Up next in 10
Most expats and anyone interested in Spain's shifting political landscape are in for a wild ride. This episode uncovers the startling story of a U.S. trans woman seeking asylum in Spain—a move that could set a historic precedent—and reveals the seismic changes underway in Andalusia’s policies and border agreements.
Discover the unprecedented case of Kate Iset from Texas, a transgender woman fleeing Texas’s harsh anti-trans legislation and US government crackdowns equating trans activism with terrorism. We break down the complex asylum process and Spain’s potential role as a refuge for those fleeing repressive policies. This story isn’t just about one woman; it’s about the future of human rights and asylum in a polarized world. You’ll see why Spain’s decision could ripple across borders, setting a new global standard—if it happens at all.
Next, we explore Spain’s upcoming political shifts: the controversial deal between the Partido Popular and Vox in Andalusia. You’ll learn how their policy pact could redefine regional social policies—from prioritizing Spanish nationals over foreigners for healthcare to outlawing headscarves in public places. We break down what this means for expats, immigrants, and the broader fight over cultural identity in Spain.
And it doesn’t stop there. From potential changes to Gibraltar’s border after 300 years, to a high-profile Swedish mafia case involving Marbella’s mayor’s stepson—this episode shines a spotlight on Spain’s hidden power struggles, crime networks, and international tensions. You’ll hear exclusive insights into one of Europe’s most intriguing criminal cases and Spain’s evolving diplomatic landscape.
This episode is essential listening for anyone planning to live, work, or invest in Spain—or simply curious about the bold political and social experiments unfolding. Navigate the upheavals, understand the stakes, and stay ahead of the story shaping Spain’s future. Whether you’re an expat, an observer, or a policymaker, don’t miss this eye-opening deep dive into Spain’s most pressing issues.
This episode is brought to you in partnership with Staysure Expat, helping expats travel with confidence: https://www.staysure.com/expat
This episode is in conjunction with Reale Seguros Expat - https://www.reale.es/expats/en
More from The Olive Press here: https://www.theolivepress.es
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0:00
has been found guilty of helping to
0:02
smuggle drugs between Spain, France, and
0:04
Northern Europe.
0:06
>> A US citizen come from Texas, like the
0:08
heartland of Trump territory,
0:10
claiming asylum.
0:12
>> For the first 5 years, you could be
0:16
second class, second in the queue, so to
0:18
speak.
0:18
>> Don't forget to subscribe to The Rest of
0:20
Spain on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple
0:24
Podcasts.
0:25
>> Welcome to The Rest of Spain podcast by
0:27
Olive Press, sponsored by Stay Sure
0:30
expat travel insurance. Hi guys. Today,
0:33
I'm with Walt and Alessio, so John's not
0:35
here today. We've got Alessio again and
0:38
Walt. So, Walt, how are things in
0:39
Barcelona?
0:40
>> Hey, hey Caroline. Hey, Alessio. Yep.
0:42
No, good. I have now got an apartment in
0:46
in in Barcelona, which wasn't the
0:48
easiest thing in the world to do. And
0:50
I've got this nice terrace with uh I
0:52
don't know if you think this is a
0:53
digital background or a real background.
0:56
What do you think, Alessio?
0:56
>> It's real to me.
0:58
>> It looks real, yeah. It could be like
0:59
the green screen. Can I catch my hand
1:01
now?
1:02
>> Yeah.
1:02
>> Yeah.
1:03
>> And Alessio, where are you then?
1:05
>> I live in Granada now. So, I lived in
1:08
Madrid for for for more than a decade,
1:10
but I recently moved to Granada with my
1:13
fiance. She's from here.
1:15
>> I bet it's hot there though, right?
1:17
>> It's very hot.
1:18
>> Yeah. Wow. Okay, so covering pretty much
1:22
the whole of Spain here today. So, I'm
1:24
down in near Marbella. And we've got
1:26
really interesting topics today. The the
1:28
main one, the first one, is the front
1:31
page news. Here we are. So, it's about
1:34
the trans asylum seeker, a transgender
1:36
asylum seeker, who is seeking asylum in
1:40
Spain. So, Walt, tell me more about this
1:42
one.
