Extremadura, the “forgotten” region that can't seem to get off the ground

Dossier Why isn't Extremadura growing? 2 articles

• Extremadura, the “forgotten” region that can't seem to get off the ground
• Who are the candidates to preside over Extremadura?

Cáceres"Everyone will be watching me on December 21st, because if we get thirteen seats in Cáceres, we'll win the election." Luis Galán, the Socialist mayor of Mata de Alcántara, who is running in that position on the PSOE list in the Extremadura elections, which kick off a new electoral cycle this Sunday, made this observation at a meeting of party members with the regional presidential candidate, Miguel Ángel Gallardo. About thirty people gathered in a bar in another town, Malpartida de Cáceres, at the end of the eleventh day of campaigning in the province. The atmosphere is more optimistic than the polls suggest. The meeting coincided with the last day the media could publish the polls, and none of them predicted the victory to which Galán alluded. If the polls prove accurate, it will be only the second time in Extremadura's democratic history that the PSOE has not won a regional election (the only other instance was in 2011, when the Popular Party's José Antonio Monago defeated the Socialist Guillermo Fernández Vara). In the other ten elections, the region has been predominantly left-leaning, including in 2023, although the Popular Party's alliance with Vox prevented them from forming a government.

In the previous election, the People's Party (PP) won thirteen seats in Cáceres, while the Socialist Party (PSOE) won twelve. In Badajoz, the Socialists edged out María Guardiola's party, sixteen to fifteen. This close result in both provinces ended in a tie at 28 seats across the region, with the PSOE slightly ahead in the number of votes. Two years later, on the streets of Extremadura, which ARA has been covering for three days, practically everyone assumes the same outcome as the polls indicate: that the PP will win, improving its results but not reaching an absolute majority (which requires 33 seats), while the PSOE will lose ground (some polls predict they will only get 21 seats). However, everything suggests that the current regional president's attempt to get rid of Vox with this early election—the first one wasn't due until 2027—will be thwarted by the rise of the far right, which could double its number of seats, going from five to ten or more. Unidas por Extremadura could also take advantage of the PSOE's weakness. the left-wing coalition led by Podemos, which aims to gain a couple more seats (in the previous elections it obtained four).

Thus, if these feelings are confirmed at the polls on December 21, the focus will not be on the mayor of Mata de Alcántara, a municipality of about 300 inhabitants, but on Gallardo's leadership in Extremadura and also on Pedro Sánchez's leadership at the national level. "Between thieves and whoremongers, look at the state of things. With everything that's coming out, I've switched to Vox," Tina, a middle-aged domestic worker, tells this newspaper, visibly angry, as she walks to work through the historic center of Cáceres. She rolls up one of her jacket sleeves to show a bracelet from Santiago Abascal's party. It will be the first time she votes for the green ballot. Until 2025, she had always placed her trust in the Socialists, whom she says she feels disappointed by. Throughout the Extremadura campaign, the steady stream of news about cases of sexual harassment and corruption linked to the PSOE has been constant and may have influenced public opinion. During the meeting of socialists in Malpartida de Cáceres, the bar's television showed silent images of the Spanish Prime Minister's appearance on Monday at Moncloa Palace, in which He showed himself determined to resist despite the scandals that surround him..

In an informal conversation with ARA in this town of about 4,000 inhabitants in Cáceres, Gallardo admits to "concern" and acknowledges that he faces "adverse conditions," but he shares the same resilience that Sánchez alludes to on the video screen in the local venue. He himself will have to stand trial for the hiring of Sánchez's brother at the Badajoz Provincial Council. The Socialist candidate calls the accusations of malfeasance and influence peddling "false" and says he trusts that left-wing voters will not believe them. Some of the activists accompanying him emphasize that they see him as "strong" and distrust the polls because, in their opinion, they do not fully reflect the reality of the region, with very small towns where the traditional parties have a strong presence and where Vox has not gained a foothold, despite Abascal's tireless campaigning. However, other voices within the PSOE privately criticize the placement of a person facing charges as the lead candidate and see Gallardo as a liability for such a well-established party in Extremadura.

