Thoughts from Galicia, Spain: How Spain got here; Recent developments; A Galician snip; & A couple of fotos.

At the macro level, this is a very good overview of how Spain has arrived where she is.

At the micro level, here are a few recent developments:-

In 2014, Spaniards were again the most generous people in Europe when it came to donating body organs. They're naturally proud of this and see it as evidence of their belief in solidarity. The Spanish number is 36 per million, compared with 19 for the EU and 26, 25 and 15 for the US, France and Germany, respectively.
The Spanish government is considering raising the age of consent here from 13(!) to 15(!), so as to catch more child abusers. Why it's not to be a minimum of 16 is anyone's guess. By the by, the only state in Europe with a lower age of consent has been the Vatican, with 12. But last year it was announced that this was going to be raised to 18. It might well have been by now.
Spain has been behind the ball as regards maltreatment of animals but things are changing. The Penal Code will now include more animals and will treat offenders more harshly. Let's hope it gets to grips with the bastards who hang greyhounds they've no longer any use for them.
Last year, Andalucian police hit drivers with fines totalling €508m. No. 2 and 3 in the table were Castilla y León and, of course, Galicia, with 73m and 61m, respectively.
According to the latest poll, if an election were held today, the left-wing, anti-austerity, anti-corruption, anti-casta party, Podemos, would walk it. This despite being only a year old. The governing PP party would come third, after the socialist PSOE party. As someone has written:- The results show once again the fragile state of Spain's two-party system, with the scandal-hit major parties polling less than 50 percent between them.
Buyers of used cars can now check the correct mileage on the web page of El Tráfico. I can't because it doesn't recognise me or my licence number. Not, by any means, the first time in Spain I've been told I don't exist.
As predicted, shops which have previously had (low) fixed rents have begun to close as landlords have taken advantage of the new law allowing them to increase rents to market levels. An instantaneous observation is that the shops hit hardest are those selling 'odd' things such as wigs and religious relics.

Galicia: If you've got 75 quid a month to spare, you might like to rent an old stone house in the hamlet of Xesta, only 40km from Pontevedra and all its delights. Nearer than this is the town of A Lama, for all your daily needs. What isn't mentioned in this article is the huge prison outside the town.

Finally . . .