Spanish law governing the banking system, which hasn’t changed since the late 1800’s, gives the banks very unjust leverage.

Probably unique in Europe there is no Non-Recourse Debt on mortgages. In other words, when the bank repossesses a property upon default, the debt remains in the case of negative equity. In the rest of Europe, and indeed, the rest of the First World, If the borrower defaults, the lender/issuer can seize the collateral, but the lender’s recovery is limited to the collateral. Herein lies the problem and herein lies the root cause of numerous suicides amongst evicted home owners.

Because of this incredibly unjust system, an anti-eviction movement decided to collect the required number of signatures for a motion for Dacion en Pago (Non-Recourse Debt) to be considered before the House of Parliament. The required minimum number is 500,000 signatures. The said anti-eviction movement actually managed to accrue 1.5m signatures; such is the state of generalized indignation felt by the general public.

However, the governing party, which enjoys a crushing majority in both Houses, voted to ignore it, in effect: they accepted the motion but deemed that the subject had already been covered within their own bill, but it certainly had not – the bill merely appealed to the banks to contemplate dación en pago in certain cases, with no obligation imposed by the Government. Of course, the banks totally ignored this option.

Now, compare the above with the the Government’s attitude – extremely nationalistic – towards bullfighting. A pro-bullfighting, pressure group called for bullfighting to subsidized with public funds (even in these cash-strapped times), managing to obtain 650,000 signatures to support the motion, which was not even half of the amount obtained to end litany of eviction-provoked suicides across the country.

Several opposition parties tried to reject the motion on the grounds of cruelty to animals and there being more pressing needs for money in the country at the moment, but the governing party, using their absolute majority, quelled all the calls for amendments to the motion – in other words, they backed it to the hilt.

As for the suffering of the bulls, the pro-bullfighting lobby who had gathered the signatures brought forth veterinary experts who claimed that no pain was involved: the animals hormonal glands block out the pain during the encounter.

The only ally for the governing PP was the UPyD, who rejected the call for bullfighting to be protected as a Heritage of Cultural Interest and for it to be denominated instead as an Immaterial Heritage of Humanity. This quibbling would mean that they were not justifying the employment of public subventions but that simply said, bullfighting would be ‘listed’ and little else.

The point is, you see, that for this government, seemingly, the lives of its citizens, driven to suicide, take a back seat to protecting the pampered Spanish banking system – they know who butters their bread, yet something as jingoistic as bullfighting receives their full attention and backing.

The Government is quite happy to rack up the IVA on cultural activities; theatres, cinemas etc etc, yet, conversely, are willing to dish out money to subsidizing bullfighting.

We won’t go into the rights and wrongs of this form of entertainment… for that is what it is, garnished with allusions to art-form: it is merely blood-sport entertainment.

The real questions here are two: whether, in these times when education, public health and both public and private-sector wages are being slashed, public funding would be better spent elsewhere, and, how can a government look each other in the eye after quashing a 1.5m signature motion to put an end to banking injustice yet throw the door open wide and applaud a 650,000-signature motion over bullfighting?

(Editorial Comment)