"There are more cats than people"

In the province of Cáceres, almost half of the municipalities are at risk of disappearing, and only three have more than 15,000 inhabitants. It is one of the least densely populated areas in Spain, with fewer than twenty people per square kilometer (the national average is around 96). "There are more cats than people," jokes 28-year-old Mari Carmen to ARA, about her village, Pedroso de Acim, a municipality of fewer than one hundred inhabitants (governed by the PSOE) about 50 kilometers north of the provincial capital. She returned to her parents' home because she couldn't find work in the city of Cáceres—the unemployment rate in the province is five points higher than the Spanish average—and has become one of the five people under 30 living in this village. She is currently working temporarily as an administrative assistant at the town hall, with the intention of moving back when she can. The vast majority of the other residents are retirees. The streets of Pedroso de Acim on a weekday in winter are empty of people, but indeed, full of cats. To speak to anyone, you have to knock on the doors of the few houses that, judging by details like the presence of plants or Christmas decorations on their doors, appear to be inhabited.

In one of these villages lives 80-year-old María with one of her sons. She tells this newspaper that hers is one of the few families left because many people have gone to work elsewhere. Her siblings and nephews live in Bilbao. During festivals or in the summer, when emigrants return and tourists arrive, the population triples. It's a story that ARA keeps repeating as it travels through the villages of Cáceres. "Extremadura has ended up like other underdeveloped countries," reflects José Antonio Pérez Rubio, PhD in Sociology and retired professor at the University of Extremadura, in a conversation with this newspaper. He concludes: "We export everything, but the added value doesn't stay here." He says that communities like the Basque Country, Catalonia, and Madrid have benefited from this. "Something is wrong when you see that young people aren't staying," he maintains, citing his own children as an example. Three out of four, all with higher education, have gone abroad or to cities within Spain like Barcelona. Pérez Rubio adds that while in the 1960s Extremadura exported "labor," now it exports "intellectual capital." One way to retain some of it is through public employees. "We are the region with the most civil servants per thousand inhabitants in the entire country; it's an enormous financial burden."

"Like it's the Congo"

Driving through this area – public transport is almost nonexistent – means encountering few people and vast stretches of a "forgotten" land with an "unknown" natural wealth that is now beginning to attract the attention of the European Commission (EC) due to its mineral richness. "Dozens of mining projects have suddenly appeared as if this were a Congo-style reserve," says the Extremaduran professor. Earlier this year, the EC declared three mining projects in Extremadura strategic, and one of them is near Pedroso de Acim. This is the Las Navas lithium mine – a material used in electric car batteries – which would be located on municipal land in the town of Cañaveral. If the proposal by the company Lithium Iberia goes ahead, it will mean the disappearance of hundreds of hectares of dehesa (pastureland) in an area adjacent to the Monfragüe Biosphere Reserve, which has a high density of endangered birds. "Ecologically, it's an aberration to set this up here," says César, a local resident, as he walks with the ARA among centuries-old holm oaks in an area – the one that would be affected – where calves now graze.

Both César and Julio, an activist with Ecologists in Action, are part of a platform fighting for the conservation of a habitat whose high value, they lament, many locals are unaware of. They complain about the "lack of transparency" from the involved administrations and the complicity of the region's mayors, who "have come to believe" that this could be a solution to depopulation and unemployment. They also denounce the fact that the project's promoters are taking advantage of the fact that the "most educated" people, who could offer resistance, have left, and that "the vast majority of the population are elderly, without formal education, who need work" and live in small, isolated villages. "It will mean ruining everything for four lousy jobs that won't solve anything and won't be for skilled labor. A short-term fix that will lead to long-term problems," warns César, who owns a rural tourism business that would be fatally damaged because it's located less than a kilometer from the "enormous hole." Unidas por Extremadura is the only party that clearly opposes these projects, as well as the only one that advocates for the closure of the Almaraz nuclear power plant. scheduled to begin in November 2027

While Cañaveral has a per capita household income of €24,339, in the municipality of Almaraz it rises to €42,354, the highest in Extremadura. Mayors and local organizations have also formed a platform, with members from different political backgrounds, that advocates for the power plant to remain operational, although environmental organizations are not part of this platform. "It's the largest industry in Extremadura, providing highly skilled jobs. Four thousand families depend on the plant, and we're in a precarious situation because we would probably be forced to emigrate. Extremadura is not a region where industrial opportunities abound," Patricia tells this newspaper. In her case, the plant has allowed her to return to her hometown after studying in Madrid. "There is no technical reason to close a facility that provides 7% of the energy we consume in Spain," she adds.

What's happening with Vox?

