Technology
Spain in Free Fall, The New Latin America? (España en Caída Libre, ¿La Nueva Latinoamérica?)
In this episode, we explore the decline of Spain and its transformation into a new Latin America. We delve into the historical and political factors that have contributed to its current struggles, inc...
Spain in Free Fall, The New Latin America? (España en Caída Libre, ¿La Nueva Latinoamérica?)
Technology •
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Interactive Transcript
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Before we get into today's episode, there's something I want to share with you and please
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listen carefully.
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The way you've been taught to learn Spanish is likely wrong.
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That's a big statement, I know.
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But the repeat after me method that we are all too familiar with is far from the most effective
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method for learning Spanish.
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In fact, several studies have found the R-WL method to be far more effective.
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Up to 325% more effective.
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Isn't that crazy?
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That means that if it would normally take you three years to learn Spanish, it could
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now take you just one year, simply by switching to a simpler and more effective method.
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I know you're probably wondering, what's the R-WL method?
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It's simple, but I can't cover it fully on this podcast episode, so we put together
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a free masterclass to teach you all about how this method works and how you can use it
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to become a Spanish speaker much faster.
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You can join for free if you head over to lingomastery.com slash Spanish masterclass.
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That's Spanish masterclass, all one word, no dashes or anything.
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www.lingomastery.com slash Spanish masterclass.
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See you there.
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Now, let's get on with the episode.
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Welcome to season 5 of the Learned Spanish with Stories Podcast by lingomastery.
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It's good to be back for this milestone alongside you, so thanks for sticking around for
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so long.
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I'm Anthony your host, and as ever, we have been using the storytelling and reading
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while listening or R-WL techniques to teach you Spanish faster than any other method,
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because it totally elevates your learning experience.
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For the full transcript and translation of today's episode, as always, go to podcast.lingomastery.com.
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Also, if you're listening to this podcast on your favorite platform, let's say Spotify
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or Apple podcasts, we would greatly appreciate if you'd show us love with a 5-star review.
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And don't miss out on our 5-day free Spanish masterclass.
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If you give it a chance, it could change your life.
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You can find it at lingomastery.com slash Spanish masterclass.
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That is a lingomastery.com slash Spanish masterclass.
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Now let's dive into a new captivating tale.
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Not long ago, Spain was a place where people had hope.
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Factories made things the world wanted, new buildings rose in cities and tourists filled
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sunny beaches.
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Families could buy homes, young people found jobs and schools prepared children for bright
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futures.
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Then, piece by piece, things started breaking.
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The trouble began when money became too easy to get.
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Banks handed out loans like candy and everybody bought houses they couldn't afford.
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When the bubble burst, the crash hurt ordinary people the most.
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Jobs vanished overnight and those who kept working earned less.
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Politicians promised fixes, yet many were busy helping themselves instead of the country.
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Outside forces didn't help.
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Big companies from other nations bought Spanish land and buildings for cheap.
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European rules forced cuts to schools and hospitals making life harder.
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The system meant to protect people grew weak, while those who cheated it grew strong.
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Today Spain stands at a crossroads.
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The same sun still shines on its coasts, the same smart minds fill its universities, yet
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something feels broken.
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And while the country's ministers flocked to social media to fight their political
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wars and brag about how well things are going, the cracks are starting to show.
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But how did a country with so much promise lose its way?
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The answer lies in choices made and those still to come.
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Episode 1
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Spain fell free.
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New Latin America?
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Maybe you ask why this new season is about Spain, especially if we have talked about
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history between this nation and Latin America, right?
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Well, apparently the papers have been reversed and many Spanish, more and more,
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they are wondering that their patriots are becoming what they have criticized the other side
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of the Atlantic Ocean.
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And Spain always was a country with great economic and social problems.
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In fact, there was a time when it grew rapidly, especially during the decades of the 60s and 70s,
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when industrialization and tourism started to generate wealth.
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However, that progress was not the same in the next period.
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One of the first goals came with the crisis in the 70s, which affected many economies,
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but Spain did not adapt well.
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This took a complicated political transition after the dictatorship of Francisco Franco,
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due to that although the democracy was advanced, the 80s and 90s did not manage to modernize the whole country.
