When I got back to Alicante, I had a lot of news--both in the US and in Spain--to catch up on. In Spain, the monarchy is in the spotlight.
Over the weekend, King Juan Carlos went on a hunting retreat to Botswana. He was rushed back to Spain for surgery after falling and breaking his hip.
Juan Carlos is generally well-liked by Spanish people since he helped usher Spain into democracy. However, this good will doesn't hold when the Spanish people see this type of trip as extravagant given the current crisis.
In Spain, the current unemployment rate is at 23% and almost 50% for young people. So it's little wonder that the people are annoyed that the king is taking trips to hunt and kill elephants when nearly 5 million Spaniards don't have jobs.
The king has apologized for his actions, but it doesn't help that it's been a controversial year for the royal family.
Juan Carlos's son-in-law, Inaki Urdangarin, is currently accused of misusing public funds. Allegedly, Urdangarin used his position to get contracts (from small regional governments and money for his company--which was supposedly a nonprofit. The work that the "nonprofit" was contracted to do either never was completed or ridiculously over-budgeted. That money then somehow ended up in overseas tax havens in Belize and the United Kingdom. It's possible that around 5.8 million euros has been embezzled by Urdangarin.
Furthermore, one of the king's grandchildren (13 years old) shot himself in the foot earlier this month. In Spain, it's illegal to use firearms--even when an adult is present--if you are under the age of 14.
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