Spain Papers Review - Wednesday November 19 2008
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By h.b. - Nov 19, 2008 - 9:51 AM
Three main stories today in Spain, the economic crisis, Judge Baltasar Garzón, and artwork at the United Nations.

El País leads today with the headline – The crisis will oblige the Government to break budgetary limits.
The paper says the cabinet have ruled out the idea of tax cuts, and that the increase in public spending will take the deficit to 3% of G.D.P. Meanwhile the paper reports that the United States has admitted that their rescue plan will not avoid a recession.
To highlight the slowdown, El País has a large aerial photo of parked new cars – no one wants a car says the paper. The photo showing dozens of thousands of new cars was taken at Ciempozuelos in Madrid.
Público tells us today that the Government plans to use the unemployed to renovate abandoned buildings across the country as part of a new employment plan.

El Mundo, never the most generous to National Court judge Baltasar Garzón, today headlines – ‘Garzón gets out of the way having proved that Franco is dead’.
The paper reports that the Council for Judicial Power has prohibited Garzón from taking another trip abroad, given the ‘state of his court’.
El Mundo says that Garzón wants the 1997 Amnesty Law repealed, despite the fact it got 93% support in parliament at the time. Also how Garzón has attacked the prosecutor claiming that had it been for him the Nuremburg trials against the Nazis would not have taken place. El Mundo notes that Garzón will not however challenge the 18 judges in the Penal Court here on the matter of Historical Memory.
El País says that Garzón has found himself not competent in the case and has called on other judges to investigate the crimes carried out under Franco. These are permanent crimes and need to be investigated according to Garzón.
ABC leads with the headline, Baltasar Garzón proves that Franco has died, and will not open the graves, declaring himself as not competent.
Público has the verdict that Garzón can’t cope with Franco, and notes he has given the competence in the case to the 24 provincial courts where there are mass graves of the disappeared.

El Mundo highlights what it calls the two sides of the United Nations with two front page photos. One shows the painted dome from Miquel Barceló at the UN headquarters in Gineva and the other, taken at about the same time showing a child and a baby in Kayna where it says children are dying from the cold. The paper against the spending of 20 million on the painted dome, and of Spain meeting 40% of the cost. The artwork was opened by King Juan Carlos yesterday.
El País is more generous to the artist and says that Barceló shines in Geneva. The paper says his artwork has silenced the critics.
ABC has a photo of the dignitaries at the opening of the artwork, and say the United Nations initially asked for the roof to be done for only four million – final cost was 20.

El País says that the police are on high alert ahead of a feared ETA attack following the arrest of the terrorists military chief, ‘Txeroki’.
ABC says the arrested leader wanted to recruit French gunmen for a new mobile ETA unit.
Público reveals he used old software to encrypt his communications in the net, which led to his discovery.

El País notes that Somali pirates have now captured a Chinese merchant vessel. The 36,000 ton cargo ship was carrying wheat to Iran.

There is still plenty of coverage in the papers following the death of an 18 year old at a Madrid disco on Saturday, allegedly at the hands of the three bouncers. El Mundo notes that Paques Reunidos has already erased all references to the club, Balcón de Rosales, from its webpage. The club has now been closed down, and El Mundo reports that the Mayor of Madrid, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón has promised the dead man’s friends that he will be increasing police presence in the area of nightclubs in the capital.

El País notes that the President of the Valencia government, Francisco Camps, is now holding talks on how to get past the chaos caused by his citizenship classes in English. The paper says it comes under the threat of an education strike set for December 17.

El Mundo continues with its fight against Catalan, and says that an organisation finance by the Generalitat regional Catalan government, has asked for journalists who do not use Catalan correctly to be fined.

And finally,
ABC reports on the first windpipe transplant carried out using stem cells in Barcelona. The paper notes the patient will not have use immune suppression drugs.

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