
In Spain, Farmworkers Are Dying in the Heat
Three migrant farmworkers died from heatstroke in Spain this summer. Largely ignored by media, their fate illustrates how the effects of the climate crisis are offloaded on the least visible workers.
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Eoghan Gilmartin is a writer, translator, and Jacobin contributor based in Madrid.

Three migrant farmworkers died from heatstroke in Spain this summer. Largely ignored by media, their fate illustrates how the effects of the climate crisis are offloaded on the least visible workers.

Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has broken ranks with other NATO leaders as he refused to commit to spending 5 percent of GDP on defense. It’s a welcome move, and a rare voice of dissent from Europe’s rush to remilitarize.

Spain’s left-wing alliance Sumar sought to use high office to deliver workers’ rights and lower the cost of living. During the pandemic, it made progress — but now that the broad-left coalition has no majority, Sumar is struggling to make itself heard.

Morocco is increasingly a focus of European alliance-building and investment, including in illegally occupied Western Sahara. French president Emmanuel Macron is leading moves to normalize the colony, despite rulings by the EU’s own courts.

At least 10,457 migrants died trying to reach Spain’s territory in 2024. The European Union’s crackdown on Mediterranean crossings has diverted African migrants toward the even more perilous Atlantic route, turning the ocean into a mass grave.

At least 95 people died in flash floods in eastern Spain on Tuesday. Far fewer could have died in the Valencia region if its right-wing government had prepared civil protection measures — and if bosses hadn’t insisted that workers come into work.

In Spain, conspiracy theorist Alvise Pérez’s new party just won three seats in the EU Parliament. Its get-out-the-vote operation mainly relied on his own Telegram channel — showing how much the alt-right is outcompeting the Left on social media.

Last Sunday, Spain’s Vox party hosted a rally featuring far-right leaders from around the world, including everyone from Marine Le Pen to Javier Milei. It shows how coordinated the movement is becoming — and how Vox is playing a central role.

Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, seized the initiative this week by slapping down right-wing judicial attacks on his government. But his left-wing allies Sumar seem increasingly overshadowed — and their weak position is exposing divisions in their ranks.

Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez may resign after a judge launched a bogus corruption probe targeting his wife, Begoña Gómez. The case is a farce pushed by far-right lobbyists that shows the need to rein in Spain’s politicized judiciary.

When the US suspended aid to the main UN aid agency in Gaza, the Spanish government increased its funding. While most Western countries follow a dogged pro-Israel line, left-wing ministers in Spain have been a rare dissenting voice.

Spain’s congress has voted in Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez for a new term as prime minister. His pact with left-wing Sumar and Catalan parties has withstood far-right violence — but must still overcome resistance from conservative activist judges.

After an inconclusive election, Spain’s broad-left coalition can only stay in power with Catalan parties’ help. It’s ready to negotiate an amnesty for Catalan nationalists — but the idea is creating an intense backlash from right-wing activist judges.

A decade ago, Spain was often cited as a rare European country without far-right MPs. But polls for Sunday’s election suggest the Franco-nostalgist Vox party is about to enter national government, after years building its influence over mainstream conservatives.

After gains for the Right in Sunday’s local and regional contests, Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez has called a snap general election. Yolanda Díaz’s left-wing Sumar project can get a good result — but only if the Left can overcome its damaging splits.

Labor minister Yolanda Díaz is Spain’s most popular politician — and her new Sumar electoral vehicle promises to greatly expand the Left’s support. But the project remains marred by infighting, with strained relations between Díaz and her Podemos allies.

For over 40 years since the return of Spanish democracy, the rulings of Franco-era political courts still criminalized those who resisted the dictatorship. Now, the country’s new Democratic Memory Law has finally cleared the names of the anti-fascist prisoners.

In June, police killed at least 37 people at the Moroccan-Spanish border at Melilla. Spain’s main parties have voted against an official inquest into the massacre — exposing the hollowness of the center-left government’s “progressive” credentials.

On Friday, Moroccan police murdered at least 37 migrants at the border with Spain. The massacre shows how the European Union relies on authoritarian regimes to police its borders — and the shallowness of the Spanish government’s “progressive” image.

Last Sunday’s elections in Spain’s Andalusia region saw conservatives and the far right hit historic highs. The left-wing parties in the national government each fared poorly — they need to do more to bring material benefits to working-class voters.