1:43
>> Yeah. So, thanks, Caroline. This is a
1:45
very interesting story that we did last
1:47
month for the paper.
1:49
There's this woman, trans woman called
1:51
Kate Isitt, who's come to Spain, a US
1:55
citizen come from Texas, like the
1:56
heartland of Trump territory,
1:59
claiming asylum. And this is this is
2:01
basically unheard of that US citizens
2:04
claim asylum from the USA, and
2:06
especially coming to to Europe. You
2:08
normally see it the other way around.
2:11
So, people are fleeing all these these
2:12
countries in the Middle East or Africa,
2:14
and then they they're getting persecuted
2:15
for whatever, being gay or political
2:18
beliefs. They go to the USA. The USA is
2:20
the shining city on the hill. I think
2:21
this is a It's Abraham Lincoln's
2:23
expression. And then today the the roles
2:25
have been reversed. So,
2:27
Kate is a the daughter of a Republican
2:30
fundraiser. He's a politician in Texas,
2:33
and he's called Carl Isitt. And he It's
2:36
really kind of a sad story. I met Kate
2:37
in person in Barcelona.
2:39
He's um Yeah, yeah, so we met we had a
2:41
nice coffee in um the Born area.
2:43
She told me her story. It was really
2:44
good to meet these people face-to-face
2:46
as well. Like, even a phone call's not
2:48
quite enough.
2:49
So, her father is a full-on Trump
2:52
Republican supporter.
2:54
And he's been the one driving a lot of
2:56
the legislative changes in Texas that
3:00
that target trans people. Um you know,
3:02
restricting them of their protections.
3:05
Kind of throw them to the dogs. And I
3:07
mean, the trans issues are something
3:08
that's really, really divisive. I think
3:10
we all know
3:11
that there's a lot of split opinion on
3:12
this, and a lot of very, very strong
3:13
opinion on both sides. So, it's it's a
3:15
hot topic.
3:17
And Kate was saying how not only in
3:19
Texas were they She's facing more and
3:21
more discrimination. So, they would just
3:22
be just abuse in the street cuz
3:24
She's a She's a trans woman. She clearly
3:26
was a man, you know, she's got quite
3:28
broad shoulders. Yeah. And
3:31
she was talking to me about all the
3:32
abuse she suffered. She was um getting
3:34
stalked and harassed, and no one
3:35
protected her. The She worked at the
3:37
University of Texas, and they ignored
3:38
her her complaint.
3:40
She had to use the men's toilet, which a
3:42
lot of people are in favor of putting a
3:44
trans woman in men's toilet. But she was
3:46
saying that she was suffering abuse in
3:48
the toilets cuz there
3:49
you know, know goes on in the toilets,
3:50
there's no cameras, no kind of
3:51
protection. So, she was feeling very
3:53
afraid day-to-day.
3:55
>> Yeah.
3:56
>> And um her father's the one driving a
3:57
lot of this this uh legislation and then
4:00
the whole atmosphere itself.
4:02
And then I mean then there's the Trump
4:03
admin on a national level.
4:05
They've really been aggressively going
4:07
after any kind of left-wing activism.
4:09
Now, political level, they've been going
4:11
after antifa.
4:12
Anyone who's uh they they call it
4:14
radical transgender ideology. And they
4:16
were lumping So, they've made these new
4:18
new national security um documents. I
4:20
forgot exactly the name for it.
4:22
Where they group trans activists or
4:25
advocates for trans rights in the same
4:26
category as jihadi terrorists and
4:29
cartels.
4:30
So, this is the kind of the environment
4:32
that Kate is fleeing when she's come to
4:34
Spain to seek asylum.
4:36
I mean it's a wild story. Now, a lot of
4:37
people
4:38
kind of pooh-poohed her story, you know,
4:40
it's attention-seeking, not the first
4:42
trans person. But when she lays it out
4:44
for you and you look at the documents, I
4:45
spent quite a long time reading all
4:47
these documents. Trump signs one of
4:49
these
4:50
memorandum saying, "If you're an enemy
4:52
of the United States, you're one of
4:53
these people, which is jihadis, cartels,
4:56
radical left-wing activists, we will
4:58
find you and we will kill you." So, I
4:59
mean you can see why
5:01
>> Wow.