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In 2000, Spain lived a time of apparent prosperity thanks to the immobiliate.
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The banks gave credit to people, bought houses and built without control.
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But it was all a bubble that exploded in 2008 with the World Financial Crisis.
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In fact, Spain was one of the most affected countries.
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The unemployed was brutally raised, many families lost their homes and the government had to rescue banks with public money.
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Since then, the Spanish economy has not recovered from everything.
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And there begins the reason for this story, since, despite having had some years of growth,
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the funds problems continue there.
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We are talking about a weak industry, an educational system that does not prepare well for the labor market
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and an excessive dependence on tourism, which is a very unstable sector.
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In addition, no one is secret to anyone that the policy has not helped.
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The traditional parties, both left and right, have been involved in cases of corruption without stopping,
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which has generated trust in people, of course.
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And the arrival of new parties has not only solved the problems,
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since the political divisions have paralyzed many necessary reforms, unfortunately.
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On the other hand, in the social, Spain has changed a lot.
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Did you know that the inequality has not made more than increasing the time?
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That is, there are people who live very well, but more and more people have precarious jobs or do not reach the end of the month.
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And not only that, because they have also grown the tension between regions,
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such as independent movements such as Catalonia, which have created instability.
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As logical to think, all this has been debilitating the nation a little bit.
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What before was a country with progress expectancy, now the struggle for not to stay behind
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respects to its European neighbors.
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Ah, but all great change in a territory has names and opinions.
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In this case, it was not only bad luck or global crises, what has come to this today.
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There were political decisions, economic interests and external pressures that were marked on the way.
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Within Spain, the main responsible have been its governments, like in many places in the world.
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Certainly, the governments of both BANDOS, PESOE and PEP, the largest of each other, have committed serious mistakes.
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For example, in the 80s and 90s, they did not modernize the industry, leaving companies closed or they were marching.
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In the 2000s, they allowed the bubble to immobilize without control, knowing that it was insustainable.
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And when the crisis of 2008, many politicians protected the banks instead of people.
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As you can see, it has been a Russian mountain for the Spanish.
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However, cases like the ones from the ERE in Andalusia, the Gürtel or the Punic case, showed how the public money was finished in the hands of politicians,
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officials and companies close to power.
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Not only did they steal resources from the country, but they wanted people to lose faith in the system.
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But it was not all fault of the politicians.
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Large companies and Spanish banks, some of which received millionaires, by the way,
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they fired thousands of workers while their directives were covering millionaires,
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and entities like Bankia became the symbol of this campaign.
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Likewise, Spain was another actors pushed the decline.
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The European Union, for example, imposed measures of austerity during the crisis,
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forcing the health and education that debilitated basic services.
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Germany and France, with stronger economies, marked the rules,
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while countries like Spain, Greece or Italy suffered consequences.
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The investment funds and foreign companies also took advantage.
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They bought land, hotels and hospitals under the crisis,
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making business with the needs of the country.
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In fact, nowadays, many beaches and entire cities like Madrid or Barcelona
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are in hands of international investment funds, not Spanish.
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And we cannot forget about international organisms,
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such as the international monetary fund or the organization for cooperation and economic development,
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which during years, they warned of the problems of Spain,
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such as the low productivity or the juvenile paroxu,
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but whose recommendations have never been applied.
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In summary, Spain and the fall alone.
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The bad decisions were made by the leaders, the variety of some companies
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and the external pressures that led to this slow decline.
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While politicians and companies took decisions in despots,
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the real life of the Spanish was changing without going back.
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The official data paint a clear panorama.
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Each time it is more difficult to live with dignity in Spain.
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Now begins to sound familiar.
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Here the employee is the first drama.
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Although the paroxu is low from the peak of the crisis,
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the precariousness has been normalized.
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Almost 25% of the contracts are temporary,
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and many young people accept their dreams
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under the thousands of euros per month to survive.
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The generation is better prepared for the story,
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42% of the population is not the same.
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In the last 30 years,
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the number of students and teachers has increased,
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ends up serving coffee or emigrating.
