Why Spanish Protocols Do Not Work

IT’S federalism, and in Spain this is a perfect example of why federalism does not work within a single country.

Don’t get me wrong federalism can work, the USA is a good example of that, but it was built on federalism, and has always had as its head a democratic President, (or at least has had since the country was sliced up into the states). Spain has in living memory come out of a dictatorship, and federalism here seems to mean lots of little dictators all over the country.

The rules and protocols that have been adopted by the Spanish government are probably the most confusing on the face of the earth, and it’s everything to do with the fact that the country is ruled over by Juntas who take on the basic system put forward by Central Government in Madrid, and then muck about with them to suit their own purposes.

The rules on the beaches differ depending on where you are, face mask rules are wildly different depending on who you talk to let alone regional protocol differences, and god knows where tourists can stay or what they can do when they get there?

Just in the last 24 hours I know of two venues who provided entertainment in the form of live music, and karaoke, in the province of Andalucía, who have been told, (one by Guardia Civil, and one by his Gestor), that musicians must wear masks whilst performing or face a fine of €100.

This has caused both those venues to actually cancel their entire calendar of entertainment for the immediate future.

I have a problem with that, my problem is that according to the decree from the Junta musicians and singers whilst on the stage do NOT have to wear a mask, they must put one on when they leave the stage however.

So (probably through no fault of their own), the police and the Gestor have passed on information that is pertinent yes, but not in Andalucía. (These rules do apply at the moment in Majorca).

There are other things that are being carefully withheld from the public on the protocol front. If you do a little digging, the law states that outside of a State of Alarm, (where we are at the moment), laws or protocols like the mandatory face mask, or any other rule brought about are legally in force for an unknown period of time before it has to go in front of the government again for reevaluation.

If you remember the lockdown was in 15-day sections, for exactly the same reasons, and people are thinking that this is the same, however the new face mask protocols are from a Royal Decree, so until that decree is renounced the rules stay in place, (still being mucked about with by all and sundry though!), so all of the protocols put into place yesterday do not run out in 14 days from now, they actually stay in place for an unknown time period.

Total and utter confusion, some say, wear a mask at all times, some say it’s ok to take it off in your car, but not if there are people with you that don’t live with you,  some say you must wear it at all times on the beach, some say that you can take it off to sunbathe, or swim, some say … oh you get the idea, the problem is they are ALL correct, (depending on where you happen to be in Spain).

My views do not reflect those of the Euro Weekly News or its associates.

MTC