Expats in Spain Flex Political Muscle
For the first time, expats are campaigning in local elections in Spain, according to a BBC report. New political parties have more expats than Spaniards on their list of candidates.
An estimated 1.5 million foreign residents, mostly British and German but also Americans, Canadians and Latin Americans live here. Most have settled on the Costa Blanca around Valencia and Alicante, on the Costa del Sol and in the Balearic Islands.
For more than a decade, European Union residents have had the right to vote and run as candidates in local elections. More than 300.000 Europeans are now registered to vote. Some believe they have been ignored by existing political parties and are starting their own.
The hot issue is urban planning. Property scandals and a failure by local councils to abide by planning laws have had a negative impact on many expats living in Spain. The entire town council of Marbella was recently fired over its alleged involvement in a huge property scandal.
Under the controversial “Land Grab” law in Valencia, dozens of expatriate homeowners have been forced to pay thousands of euros to local developers for “improvements in local infrastructure. The so-called “improvements” refer to resort properties. And thousands of expats in coastal regi"ons are in danger of losing their homes to bulldozers.
The once-beautiful coastline around Alicante and Marbella is scarred by unfinished developments. Locals say the unfinished development at La Marina in the province of Alicante is the biggest in Europe.
Another issue of pressing concern of expatriates is crime, especially robberies. Expats are also asking for more health centers and public transportation. Some, too, are campaigning for better schools and, in particular, bilingual Spanish-English schools, because today’s expat population includes not only retirees but young families with children.