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Can you believe that Germany and the United Kingdom
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have more than 300,000 Spanish in the last decade?
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And the living of another broken dream,
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because the price of the alkylir increased more than 75% between 2014 and 2024,
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while the salaries only grew.
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In cities such as Barcelona and Madrid,
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a average worker must have more than 50% of his salary
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only to pay the price.
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The result is that there are entire families
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assigned to small apartments
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and young people who can't depend on each other
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until the last 30 years.
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The public health that other times was national pride
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is broken.
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The lists of hope increase the 100 days for emergency operations
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and some autonomous communities have privatized
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the system's key parts.
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Who can pay it, they take it back to private insurance
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and who do not expect months with pain.
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When we talk about education,
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the school abandonment continues to be greater than 13%,
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and the tests reveal that the Spanish students
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are under the organization's decrease
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for cooperation and economic development
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in mathematics and sciences.
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The public school loses resources,
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while the concerts,
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many linked to church,
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receive status funds.
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And the insecurity has also changed,
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since the crime has been organized or operated with force.
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Only in 2023, the police
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has taken over thousands of criminal laws
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from narcos to digital figures.
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Various entire cities
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come with power,
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such as the mafia control illegal businesses
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full of the day.
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For foreigners,
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panorama is contradictory.
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The European jubis continue to look for
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sun and low-cost life,
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but the economic migrants,
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especially Africa and Latin America,
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suffer labor exploitation in camps and services.
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The racism resorts political and social resources,
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although Spain continues to be in cifras,
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one of the most expensive countries in Europe.
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The worst is the despair.
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The 60% of the young people
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do not believe their lives will be better than their parents,
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according to some sources,
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and families are afraid of another crisis.
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Spain is not a country of the world,
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but every time more people live as if it were,
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even being a part of the Republic of Bananera
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by some people in the past.
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Now, the present of Spain
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seems to have taken away from a dystopian guion.
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Problems that were considered exceptional
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are part of the daily landscape,
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eroding the quality of life
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and trust in institutions.
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Tristemente, the mafia have found in Spain a paradise.
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The combination of a permissive legislation,
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borders for roses and a submerged economy
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has become economic actors of weight,
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operating with impunity in slave sectors,
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from the control of parts of prostitution
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to the white capital's capital through restaurants
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and furniture.
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And have you heard of the occupation?
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Every day they are produced dozens of denunciations
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for illegal occupation of immeasurable and spaces,
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but very few really end up in a wild.
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It has become a very lucrative business.
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Specialized gangs take legal vacations
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to take living and then cover the owner for free.
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And the drama is double because,
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while entire families lose their second living,
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others can't allow themselves to be a first.
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Besides, autonomous parliaments,
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such as the Catalan or the Basque,
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dedicate more time to identitary debates
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that improve hospitals or schools.
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At the same time, the Congress of the Deputies
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repeats elections and fragile acts
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that last months in place of complete legislature.
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To complete the panorama,
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did you know that Spain is the most affected European country
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by the desertification,
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but still allowing intensive cultives
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that are agotating aquiferous?
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The incendios arraza every summer
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the equivalent to thousands of football fields,
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while illegal urbanizations continue to
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build on protected areas.
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The judicial system, Collapsa,
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the political polarization
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for legal solutions,
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until the environment suffers,
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and the most alarming as the deterioration is being normalized.
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citizens will be alarmed in their homes
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because the police will be late hours in response.
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Parents pay private school bills
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because the public have no resources.
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Emphasaries hire private security
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before the increase of robots.
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Small gestures that show how the state
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is removing their basic functions.
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The truth is that the manager of the third decade of the 21st century
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finds Spain at the most critical moment of transition.
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The free data of international organisms
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paint a panorama of the sun,
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but the streets, the homes and places of work
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account for a more complex history.
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The Spanish economy shows more worrying
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structural changes.
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According to the latest report from the Spanish Bank,
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the labor productivity has only grown
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in the last decade,
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very low in the middle of Europe.
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This explains why, despite the pandemic recovery,
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the real salaries continue to be lower than in 2008.
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The labor market is a waste of form of these contradictions.