5:01
>> Kate was alarmed by this. So, Kate's now
5:04
in Spain, she's going through the asylum
5:05
process. But the key thing is no US
5:08
citizen has ever been granted asylum
5:10
outside of Spain. It should be
5:12
historical if it happened. And I mean
5:14
Spain is one of the countries that
5:16
doesn't seem They don't seem to mind too
5:17
much if they if they irritate the United
5:20
States. It's definitely a good bet to
5:21
>> Yeah, to be fair.
5:23
>> Yeah.
5:23
Their track record is pretty anti-USA at
5:25
the minute. But another big big leap
5:28
that she will the USA will Sorry, Spain
5:30
will
5:32
make the decision. They've got to
5:33
designate Spain as an Sorry, the USA as
5:35
an unsafe place. They've got to give a
5:36
certain designations that affect
5:40
diplomatic relations. So, the question
5:42
of even if they're very anti-Trump,
5:45
will they be willing to take those
5:46
steps? We don't know.
5:47
>> Yeah, but it's a complication. So, if
5:49
they grant asylum to Kate, does that
5:52
mean that they will then have to grant
5:54
asylum to other people in
5:56
that situation?
5:57
>> Well, I mean, yeah, you set a precedent.
5:59
We did speak to one international law
6:01
firm that deals a lot of immigration,
6:02
and they told us they have had a lot of
6:04
American clients these days. A lot of
6:07
them are seeking asylum or seeking
6:09
refuge from the USA in the Trump
6:11
administration. Not all of them are
6:12
going for asylum. That's quite an
6:13
extreme
6:14
>> Yeah.
6:15
>> approach. Some of them just want a
6:16
to get I don't know, get some kind of
6:17
visa to stay here and are on kind of
6:19
humanitarian grounds. But, yeah, it's
6:21
definitely part of a groundswell. She
6:23
This is not a you nice isolated case.
6:26
>> And when will we hear more about her
6:28
case? Do you know?
6:30
>> So, she in August she finds out if she's
6:31
going to get her red card, which I mean,
6:34
sounds like something you don't want.
6:35
>> Exactly.
6:36
>> [laughter]
6:36
>> So, she has kind of welcomed
6:37
environment. It's a good thing. It means
6:39
that she'll get permission to work and
6:41
like be regularized slightly while they
6:43
process her asylum application.
6:44
>> Right. Okay.
6:45
>> she's living in between the cracks, you
6:47
know, not working. I don't know. She I
6:48
think she's surviving on a
6:50
GoFundMe.
6:52
So, it's tough for her.
6:53
>> Now, we're going to take a quick break
6:55
from talking about the news to hear from
6:57
our sponsor.
7:00
>> Uh sorry, no hablo español.
7:05
>> Looking for travel insurance you can
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understand? Staysure [music] have been
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agent of Ergo Seguros de Viaje.
7:28
>> Yeah, so that'll be an interesting one
7:29
to watch. Um thank you for that. And
7:32
things are changing all over. I mean,
7:34
we've just had the elections in
7:35
Andalucia, haven't we? Things are going
7:38
to change there. So, Alessio, do you
7:39
want to talk about that one?
7:41
>> Sure.
7:43
Yeah, so this this has been a
7:46
I'd say a very very special
7:49
election. Some would say
7:52
historic really because
7:54
Juanma Moreno, who is the regional
7:56
leader for for the right-wing Partido
7:58
Popular, has been elected for a
8:02
third consecutive mandate. So, nothing
8:04
new there. But, the point is he was just
8:08
two seats short of securing an absolute
8:11
majority. And so, he had to strike a
8:14
deal with Vox.
8:16
>> Right. So, what what are the
8:17
implications of the Andalusia now
8:21
the deal with Vox? So, what are the
8:23
implications of that for us people that
8:25
live here?
8:26
>> Yeah, so the
8:28
really the thing about the deal that
8:30
stirred a lot of controversy is that
8:33
Moreno and Vox signed
8:37
a deal
8:39
made up of 150 policy items. So,
8:43
basically this document outlines a pact
8:46
between the governing
8:49
Partido Popular and Vox.
