Bon dia. Here’s your weekly roundup of news.
The housing encampment in Plaza del Ayuntamiento has passed its first week, and campers say they are staying. Housing is also the top concern for Spanish voters ahead of the 29 November general election. Elsewhere, DANA reconstruction works are moving slowly, and the events of Nou d’Octubre passed without incident.
Today is also Día de la Hispanidad, the National Day of Spain. Shops and markets are closed.
City & Politics
The housing encampment in Plaza del Ayuntamiento marked its first week on Saturday. As many as 1,500 people were camped in roughly 600 tents. Campers told Levante-EMV, “Vamos a seguir aquí” (“We are going to stay here”). The camp has organized into several committees and keeps a scheduled program of activities, from cross-stitching to traditional dance, alongside its main aim of pressing politicians for solutions to the housing crisis.
The Nou d’Octubre events passed without incident. Las Provincias reported that protesters cleared a path for the Mayor’s civic procession, and the Moros y Cristianos parade went ahead with its usual theatricality and fanfare. Levante-EMV reported that a heavy police presence secured the demonstrations, and that only 2,000 people attended, despite this year marking the 750th anniversary of King Jaume I’s death. The lower turnout was attributed to fears of clashes with the protesters camped in Plaza del Ayuntamiento.
Sources: “Vamos a seguir aquí”: la acampada por la vivienda en València cumple una semana — Levante-EMV La concordia gana a los insultos en la procesión cívica del 9 d’Octubre — Las Provincias; Un amplio dispositivo policial blinda unas manifestaciones del Nou d’Octubre descafeinadas con solo 2.000 asistentes — Levante-EMV
Housing has become the dominant issue ahead of the 29 November election. A GAD3 poll for Las Provincias found that 64% of Spaniards named it their top concern, double the previous figure. The eviction of Maricarmen Abascal triggered national outrage over Spain’s housing crisis, and her death shortly after has stoked further debate. València’s protest camp has a shrine dedicated to her memory. Immigration came fourth, after dominating headlines this summer when migrants briefly overwhelmed border controls in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
Another poll from GAD3 shows the conservative bloc of PP and Vox winning an absolute majority, with PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo currently polling ahead of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. For international residents, the issues to watch are rental regulation, residency rules, and immigration policy.
The pressure is also visible in the rental market here in Valencia. Levante-EMV reported that some renters in València are paying around 1,000 euros to personal shoppers who search for a flat on their behalf. A single Idealista listing can draw between 100 and 200 responses immediately.
Sources: El 64% de los españoles sitúa la vivienda como su primera preocupación, disparada ante el 29-N — Las Provincias; El Gobierno rescata sus decretos de vivienda con incentivos para sacar pisos vacíos al mercado — Valencia Plaza; PP y Vox desbordan la mayoría absoluta con 198 escaños y dejan en mínimos al PSOE y las izquierdas – Las Provincias; Pagar 1.000 euros para encontrar alquiler: el negocio de los ‘personal shoppers’ inmobiliarios en València — Levante-EMV
City & Environment
Two years after the deadly DANA floods, the main victims’ associations say reconstruction works meant to be handled as an emergency are moving slowly, according to Levante-EMV. Las Provincias reported that 18 companies are bidding for the Saleta diversion, the first major DANA project. Valencia Plaza carried a warning that the Carraixet ravine needs urgent cleaning.
The second anniversary of the floods is on Thursday, 29 October. Levante-EMV reports that a mass demonstration has been called for Saturday, 31 October in Plaza Virgen. Expect possible road closures and a heightened police presence.
Separately, Paterna will sound its sirens on Thursday, 15 October as a test to check they work. This is only a test, and residents don’t need to take any action.
Sources: Las principales asociaciones de la dana confirman la lentitud de unas obras que deberían ser de “emergencia” — Levante-EMV; Convocan una manifestación en València el 31 de octubre por los dos años de la dana – Levante EMV; Paterna hará sonar sus sirenas el 15 de octubre en un simulacro para comprobar su funcionamiento — Valencia Plaza
City & Security
Residents in the Marítim district are raising the alarm about a surge in heroin trade on the streets. Levante-EMV investigated and found needles in a children’s park, and reports that open selling on the streets is now visible during daylight hours. Neighbors told the paper that known spots in Cabanyal have attracted queues of people waiting to buy the drug. Witnesses described seeing users shooting up in between cars in residential parking lots. The trade has also created a surge in petty theft and crime, particularly car break-ins.
Source: La ruta de la heroína por los barrios del Marítim: “Se ve gente pinchándose entre los coches” – Levante-EMV
City & Culture
It’s a big week in the fallera world. On Tuesday evening, the Fallas committee will decide which fallera will become Fallera Mayor and Fallera Mayor Infantil, the women and girls chosen each year to represent the Fallas festival. Candidates wait with bated breath for the phone call that will tell them. Fireworks will accompany the week, courtesy of the International Symposium on Fireworks. Levante-EMV has more on how the anticipation became part of the Fallas tradition, and Visit Valencia has the fireworks schedule.
Sources: Telefonada fallera: de ceremonia íntima a espectáculo de masas – Levante-EMV; Llega una semana fallera de locura: consulta el programa del 12 al 18 de octubre – Levante-EMV; Fireworks Festival in València – Visit Valencia
If you ever wondered how King Jaume I may have dressed down some of his troops, historians have now catalogued the insults used in medieval Valencian. A “baveca” was someone of diminished intelligence, a “minyo” someone immature, and a “bacallar pudent” (stinking cod) someone considered beneath you.
Source: ‘Bacallar pudent’, ‘baveca’, ‘pix curt’, ‘retallat’: así se insultaban Jaume I y los valencianos en época medieval — Levante-EMV
For more on Valencia’s history, read Mireille Morejon’s feature on the Roman roots of Valencia: Before Jaume I: Where to See Roman Valencia Today