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It is said that while the technological companies
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in Barcelona and Madrid
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do not find sufficient qualified programmers,
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the U.N. paro is greater than 25%.
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This paradox reveals the grids of the educational system
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where more and more students do not complete
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the secondary education superior.
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In the same way, the system of pensions
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is near a dangerous point,
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so it is warns that the dependence rate
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greater than 64 years by each 100 in the age of working
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will increase almost twice in 2050.
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Without deep reforms,
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the gas in pensions could go leaving little resources
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for productive or social policy investment.
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The demographic panorama is also concerned.
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Spain has registered recently its worst data in the age
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since 1941,
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which is very low in the rate of generation replacement.
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At the same time, it is projected that the accelerated investment
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is less with collapsing,
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not only the pensions,
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but also the entire sanitary care system.
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The Spanish cities have been economic and cultural engines
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and also have a strong impact on the fatigues.
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Barcelona has fallen victim to mass-stabilization
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and the increase in living.
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Madrid, for its part, suffers a social-crecious segregation.
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Each city presents its own problems.
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At its time, the most rural in front of existential challenges
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is a great part of the Spanish territory
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in the risk of disdain and irreversible disdain,
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according to the Ministerial for Ecological Transition,
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with some provinces that have lost more than 20% of its population in two decades.
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However, among these shadows appear from hope.
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Because the sector of renewable energy is a global level in technologies,
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such as the Eólica and the green light,
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with companies that are global referents in the energy transition.
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The scientific system, despite the lack of financial support,
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produces pioneer investigations in fields
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such as medicine or quantum physics.
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It is a national pride that the National Center for Economic Investigation
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appears regularly among the best in its specialty.
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The Spanish city also has a remarkable resilience.
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There are agro-alimentary cooperatives
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who are a model of success in business with social values.
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And the final initiatives in some neighborhoods
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have shown capacity to regenerate the urban and non-gentrification.
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These examples suggest that solutions can arise from below
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when institutions fall.
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The future of Spain will depend on its capacity
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to solve four major dilemmas.
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First, how to get the necessary control
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of public deficit with productive investments
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in education and infrastructures.
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Second, how to attract and retain talent in a labor market
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still too rigid and segmented.
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Third, how to modernize the state of the well-being
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without breaking social contracts.
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And fourth, how to maintain territorial cohesion
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in a country with strong racial and regional asymmetries.
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International corporations offer possible paths.
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Portugal has managed to reduce its debt
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and attract foreign investment
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through consensual reforms.
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And land transformers economy in two decades
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thanks to a civil bet by education
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and competitive fiscal.
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Even Italy has similar problems
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to the Spanish, shows signs of industrial recovery
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in its north.
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The majority of the country knows economic and demographic
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but the loss of trust in the future.
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More than half as we have already said
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of the Spanish youth,
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believe they will live better than their parents
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and this was according to the latest information
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of the FUNDA.
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This despair, above any macroeconomic figures
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is the true threat to the collective project
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called Spain.
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The country is a historical election.
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Accept a debt of trust
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towards the economic and political irrelevance
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or to take the painful reforms
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necessary to become a productive model.
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The sale of opportunities is closing
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but still remains time to act.
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The question remains is
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if there will be a political and political voluntad
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responsibility in the press
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and a citizen's maturity
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to give the jump before it has been too late.
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The next elections, the next
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proposals, the next social pact
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will be decisive.
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Spain has all its ingredients to resurgere,
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talents, natural resources,
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strategic position.
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What is missing is the collective determination
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to prioritize the long term
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on the interests and mediates,
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the common good about particular advantages.
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In the end, the future is not written,
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it will depend on the decisions
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that today take the politicians in their spaces,
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the companies in their administrative consejos,
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the teachers in their classes,
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and each citizen in their daily life.
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The clock is still up,
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and every day it passes without decisions
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to a point of no return to the country.
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Spain deserves a better future than its present,
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but only its inhabitants can build.
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This has been the season premiere
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of the Learn Spanish with Stories Podcast Season 5.
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Is Spanien caída libre?
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La nueva Latinoamérica?
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Were you aware of the seriousness of these situations
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and how they affect the Spanish people?