8:51
And in theory, some of these policy
8:53
items could be rolled out in the coming
8:55
months and years. And among them, we
8:57
have Vox's national priority plan. So,
9:00
this is a program that Vox announced
9:03
earlier on in the year.
9:05
And essentially, what it seeks to do is
9:08
prioritize
9:09
Spanish nationals over foreign citizens
9:12
in access to a number of different
9:14
things. Healthcare, benefits.
9:18
So, essentially, what they are
9:19
suggesting is that on a regional level
9:22
in Andalusia and elsewhere in Spain,
9:25
Spanish nationals should have priority
9:28
access, for example, to health
9:31
treatments
9:32
or benefits
9:34
ahead of foreign foreigners unless a
9:37
foreigner has lived in Spain for at
9:39
least 5 years. So, if if you're a
9:41
foreigner and you've lived in Spain for
9:42
at least 5 years,
9:44
according to this plan, then you'd be
9:47
treated equally.
9:48
>> So, if you're new Yeah, so if you're new
9:50
resident here and you get your visa and
9:52
you you know, you're coming here for
9:54
work or you're coming here on a Beckham
9:56
law for work or maybe you're coming here
9:58
with one of the other visas where you
10:00
have to have a significant amount of
10:01
money,
10:03
then for the first 5 years, you could be
10:06
second class, second in the queue, so to
10:08
speak, when it comes to health care. Is
10:09
that Is that what you're saying?
10:11
>> Essentially, yes. I mean, the plan
10:13
hasn't been rolled out. This is just a
10:16
policy document. It outlines, let's say,
10:19
uh intentions or
10:21
uh you know, uh draft sort of ideas for
10:24
what the administration might want to do
10:27
in the coming months and years. So, it
10:29
hasn't been rolled out anywhere, but it
10:31
is a policy document. Uh so, it means
10:33
the intention is there, uh at the very
10:35
least. I should say, this is quite
10:37
important, uh Moreno fought hard to
10:40
include
10:42
a very important wording in the
10:43
document. He said, "All policies will be
10:46
rolled out sensibly and humanely, as
10:49
humanely as possible." So, he fought
10:51
hard to have that wording, that phrasing
10:53
included in the document. But,
10:55
everything really is is very very
10:57
ambiguous. We don't know what shape any
10:59
of these policies could take if it is
11:01
ever approved. But, amongst other things
11:04
>> Sorry, yeah.
11:04
>> I want to ask one question. Should
11:06
expats be worried about this?
11:07
>> Look, to be honest,
11:10
this is just my opinion, but right now,
11:12
I wouldn't be. Right now, I wouldn't be
11:14
because
11:16
you know,
11:17
to me, it sounds to me, it sounds like a
11:20
bit of a long shot to get any of these
11:22
things approved, like Vox are saying
11:24
they would like to see them approved.
11:26
It's a bit of a long shot, to be honest.
11:28
Let's not forget that an- anything needs
11:30
to go through the parliament, through
11:32
regional parliament, before it is
11:33
approved. So for me personally, I'd say
11:35
I think it's a long shot. But
11:37
nevertheless, it is a historic deal here
11:41
in Andalusia. And amongst the
11:44
policy items of of this um deal between
11:47
the PP and Vox, there are other things
11:49
as well, such as for example,
11:51
repatriating unaccompanied minors to
11:53
their countries of origin. That's very
11:55
controversial. A burqa ban in public
11:57
places.
11:59
Uh in these issues have been dominating
12:01
headlines for years here in Spain. And
12:04
at the very least I'd say, I think it's
12:05
fair to say that with this policy
12:07
document we are
12:09
>> Now, we're going to take a quick break
12:11
from talking about the news to hear from
12:13
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12:15
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12:16
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12:33
>> one step closer
12:35
to seeing them converted into into law,
12:37
enshrined into law here in Andalusia.
12:41
>> So this will be an interesting one to
12:42
watch, won't it? Do we know any other
12:44
countries that do this? I know they've
12:45
had policies around headscarves and
12:47
things like that in in France. Do we
12:49
know any other countries that have done
12:51
this before?