Abascal is the national leader who has traveled the most kilometers in Extremadura during his campaign. This Monday, he was in Almaraz, proclaiming, amid concerns about the future of the area, that both Guardiola and the PSOE share "the policies of green fanaticism" that endanger the nuclear power plant. Another argument of the far right is that the two-party system "ruins the countryside." The primary sector accounts for 7% of Extremadura's GDP, compared to the national average of 2.5%. "Many people in this town depend on agriculture and the CAP [Common Agricultural Policy]," confirms Álvaro Arias, the Popular Party mayor of Valdefuentes, a municipality of 1,100 inhabitants 34 kilometers south of Cáceres, who questions Vox's proposals. “How can we go against Europe? We can't vote for them under any circumstances because of their message and because it's not in the best interest of a community that depends heavily on European aid. If it weren't for Europe, we'd be a third-world country,” argues Arias. This PP official is dedicated to urging his constituents to “vote with their heads.” In his opinion, in the final week of the campaign, the far right was “losing steam” because they acted with “a lack of humility.” However, he resigns himself when he mentions younger voters. “Young people are with Vox,” he observes.

Hours after this conversation with ARA in Arias's office, Abascal held a rally in Mérida. This newspaper confirmed that a significant number of attendees were young people and interviewed about ten of them. All of them were minors and could not yet vote. They also agreed that Vox was the prevailing political trend in their respective schools. A group of sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds who learned about the rally via Instagram cited Abascal's "transparency," as well as "the housing issue" and "immigration"—"There's too much of it," they said—as reasons for their support. According to the population census, the number of foreign residents in Extremadura grew by 7.15% during 2024. However, the foreign population represents only 4.4% of the total population, well below the national average of 14%. "The problem is that Vox takes advantage of the anger that all young people feel and takes the issues to their own ground," reflects Vanesa, a first-year law and criminology student at the University of Extremadura.

This response wasn't given at Abascal's event, from whom she distances herself, but rather accompanied by three other young women, whom Vox also failed to convince, on their way to a Roman law class in the historic center of Cáceres. "These are people who don't have enough knowledge to have an opinion on politics, and this man gives populist speeches that, if you have no idea what he's talking about, because he says it with such certainty and conviction, you end up believing it," they all lamented. Despite distancing themselves from the far right, they say they "don't trust" any other party. "Voter turnout will be lower," Arias predicted. She believes that, beyond the disillusionment, the fact that, for the first time, the regional elections don't coincide with the local elections, which generate greater interest, will mean that some people will have less incentive to go to the polls. "I won't vote. And it will be one of the few times I don't, and it's because I don't know who to vote for. I have two children, 24 and 25 years old, who lean towards Vox. I don't share their ideas, but sometimes I understand them," explains María Guadalupe, a worker at a nursing home in Torreque.

As Pérez Rubio, the retired professor of sociology, explains, this village, which now has 560 inhabitants, lost half its population in the mid-20th century due to mass emigration to a single town in Germany to escape poverty. María Guadalupe, in fact, was born there, and among the users of the publicly owned but privately managed facility are people who returned from Germany to retire in their hometown. "Many people came without documentation," and some didn't even learn German, this worker recalls. She also complains about the immigrants who now arrive in Extremadura without papers: "And they don't adapt to our customs," she adds.

The cult of Iberian culture

One of Extremadura's traditions is linked to Iberian ham. While sheep flocks are the most numerous, with almost 3.5 million head, pigs follow with nearly 1.5 million – more than the population, which is less than 1.1 million, according to the INE (National Institute of Statistics). In Extremadura's 40,000 square kilometers, an area roughly the size of Switzerland, over one million hectares are dehesa (pastureland). The pigs raised there, under the Dehesa de Extremadura Protected Designation of Origin, are kept in extensive open-air farms, a challenge should African swine fever arrive. For now, the livestock association Aeceriber, which has united "in defense of the Iberian pig breed," recommends implementing strict biosecurity measures and limiting access to farms, even though the disease is currently concentrated in Barcelona. If it were to reach Extremadura, it would be "a major problem" and "very difficult to contain." “There are a lot of wild boars here,” warns Pedro, who runs a small Iberian ham production business in Montánchez, a town of about 1,500 inhabitants that has become a tourist attraction thanks to its ham—the tourism industry is booming. Overwhelmed with orders for Christmas, he confirms to ARA that prices and demand for Iberian products haven't changed. With one eye on his notebook and the other on the elections, indignant at the “paralysis” caused by the snap election, he warns that Guardiola “has acted foolishly” and should “go home” if it turns out that what he's achieving isn't breaking the dependence on Vox, but rather inflating it even further.

Dossier Why isn't Extremadura growing? 2 articles

• Extremadura, the “forgotten” region that can't seem to get off the ground
• Who are the candidates to preside over Extremadura?