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What do you think about people calling Spain
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a banana republic because of everything that's happening?
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The following is a section of questions
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for you to test your knowledge on the story
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to make sure that you've understood everything.
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Are you ready?
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Let's start.
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Question 1.
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¿Cuando empezaron los problemas económicos graves en España?
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Question 2.
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¿Por qué muchos jóvenes españoles se van del país?
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Question 3.
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¿Qué problemas afectan hoy a España?
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Question 4. ¿Qué puedes salvar España según los expertos?
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Question 5. ¿Puedes pañar recuperarse de esta caída empicada?
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¿Cuál ni ha ido, ¿qué haces?
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Let's say them now.
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Answer for question 1.
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¿Cuándo empezaron los problemas económicos graves en España?
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¿Empezaron con la crisis financiera de 2008 cuando estalló a la burbuja y moviliaria?
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They began with the 2008 financial crisis when the housing bubble burst.
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Answer for question 2. ¿Por qué muchos jóvenes españoles se van del país?
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¿Por los salarios bajos y la falta de buenos trabajos?
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Because of the low wages and lack of good jobs.
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Answer for question 3. ¿Qué problemas afectan hoy a España?
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Corrupción, precios altos de vivienda, mafias y faltas de oportunidades.
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Corruption, high housing prices, organized crime and lack of opportunities.
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Answer for question 4. ¿Qué puedes salvar a España según los expertos?
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Invertir en tecnología, mejorar la educación y reducir la corrupción.
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Investing in technology, improving education and reducing corruption.
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Answer for question 5. ¿Puedes pañar recuperarse de esta caída empicada?
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Sí, pero necesita cambios rápidos y líderes honestos.
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Yes, but it needs fast changes and honest leaders.
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Now time for the summary of the story.
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Spain was once a growing country with good jobs and strong industries,
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but over time many problems piled up.
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In the 2000s, people borrowed too much money to buy houses
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and when the banks failed in 2008, the economy crashed.
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Politicians made bad decisions and some stole public money,
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making people lose trust.
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Big companies and foreign banks took advantage while young people struggled to find good jobs.
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Many have left for other countries.
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Houses have become too expensive, hospitals have gotten worse
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and schools don't prepare students as well as they would.
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Crime has grown especially by gangs controlling illegal businesses.
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Now Spain faces more troubles like corruption, empty villages and fights between regions.
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The future could go two ways.
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Either Spain fixes its problems by investing in technology and better laws
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or it keeps declining with more poverty and fewer opportunities.
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Experts say Spain still has hope, smart people, good weather for clean energy and strong communities.
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But if nothing changes, life will get harder for everyone.
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The real question is, will leaders and citizens work together to save their country?
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All of they let it keep falling behind.
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The choice is theirs.
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Another episode is ended but your learning will not stop here.
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You can find the transcripts and word-by-word translation of this episode at podcast.lingomastery.com
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Oh and don't forget to subscribe to us on Spotify, Apple Podcast or your preferred platform.
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Also we would be delighted to receive a five star review from you.
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Did I tell you that our five day free Spanish Masterclass is ongoing?
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It's time for you to join in and find it at lingomastery.com slash Spanish Masterclass.
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Again that's lingomastery.com slash Spanish Masterclass.
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Thank you for listening.
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See you in the next episode, Spanish learner.
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One quick thing before I let you go.
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You could be learning Spanish up to three times faster just by implementing the R-W-L method.
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So if you don't know what the buzz is all about, we've put together a five day free masterclass
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to teach you all about the R-W-L method and how you can use it to become a Spanish speaker faster.
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You can join for free if you head over to lingomastery.com slash Spanish Masterclass.
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That's Spanish Masterclass, all one word, no dashes or anything.
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www.lingomastery.com slash Spanish Masterclass.
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See you there.
Topics Covered
learn Spanish
R-WL method
effective Spanish learning
Spanish masterclass
Lingomastery podcast
Spanish economy
political corruption in Spain
Spanish unemployment crisis
inequality in Spain
Spanish education system
economic decline in Spain
Spanish housing crisis
impact of European Union on Spain
youth unemployment in Spain
Spanish political landscape
Spanish social issues