Spanish
Culture 1: Walking out of town an 1am this morning, we were
passed by families with kids as young as 2 or 3, on their way to the
first night of our big summer fiesta. Then, taking my younger
daughter into town to Mass at 10.30 this morning, we passed a trio of young women in formal dresses, on their way home from the big
dance of the year last night. This is a wonderful example of both the
Spanish love of fun, which I find admirable, and the attitude to
time, which possibly isn't compatible with modern norms. Like the
daft 9.00-1.30 plus 4.30-8.30 working day. Not that everyone keeps
these long hours.
Spanish
Culture 2: I recently posted fotos from the bizarre fiesta of the
almost-dead in As Neves. I mentioned that one of the coffins seemed
to have a camera on the bottom end of it, focussing on the non-corpse.
Turns out that someone was making a documentary and this is now causing some disaffection in the village. We may never get to see it.
Spanish
Corruption: Thank God the following headline comes from El País
and not one of us opinionated guiris who should really go
home: The High Price of Corruption: Fraud is delaying our exit
from the crisis and postponing modernisation of the Spanish economy.
Read the rest of the article here, or the Google translation at the end of this post. Reading this, it struck me it could have
been written 10 years ago, before the boom. And that perhaps it's
only being written now as the populace is learning just how corrupt
the country has become against the backcloth of their personal
financial difficulties. The other thing that occurs to me is how
crystal clear it must now be to Spaniards how much they've been
ripped off by their parasitical politicians and businessmen. Who seem to enter
these careers solely for the purpose of picking their pockets, one
way or another. One wonders why they don't revolt. The populace, that is, not
the politicians and businessmen. The latter are already revolting.
By the way, the University of Las Palmas has concluded that corruption costs Spaniards 40 billion euros a year and that it is much higher than figures from either the government or Transparency International. Which won't astonish many of us. What really is surprising is that - apart from fiddling the VAT on, say, the plumber's bill and lying about the price of the house you've just bought - few people come up against corruption in daily life. Perhaps, if they did, they'd do something about it. Or perhaps not; Alfie is sure to tell me me the Spanish people have been too supine for centuries.
By the way, the University of Las Palmas has concluded that corruption costs Spaniards 40 billion euros a year and that it is much higher than figures from either the government or Transparency International. Which won't astonish many of us. What really is surprising is that - apart from fiddling the VAT on, say, the plumber's bill and lying about the price of the house you've just bought - few people come up against corruption in daily life. Perhaps, if they did, they'd do something about it. Or perhaps not; Alfie is sure to tell me me the Spanish people have been too supine for centuries.
Anyway,
there's a particularly ugly hotel built right on a beach down south.
It's both immoral and illegal. But it looks like, despite a series of
court cases, it's never going to be knocked down. To use a favourite
Spanish word - it's emblematic of the cosy, corrupt relationship
between politicians, construction companies and developers. The
current government's scandalous plans to reduce the fringe of protected shoreline, can
only help to secure the future of this monstrosity.
Finally
. . . I heard Vivaldi's Four Seasons described yesterday his
'best known masterpiece'. And the others would be??
EL
PAÍS
The
Corruption Bill
That
the economic and financial variables contemporaneously do not reflect
episodes of corruption that dominate the political scene does not
mean that those lacking impact. Unfortunately, the perception of the
frequency with which these violations occur in the law, how it deals
with the political class and the judiciary resolves them just
deteriorating confidence in a company, the ability to do business or
to infuse credibility its agents and institutions. Sooner or later,
that translates into costs and welfare losses end up suffering all
citizens. The first impact is taxpayers support higher operating
costs for public administrations in their spending and investment
decisions. The additional costs, for example, pay companies that
contract with the public sector than just illicit enrichment they aim
at politicians or parties aggravating act directly sacrificed tax
burdens or benefits services and public administrations themselves.
The situation is more irritating if while appearing corruption
reduces investment in health or education.
That
the public economic transactions mediate any form of bribery, also
prevents the free market that so often claim political rhetoric.
Equal opportunities Adulterous hurting who does not bribe, either
because their skills and relationships do not reach it, either
because they do not admit their codes of conduct.
The
verification of such practices does not favor, of course, foreign
investment. First, because the country where corruption is
widespread, and to some extent tolerated, breeds mistrust. Needless
to say that the image of their companies, their own goods and
services is significantly influenced by the bad practices. And when
the investment takes place, just incorporating a risk component of
advanced economies improper gangrene all economic and social areas.
The
perception of a tolerant political class corruption erodes not only
the external image of a country and its economy, bringing it closer
to that crony capitalism in which the revolving door between the
private sector and the public enrich a few, but undermines the trust
of all the operators in the own country. The quality of institutions
just putting into question and with it the ability to establish
economic relations on security, on trust. To corporate accounting,
the basis of economic information can be compromised if the accounts
of political parties is.
The
way and speed with which questioned today addressing the integrity of
some institutions and the political class itself depend on the
removal of threats to political stability and, consequently, on
economic recovery. Also hangs in that thread the strengthening of the
necessary transition to economic modernization of the country. The
corruption and mistrust associated with it, is the worst of gangrene
for an economy that is leaving the edge of poverty to a growing
number of citizens.
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