12:53
>> I would have to research that. I'd
12:55
rather uh yeah, I'd read about France.
12:58
And similar policies have been floated
13:02
pretty much everywhere in Europe as far
13:04
as I remember. I think Hungary for sure,
13:06
and I definitely I definitely remember a
13:08
proposal in Italy as well.
13:12
>> It'd be very interesting to see what how
13:13
this pans out. And it would mean a lot
13:15
to expats, you know. But I want to talk
13:17
about my favorite subject again, which
13:19
is mafia. You know, I feel like we need
13:21
another mafia special, but let's talk
13:24
about the Broberg case and Swedish
13:26
mafia, one of my favorite subjects. So,
13:28
Alessio, tell us about this one.
13:31
>> Yeah, so this is a case we we have been
13:34
covering for quite a few years. Um
13:37
and and and and there has been a
13:39
a very important development just
13:42
earlier in July on July 1st. So,
13:44
basically, this is what happened. The
13:46
National Court just found 20 defendants
13:50
guilty
13:51
of running a massive drug empire which
13:56
moved marijuana and cocaine between
13:58
Spain, France, and Northern Europe,
14:00
especially Sweden. The reason we have
14:03
been watching this case closely is that
14:06
one of the defendants, Joakim Broberg,
14:09
is the stepson of the mayor of Marbella,
14:12
Ángeles Muñoz. Now, I should say right
14:15
from the start that they seem to be very
14:18
much at odds with one another. They
14:20
don't get along for a number of
14:21
different reasons, which, if you want,
14:23
we can get into later.
14:24
>> But, obviously, this is an important it
14:26
is an important case to watch.
14:27
Specifically, Broberg has been found
14:30
guilty not of being a member of the
14:32
organization, but of
14:34
cooperating with it on a regular basis.
14:36
He's been found guilty of smuggling
14:39
drugs or helping to smuggle drugs
14:41
between Spain, France, and Northern
14:42
Europe, and laundering money.
14:44
Uh initially,
14:46
when prosecutors brought the a case
14:49
against him, uh they alleged he had
14:52
laundered I think 7 million euros by
14:54
buying property
14:56
here in Andalusia, Costa del Sol.
14:59
Um and eventually,
15:01
um he was sentenced to 9 years in prison
15:04
and a 4.9
15:07
million euro fine.
15:09
>> Wow.
15:10
>> Uh so, this is the latest ruling from
15:12
the National Court on July 1st.
15:14
>> So, he's in prison now?
15:16
>> The So, just just just to jump in here,
15:17
this was the case where
15:19
a few years ago, this guy, Broberg, the
15:21
younger one, was caught on a wiretap
15:23
saying that we own all of Andalusia. Was
15:26
That was the headline comment
15:28
from the from the investigation. What
15:31
can you tell us about this?
15:33
>> Yeah, that was very controversial as
15:35
well.
15:35
Sorry, I'm just going to
15:37
answer Caroline very, very quickly
15:38
first. No, he's not currently in prison.
15:40
He posted bail. It was 50 They set bail
15:43
at 50,000 euros. He posted it, so he's
15:46
not currently in prison. In fact, he
15:48
just gave his first interview with the
15:50
press in 5 years, which I saw. It wasn't
15:54
with us, unfortunately.
15:56
Yeah, now he's phoned to a Swedish
16:00
outlet, which is based in on the Costa
16:02
del Sol. It's called Sydkusten.
16:04
I watched the interview and it was very,
16:06
very interesting.
16:07
We have a report on this.
16:08
>> and you're hearing this, we would love
16:10
to hear your side of the story if you
16:11
want to come on the podcast next time.
16:14
Tell him.
16:15
>> It'd be good to get get him on. That
16:17
would be good.
16:18
>> What
16:18
>> About that statement, it is true
16:20
investigated investigators uh
16:23
bugged his phone and he was caught
16:25
speaking to a friend late at night a
16:28
couple of years back. He was drunk. He
16:30
says saying after the PP won the
16:33
elections in Andalusia, not in Marbella.
