Aragon

Aragón produces so much energy that it no longer knows what to do with it. And that’s great news for data centers

by

Aragon has always served as a great battery for the rest of the country, sending gigawatts to the industrial centers of Catalonia or the Basque Country, but now the script has changed. The community now has a “problem” that many would envy: it produces so much energy that it has attracted those who need it most. As if it were a magnet, the technological giants have landed in the Ebro valley to convert the region in what The Country already calls “Spanish Virginia”, in reference to the North American state with the highest concentration of data centers in the world. The x-ray of a bittersweet record. To understand the magnitude of the change, you have to look at the counter. According to the data collected by The Aragon Newspaperthe community once again broke its historical record for electricity production in 2025, reaching 22,365 gigawatt hours (GWh), 2.1% more than the previous year. However, this milestone hides an important small print: the record was not achieved thanks to the wind or the sun, since these fell by 4.8% due to the drought (which sank the hydraulics by 19.1%) and a less windy year. Here comes the bittersweet part, to compensate for the green decline and cover the gap left after the great blackout in April, the gas combined cycles increased their activity by 112.2%. But the data that really confirms the change of era is not how much is produced, but how much is spent. While electricity demand in Spain grew by a modest 2.7%, in Aragon internal consumption shot up by 7.1%, a figure that the provincial media describes as “true structural change” and that it attributes directly to the takeoff of the Amazon Web Services (AWS) complexes in Villanueva de Gállego, El Burgo and Huesca. The rain of millions (and megawatts) This energetic appetite is no coincidence; It is the fuel for an unprecedented investment. As we have explained in Xatakathe autonomous government has given the green light to the expansion of AWS, which contemplates an investment of 15.7 billion euros in a ten-year plan. It is not about building isolated ships, but about creating an “AWS Region” (Europe Spain), a system of eight campuses interconnected by fiber optics that function as a single operational unit protected against failures. But it’s not all servers and algorithms in the cloud. From the Herald have detailed that Amazon will not only save data, but will also build a server recycling factory in Aragon. With an additional investment of 200 million euros, this circular economy plant promises to create up to 1,100 direct jobs, a balloon of labor oxygen that goes beyond highly qualified technical profiles. Jam in the network and flight to Teruel. The Aragonese paradox is that, although there is plenty of energy, there are no “roads” to transport it. The electrical distribution network in the community is at its limit, with an occupancy of 94.3%well above the national average. There is electricity, but there are no free outlets for so much industry. This saturation in the Zaragoza logistics hub has caused an unexpected movement towards “emptied Spain.” As my colleague in XatakaGiven the impossibility of connecting in the capital, AWS has decided to take one of its new centers to La Puebla de Híjar, a town in Teruel with barely 900 inhabitants. The choice is strategic: the N-232 highway acts as the backbone and, there, the electrical grid has the capacity (100 MW guaranteed) to feed the beast. Side B: water and territory. Every revolution has a cost, and in this case it is measured in natural resources. Digital euphoria collides with the physical reality of a dry land. The alarms went off, as reported The Countrywhen Amazon requested to expand its water concession by 48% to cool its servers. The conflict is palpable on the ground, the Gaén irrigation community in Teruel keeps negotiations blockedrefusing to give up water from the Ebro if that compromises the agricultural future of the area. The most critical view brings it Ecologists in Action. Its renewable viewer warns that the deployment is not harmless: there are more than 12,000 hectares of authorized solar plants and thousands of wind turbines in the pipeline. The organization warns that, if all the data center projects in the portfolio are approved, their electrical consumption could reach five times the current demand of the entire community, turning the Aragonese landscape into a continuous industrial estate and drying up its water resources. The new balance. Aragón closed the year 2025 at a fascinating crossroads. How to conclude The Aragon Newspaperthe community continues to be surplus, but less and less. Electricity exports have fallen from 56% to 52% in just one year. The region has achieved what seemed impossible: from being a mere service station to becoming the engine of the digital economy. But the question that remains in the air, between million-dollar investment figures and environmental warnings, is whether the electricity grid and water resources will withstand the weight of being Europe’s hard drive. Image | freepik Xataka | Aragón is not afraid of AI: it has just approved three more new mega data centers in full commitment to renewables

