Discouraged

With each tiny step we take forward it seems we've got to take at least two giant ones back!  The bar is nearly finished, but to actually open it turns out there's all manner of paperwork to be filled out, signed, filed and most importantly, paid for (surprise, surprise).  Spanish bureaucracy is notoriously heinous, but in the midst of this kind of financial crisis, it seems to be magnified.  In a matter of days, I think we've had to shell out another 2,000 euros just to pay for papers.  Papers from our architect, papers from the city's architect, papers from the mayor, papers from...  It's disheartening to say the least.  

When we're just this close to opening, every little impediment is that more bothersome.  Everything's painted, the lamps are hung, the doors are in place the bathrooms are finished.  There's very little more that needs to be done before we could conceivably open, and yet there's a nasty swamp of paperwork to wade through.  It's incredibly frustrating.

All of this personal drama is accompanied by news reports of rising unemployment, rising taxes, social services cut-backs and an angry populace.  Anyone who pays attention to the news might think we're on the brink of a civil war!  Last night the people took to the streets in protest outside the congress building in Madrid protesting what they say is a democracy that's been "hijacked by incompetent politicians". They were supposedly non-violent protesters, but the media did catch several well-aimed kicks at police officers guarding the parliament buildings.

But it seems the actual protests aren't what worry the government so much as the image of Spain that's being presented to the rest of the world.  I'm not sure if these photos in the New York Times made such a splash in the States; but they are all anyone's been talking about here for the past three days.  Apparently the concern is that they portray an inaccurate and exaggerated picture of the gravity of the financial crisis here in Spain.  I disagree.  Yes, some of the pictures are particularly dramatic; and they certainly don't show Spain or Spaniards at their best; nonetheless, anyone here who's been paying attention to the news would find it hard to really say they're an inaccurate account of the country's current situation.

I suppose the real concern is that these bleak, black and white photos will only worsen things for Spain's struggling economy.  Tourism is probably the only sector that hasn't been too badly damaged by the crisis.  In fact, I believe that tourism increased when Europeans who usually vacation in Greece decided to avoid the uproars in Athens and chose the Costa del Sol over other holiday destinations.  Unfortunately, it seems that these photos could change that.

I'm not advocating censorship, by a long shot, but it is true that there's no way to control the effects of a publication such as this one.  Undoubtedly, the photographer wanted to shed light on the dire situation that many Spaniards find themselves in and criticize the government's radical cut-backs and tax hikes which are only worsening things for the average worker (or unemployed person as is the case here...).  And it is true that their publication has caused a stir among politicians, but I doubt the real result of any of this will be much more than to deter prospective vacationers.