16:35
This was the regional elections a few
16:37
years back. He said, "Now we finally own
16:40
Andalusia." And this statement made big
16:43
waves all over the place. I mean, the
16:45
press picked up on it. In my personal
16:47
opinion,
16:50
I think it was blown out of proportion a
16:52
little bit.
16:52
>> Yeah, that sounds like something that
16:54
could be taken out of context.
16:56
>> Yes.
16:57
So, I think that's what I think.
16:58
>> Broburg said, right? He said
17:00
cuz it was interpreted to mean now our
17:02
criminal mafia controls Andalusia, which
17:05
is a very shocking thing to say, but in
17:07
this interview that he did yesterday or
17:08
2 days ago, he
17:10
clarified that was taken out of context
17:12
and he just meant now the PP is in
17:14
control of Andalusia.
17:16
>> Yeah.
17:16
>> So, that's what we have more influence
17:17
and the socialists have retreated.
17:20
>> So, he's claiming
17:21
>> Yeah, essentially he essentially he was
17:23
claiming that
17:25
um that with with the socialists in
17:28
power, I mean, the socialists have been
17:30
in government were in government in
17:31
Andalusia for I think about three
17:33
decades and then Juan Moreno Juanma
17:35
Moreno came along and he won the
17:37
elections for three consecutive
17:38
mandates, but before that it had been
17:40
three decades running of, you know,
17:44
socialist governments in Andalusia. So,
17:47
I think it is absolutely plausible that
17:50
what he was saying was finally
17:53
things are going to change politically
17:55
in Andalusia. It's absolutely plausible.
17:57
>> That does make sense actually. Yeah, but
17:59
we as I said it would be good to hear
18:01
his side of the story.
18:03
Um and good to follow that story as it
18:05
goes along. Just another thing that I
18:07
caught in the paper this week.
18:09
And this is the kind of thing which
18:10
happened to me. I don't know why,
18:11
[laughter] but this uh Okay, so how do
18:14
you get Bizums from friends or, you
18:17
know, people sending you money? Bizum?
18:19
Yeah, seems very popular in Spain.
18:21
There's a Bizum scam. So,
18:25
people are sending people Bizums to try
18:27
and scam them.
18:28
>> How does it work?
18:29
>> Yeah, so if you get a Bizum from
18:32
somebody for a small amount and you
18:34
don't know them and they contact you and
18:37
say, "Oh, sorry, I've sent you this by
18:38
mistake. Can you send it back?" Don't.
18:42
And here's why. So, this is a scam and
18:45
what they do is they've already canceled
18:47
the Bizum so they get it back
18:50
and then you end up sending them the
18:51
money and they don't give that back.
18:54
So, it's a way to
18:56
tap you for, you know, small amounts,
18:58
100, 60 euros, 87 euros, this kind of
19:01
thing. So, it's a new thing and I think
19:03
expats need to be careful with this as
19:06
does everyone really that has a phone
19:08
and has Bizum. So, be careful with
19:09
Bizum.
19:10
>> Yeah, it's good to know that cuz if you
19:11
didn't know about it, you could
19:12
definitely fall for that one.
19:14
>> Yeah, easily to fall for that one. Easy
19:16
to fall for it. So, again, if you get a
19:18
Bacs from somebody that you don't
19:20
recognize, don't send it back.
19:24
Because chances are it's a scam and
19:26
they've deleted it. They've canceled it.
19:27
So, you you know, you won't
19:29
>> So, wait. If you don't send it back,
19:30
does that mean you you keep the money?
19:32
You scam the scammer?
19:32
>> No, because there's a way that they can
19:34
cancel it. Yeah. Also, don't send it
19:36
back just in case you can keep it, you
19:38
know. Why not?
19:40
Um yeah, you shouldn't really be
19:42
accepting money from anyone that you
19:43
don't know.
19:45
Really, should you?
19:47
Um okay. So, that's keeping us nice and
19:51
safe. And then, another topic which is
19:53
close to my heart because I used to work
19:54
in Gibraltar many years ago.
19:57
Um the Gibraltar border.
19:59
So, you hear a lot of different things,
20:01
little different stories about what's
20:02
happening in Gib. And because I'm not
20:04
there, I'm not as close to it. But,
20:06
well, you know about this. So, do you
20:07
want to explain what's happening?
