused to leave tent cities they raised over the week in plazas throughout the country, defying an official ban on gatherings ahead of this Sunday’s municipal elections.

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My Comment: With 20+ % unemployment (and these are only the official numbers) .... if I was living there I would also be protesting on the streets.

Spanish Intelligence Is Investigating The Role Of Investors On Debt Markets

Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. Photo from The Globe And Mail

Spanish Intelligence Probing Debt "Attacks"-Report -- Reuters

MADRID, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Spain's intelligence services are investigating the role of investors and media in debt market turbulence over the last few weeks, El Pais reported on Sunday.

Citing unnamed sources, El Pais said the National Intelligence Centre (CNI) was looking into "speculative attacks" on Spain following the Greek debt crisis.

"The (CNI's) Economic Intelligence division...is investigating whether investors' attacks and the aggressiveness of some Anglo-Saxon media are driven by market forces and challenges facing the Spanish economy, or whether there is something more behind this campaign," El Pais said.

Officials at the CNI were not available for comment.

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My Comment: Spanish intelligence should first look at their own government and the policies that they have enacted which has resulted in a housing collapse, 17% unemployment, and a budgetary deficit that is out of control.

Blaming investors and others for wanting to leave Spain and the fiscal wreck that the government has brought about is silly at best .... potentially very dangerous if they should targeting specific individuals or institutions.