Aragón has just activated its second major data center project. The bet goes through a challenge that is difficult to ignore

by

Aragón is going through a unique moment: in just a few years it has gone from competing to attract data centers to announce three mega facilities new ones promoted by Forestalia that aim to strengthen their position on the European cloud map. The announcement by the regional government comes in the midst of a race to attract technological investment, but also in a territory where the electrical network works to the limit and every great project depends on decisions that have not yet been made. The result is a scenario as ambitious as it is full of unknowns, which will determine the real impact of this expansion. How these digital complexes work. A data center is, in essence, a technological heart that stores and processes information for millions of users and companies. Every series that is streamed or every operation carried out in the cloud passes through servers that require stable power and constant cooling. That is why the choice of location is so relevant: electrical capacity and operational security are needed. Aragón has been gaining ground on that map and today is seen as a strategic option for new facilities. The project. The Government of Aragon has detailed that the Búfalo Project includes three data centers in Magallón, Botorrita and Alfamén, backed by an investment of 12,048 million euros. The deployment includes DCM Data, DCM Dédalo and DCM Blue, whose works would begin between 2028 and 2029 and will extend for approximately eight years. According to official estimates, the construction will generate about 30,000 temporary jobs. In the operational phase, each facility will add hundreds of workers, with a total that clearly exceeds a thousand stable positions. Aragón on the international board. The accumulated investments in data centers exceed 70,000 million euros and place the community in the same conversation as consolidated European hubs. According to the President of the Government of Aragon, Jorge Azcón, the computing capacity that is being configured rivals that of Dublin and Paris and aspires to approach that of Frankfurt. The regional Executive also states that the data that will be managed will have a European scope, from Germany or France to Italy and the United Kingdom, reinforcing the international dimension of the project. Distributed renewable self-consumption. The Government of Aragon presents self-consumption as a distinctive element of the Búfalo Project, since approximately half of the energy consumption will be associated with wind and photovoltaic parks powered by Forestalia. This volume of generation allows for a renewable supply, although it does not eliminate dependence on the general network, which will provide the rest of the energy. The underlying idea is to combine own generation with existing infrastructure to sustain large-scale facilities. Press to see the message in X The word “self-consumption” may lead one to think that data centers and renewable plants share the same physical space, but this is not the case. Forestalia is setting up parks in various regions of Zaragoza and Teruel, located where the natural resource is most favorable. The data centers, as we say, will be in Magallón, Botorrita and Alfamén, and the connection between both worlds is made entirely through the Red Eléctrica network. It is a distributed scheme that coordinates generation and consumption without a single energy campus. A network to the limit. Aragon produces more electricity than it consumes and exports about 54% of its generation, but that abundance contrasts with a distribution network that functions practically at maximum. A report published in September 2025 sets its occupancy level at 94.3%, well above the national average of 84.3%. This saturation leaves little room to incorporate large consumers such as data centers. The result is a paradox: available energy, but an infrastructure incapable of delivering it to all projects. Projects that have already reached their peak. The bottleneck is not a future hypothesis, but a reality that already affects several operators. According to Heraldothe data centers in the pipeline have requested more than 6,000 MW and only a part has firm access, with cases such as Vantage, which has 90 MW authorized despite aiming for 300. Microsoft also depends on tenders in saturated nodes. The Government itself recognizes that everything will be linked to Red Eléctrica’s planning and the decisions of the central Executive. Water, a debate that is still open? The cooling of data centers has generated concern in Aragon since Amazon asked for late 2024 48% more water for the complexes that already operate in the region. Ecologistas en Acción and the Tu Nube Seca Mi Río platform then warned of the water impact of these facilities in the midst of a structural drought. Azcón maintains that future Forestalia centers will use a closed circuit with “practically imperceptible” consumption and affirms that the debate “is over.” In any case, everything indicates that this matter remains under public scrutiny. To facilitate the path of the Buffalo Project, The Government of Aragon has declared the initiative as of Autonomous General Interest, a figure that allows procedures to be simplified and the different administrations involved better coordinated. This declaration speeds up procedures, but does not resolve the main point of friction: the available electrical capacity. Hence, the regional Executive insists on its willingness to work with the central Government and Red Eléctrica, the only actors that can modify the network planning. Real progress will depend on those decisions. The announcement of the three new data centers, together with the rest of the initiatives in the pipeline, places Aragón at a decisive moment to consolidate its presence on the European cloud map. The investment is notable and so is the promised employment, but much of the result will depend on decisions that are not entirely in the hands of the community. The region has shown intention and movement, although it remains to be seen what the real scope of this bet will be. Images | İsmail Enes Ayhan | Jorge Azcón (X) In Xataka | The European Commission’s pendulum with AI is real: it will sacrifice privacy to … Read more

