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- Identity: the
building blocks of
2. Literature
and philosophy
3. Art and
architecture
4. Performing
arts
5. Cinema
and fashion
6. Media and
communications
7. Food and drink 8. Living culture:
the details of
As with most issues in Spain, environmental politics
vary greatly with region. In Andalusia they still pump
raw sewage into the Med, and the protection of
endangered areas has been laughable. But north, in
Navarre, Europe is being taught a lesson in renewable
energy. Here almost 70 per cent of all electricity now
comes from wind and solar power; ten times the
European average. Catalonia too is trying: since 2006
all new and renovated buildings have to install solar
panels to heat at least 60 per cent of their hot water.
Do the Spanish people care about politics?
Spain has a good participation rate for general elections,
with around 70 per cent of the adult population usually
turning out to vote.The election held three days after
the Madrid train bombings in 2004 brought 77 per cent
to the ballot box. As for a wider participation in politics,
the moderately interested Spaniard maintains a cynical
outlook engendered by recurrent political corruption.
One area of political participation the Spanish seem to
have perfected is the spontaneous protest march. On
numerous occasions since democracy was initiated,
the Spanish have taken to the streets en masse to
make a point. Most of the participants aren’t activists or
politicos, they’re everyday folk.The day after the failed
coup attempt in February 1981, a huge crowd shuffled
through Madrid in silent protest at the plotters. ETA
atrocities are often swiftly followed by demonstrations
against the violence.The biggest marches of recent
years came after the Madrid train bombings when an
estimated 11 million took to the streets around Spain.
In 2005 Spain pumped
45 per cent more carbon
dioxide into the
atmosphere than in 1990.
Bring in the bulldozers
In 2007 the government
initiated a five billion euro
plan to demolish thousands
of unapproved, and
therefore illegal, buildings
that have degraded the
natural beauty of Spain’s
Mediterranean and
Canaries coastlines. The
owners will have to seek
compensation through the
courts.