20:09
>> Yeah, so big changes are a foot in
20:12
Gibraltar. One thing I I this claim I've
20:13
got to make now. So, we're recording
20:15
this on what day is it? Thursday,
20:18
uh 8th of of July. Always the quickest
20:21
turnaround with these podcasts. So,
20:23
possibly it's going to get released
20:25
after the events that we're talking
20:26
about have have taken place. So,
20:28
assuming that there's no massive
20:30
disaster and you know, Spain hasn't
20:31
invaded Gibraltar, we're going to assume
20:32
that things have gone according to plan.
20:35
The border will come down completely and
20:38
be opened up to just regular traffic
20:40
without any checks on Wednesday, July
20:42
the 15th. And Pedro Sanchez Yeah, it's a
20:45
huge historical change. We've had that
20:46
border for 300 years.
20:48
And you know, since since the war where
20:51
fell into UK hands. And
20:53
It is a genuinely crazy historical
20:55
thing. Gibraltar is a very small place,
20:57
so it doesn't change people's lives
20:59
unless you live in the area, but it's
21:00
still historical and it has big
21:01
diplomatic repercussions as well. The
21:03
UK's relationship EU. So, it's a big big
21:06
deal and it'll be a huge change for the
21:08
people in Gibraltar and the people in
21:10
the Campo de de Gibraltar. So, it's a
21:13
major thing. They've got Sanchez will be
21:15
there on Monday. We don't really know
21:17
what he's going to be doing, but he'll
21:18
be knocking around, I guess, taking
21:20
photos and inspecting. So, they spent
21:22
They had They started dismantling the
21:24
border infrastructure, all the checks
21:25
and and the canopies and stuff. They
21:28
like in June, and they had like a very,
21:29
very tight deadline. Obviously,
21:31
everything has to be complete by
21:32
Wednesday next week.
21:34
So, they were working overnight. You
21:36
can't work during the day cuz people are
21:37
using the uh the crossing. 15,000 people
21:39
every day, they say.
21:41
So, I mean, we spoke to the Gibraltar
21:43
government yesterday, asked them what
21:44
their plans were, and they were a bit
21:46
noncommittal. They said they'll let us
21:47
know, so
21:49
we, you know, we hope everything's on
21:50
schedule, and there won't be any
21:52
hiccups, but I imagine on Wednesday
21:54
there'll be some kind of ceremony where,
21:56
you know, the first car will cross over,
21:58
and the first person will go on foot,
22:00
and yeah, ticker tape. Yeah. Yeah.
22:02
And then the start of a new new era for
22:04
Gibraltar.
22:05
It's going to be really interesting
22:06
>> interesting to see how that works.
22:08
>> Yeah. I mean, there's all kinds of weird
22:11
complications now cuz they've realized
22:12
that you can't order food, say, pizza
22:15
from Spain to Gibraltar. That's a no-no
22:17
for a
22:18
>> Yeah.
22:19
>> intricacies of the treaty. So, they
22:20
didn't know how to stop that, you know?
22:22
You could sit in Gibraltar and pull up
22:23
>> pizza, or is that any kind of food?
22:24
>> Anything, you know. They've got some
22:26
good Indian takeaways in in the Linea,
22:28
so you might The food in Gibraltar is
22:30
not always got the best reputation, so
22:31
there might be a lot of you know, online
22:34
orders that they're going to have to
22:35
stop somehow. All All these weird little
22:37
things come up around the treaty. It's
22:39
so complicated, so much nuance. I don't
22:42
know how long the actual treaty is
22:43
itself, but we're going to have some
22:45
unforeseen consequences well from this
22:47
treaty.
22:47
>> to be really interesting to see how that
22:48
develops. Yeah. I'm looking forward to
22:51
reading all about that in the next Olive
22:52
Press. So, yeah, thanks, guys. It's been
22:54
really interesting, and it'll be great
22:56
to see how these stories pan out. So,
22:58
yeah, thank you. I'll see you next time.
23:00
>> Thanks, Caroline. See you guys.
23:03
>> Bye.
23:04
>> Don't forget to subscribe to the rest of
23:06
Spain on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple
23:09
Podcasts.
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