While Europe was razed by black plague, an unexpected state applied epidemiological pioneer measures: Aragon

by

The whole history of humanity changed one day of 1346 in front of the doors of the city of Caffa in the Crimean Peninsula. Between that day and the end of 1351, 70 million people died worldwide. That is, between 30% and half of the population disappeared from the surface of the earth. It is very difficult to ponder what the black plague meant. But not everywhere was the same. In the vicinity of Lake Issyk-Kul in the current Kyrguistan, Almost everyone died. In the crown of Aragon, The thing was different. Do not be misunderstood, we talk about a complex and diverse territory, the impact of black plague on the different kingdoms and counties was as terrible as anywhere; But, according to A recent study by Albert Reixach Salahe has just demonstrated that “urban governments began to try pioneer techniques that anticipated” what would later be applied in the rest of Europe. The laboratory of the continent. At first, like all, Aragonese communities resorted to religion. East of the Peninsula processions, public sentences and offerings to the saints were filled. It seems, 1384, the Municipal Council of Manresa tried to placate the “divine anger” prohibiting gambling. From whatever, it did not work. AND, According to Reixach Salathroughout the fifteenth century, the authorities began to add more concrete measures and, to put it in some way, more modern. For example, death registration systems were created (in Barcelona it was active since 1420). At the same time, Terrasa and Cervera began to apply mobility restrictions prohibiting entry to travelers who had been in locations with active cases. A lot of good ideas. Obviously, these answers were partial, clumsy, uncoordinated and reactive. A good example is that in 1458, the city ejected all the Mallorcans from its municipality. No matter that the island was one of the most controlled places in the Mediterranean. In Sóller, without going any further, there were permanent terrestrial controls for decades. However, numerous ideas were clairvoyant. We usually overcome the origin of the ‘quarantine’ to Venice or France, but (always According to Reixach Sala) We know that before that Cervera had already built preventive confinement barracks for anyone who returned to the city. In Valencia it also began to do a few years later. In the same vein, Mallorca had a kind of “Board of Health” since 1476 that introduced prevention measures, administrative regulations and generalized health measures. The grain and the straw. In 2015 Karolinska Institute of Stockholm when granted your youyou The Nobel Prize in Medicine. Many interpreted him as a prize for traditional Chinese medicine, but What they were rewarding It was a huge effort to carefully analyze each and every one of the remedies that the millenary Chinese civilization. Because, between superstition and care, there were good things: bright things. The same as in Aragon. Image | Pierart Dou Tielt, c. 1353. In Xataka | The black plague was a traumatic episode for the human being. But our immune system also improved

The future of the European cloud is being written in Aragon. AWS has made him his most ambitious bastion in Spain

by

What until now was an ambitious announcement has just become a reality. The Aragon government has published in its official bulletin the approval of the General Plan of Interest of Aragon (Piga) that will allow Amazon Web Services (AWS) expand your infrastructure in the region. This is a project presented in May last year that contemplates an investment of 15.7 billion euros and that comes with the promise of promoting thousands of jobs, both direct and indirect. The process has been resolved in just 15 months, an unusually brief period for these types of procedures, and that places the American multinational in a position to immediately start the works in the municipalities where it already has a presence and in others in which it will be installed for the first time. We do not talk about a starting point, but of an extension: Amazon already operates three centers in Aragon And now he plans to lift five more. The Aragonese bet to become a strategic cloud enclave The key that this advance has promoted is in the Pigawhich acts as a fast route for large -draft initiatives. The regional government declared AWS’s expansion in 2024 INVESTMENT OF AUTONOMIC AND GENERAL INTERESTwhich opened the door to a preferential process. In the social network XThe Executive highlighted the publication in the BOA and the words of the counselor Octavio López, who valued the fifteen months that the entire process lasted. Click on the image to see the original publication in x As we indicated above, the planned investment amounts to 15.7 billion euros. It is the greatest technological operation approved in Aragon and one of the most ambitious in Spain. The regional government emphasizes that this figure reflects not only the size of the works, but also Amazon’s commitment to consolidate its presence in the region. The execution, of course, will be progressive, with an estimated temporary horizon of ten years. The plan contemplates a remarkable scale jump: of the three existing campuses It will be passed to a total of eight locations in Aragon. These will be located in Villanueva de Gállego, Huesca, Ebro Burgo, Zaragoza-La Cartuja and Sotonera. Each campus will integrate not only data centers, but also auxiliary facilities necessary for its operation. The plan foresees new access roads, fiber optic and High voltage lines for campus. In water matters, specific conduits for process water and evacuation networks will be enabled. Data centers are the machinery that supports digital life. There photos, videos and documents are stored, processes that work the social networks are executed and transactions that move the economy are managed. Every time you see a series in streaming, you participate in a video call or make an online payment, there are servers by processing the information in the background. Companies such as Google, Microsoft or Amazon operate this type of infrastructure. In Aragon, the extension corresponds to AWS. All the site planned in Aragon will be interconnected by fiber optics and managed as a single unit. In the company’s jargon it is called the AWS region, in this case identified as AWS Europe (Spain). The model is based on dividing the region into several areas of availability, so if one suffers an incidence, the others maintain the service. The extension ensures more capacity, lower latency and greater resilience for customers who use services in the Peninsula. Official documents stand out that campus will be equipped with redundant energy, cooling and communications systems. This means that, although a component fails, the service remains active. Fire detection measures, water leak control and operational continuity protocols are also included. In parallel, the plan incorporates energy efficiency and water management commitments, with infrastructure designed to optimize consumption. The goal is to sustain growth that combines technological capacity and environmental sustainability. Not everything is lights along the way. As the country collectedAt the end of 2024 Amazon requested to expand in a 48% water availability for its three complexes already active in Aragon. The petition ignited the alarms of groups as environmental environment and your platform your cloud dry my river, which question the water impact of this type of facilities. In their allegations they recalled that climate change should already have been considered and that, in full structural drought, what corresponds is to limit consumption. The Aragon government presents this extension as part of its strategy to attract technological investment and reinforce the role of the community on the European digital map. In the official communication it is noted that projects of this scale allow diversifying the economy and modernizing key infrastructure. Beyond the numbers, the institutional message aims to consolidate Aragon as a cloud reference enclave. Images | Xataka with Gemini 2.5 | İsmail Enes Ayhan In Xataka | Spain is becoming an authentic mecca of data centers. Uruguay has some lessons about it

There was a day that MotoGP rivaled in audiences with football. The Aragon GP confirms that this time has died

by

Moto GP, the queen category of the World Motorcycling, the most often of all, is ever seen in Spain. At least that is what some public data indicates, a rare thing in a country of great biker tradition like Spain and that has Marc Márquez, again, as a claim to fight for a title six years later. What is happening? One million. One million viewers. That is the figure that, According to Kantar Mediafollowed the race of Moto GP last Sunday through the sixth. Although the race became In the third program of the day with the highest market share, the truth is that the number of people who followed motorcycling per open on television was not as high as one would expect. Especially if we consider that the trend is being down. The X account Lord of the Mediawhich regularly collects information related to sports audiences in Spain indicated that the monitoring of motorcycling is going down in Spain. Click on the image to go to the original tweet The data are going down. Compared to last year, it is estimated that some 600,000 people have stopped following the queen category of the World Cup. Of the 1.6 million of the Spanish Grand Prix that followed the race in 2024 to the million viewers of the last Grand Prix of Aragon, who joined, according to Kantar Media, one million people in front of television. Along the way, in Spain other great open awards have been offered and the data (at least first) say that some interest has been lost. This user collects that the first date already mentioned last year was the aforementioned Grand Prix of Spain, with those 1.6 million. From there he went to the Grand Prix of Catalonia and the Solidarity GP (the race that replaced in Barcelona to the appointment that the calendar in Valencia should have closed and that could not be run because of the Dana). In both cases 1.3 million viewers were counted. But this year we are having worse figures. The Spain Grand Prix left 1.2 million viewers in front of television and, first, one million viewers at the Aragon Grand Prix last weekend. Sure? The data of a million spectators hides other figures. In See you They explain that the Dazn and Aragon TV viewers must be added to the data of La Sexta, where the race was also issued. In that case, the data add a non -negligible figure. The total sum leaves the race in 1,282,000 spectators. Of these, Dazn would add another 152,000 spectators and the local television another 72,000 followers. That is, of the almost 1.3 million viewers, more than 15% used other platforms to follow the race. The market share also rises from 14.5% to 16.1% which would leave it as the second most watched program of the day (surpassing, yes, to the roulette of fortune, authentic rock in daily television consumption). What could happen? The truth is that, as we said, seen with some perspective the data of last weekend does not seem so bad. In 2020, 2021 and 2022, when the race was issued by Tedeport, Telecinco and 1, respectively, the million spectators were not able to arrive. However, we do not have the data of how many people followed Dazn last year the races of the Motorcycling World Cup. Either in See you They offered follow -up data for the private platform on the first appointment of the year in open. A bitter fact. Despite the game of figures, the truth is that it seems that in a year the interest has declined. But most worrying, they point out from Motorpasion motorcycle It is expected that Marc Márquez, that this year leads the championship again and has very serious options to take the title six years later, is not generating the expected pull. Especially if we take into account that the Spain 1 Grand Prix of Formula 1 took 2.2 million viewers in front of the television despite the fact that neither Carlos Sainz nor Fernando Alonso had real possibilities of Victoria, which always serves as a traction. However, neither has formula 1 achieved large figures last year. The 1.44 million data in Telecinco in 2025 is slightly higher than the previous year but is far from the 1.72 million of 2022 and the 1.84 million of 2021. Only to good results fever In the first races with Aston Martin they managed to raise the figure to 2.25 million viewers in 2023. The best days were left behind. What seems very clear is that the Motorcycling World Cup does not attract what attracted before. In recent years the races of the queen category have stagnated between one million and a million and a half spectators. But the big figures were left behind. These, on the other hand, have not seen each other for more than a decade. 2015 was the last great year of huge audiences in motorcycling. That season were recorded almost six million viewers In the duel between Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi for taking the title. In 2013, the World Cup closure also brought together almost five million in front of the spectator. The second most seen in history, between both appointments, was the world title of Álex Crivillé in 1999. A cluster of circumstances. There are several factors that explain why motorcycling has lost bellows in recent years although one seems to be erected above all. Crivillé’s title was the first of a Spaniard in 500 cc, so the expectation was maximum. The duels of the Spaniards with each other (Jorge Lorenzo-Dani Pedrosa) or with Valentino Rossi attracted an enormous interest. But in Motorsan They regretted in 2018 that passing the distribution of the World Cup to a payment chain He had killed the audiences. It had passed in a few years of six million viewers just over 300,000 followers in front of television. Without an open television network that follows the entire World Cup it is … Read more

The Catl battery factory in Aragon promised to generate thousands of work. At the moment, 2,000 Chinese will be left

by

1,847 Chinese workers. That is the estimated figure that, according to The Aragon newspaperwill arrive in Figueruelas to lift the battery production plant for electric cars that Catl and Stellantis signed months ago. Then it was sold that some 3,000 jobs would be created but, for the moment, almost 2,000 employees will come from the Asian country. The data. The first time that the subject was discussed Chain ser Last May. Then it was pointed out that Catl would arrive in Figueruelas (Aragon) with more than 2,200 workers from China who will raise the new battery factory for Stellantis “, in the words of Mayor Luis Bertol. The figure, as we see, has clarified until it closes in the aforementioned 1,847 workers. The town faces a challenge, since those almost 2,000 workers would fold the current census of inhabitants that In 2024 it was estimated at 1,240 neighbors. Obviously, the vast majority of factory workers that Stellantis has in the municipality live in nearby towns and, above all, in near Zaragoza since they are currently accounted for about 5,000 regular employees in the property of the car manufacturer. A promise. The new factory that Catl and Stellantis will raise in Figueruelas will be The largest battery producer of electric cars from our country, even ahead of Volkswagen’s in Sagunto. Then it was announced that it arrived with an investment of 4.1 billion euros under the arm. But it was also promised that it would create 3,000 direct jobs. The figure leaves the declaration of general interest (say) approved by the Government of Aragon to open the doors to the express processing of the aid, as collected in December 2024 in The Spanish. “The noise is in the media”. Since the news was known, the coming and going of the numbers on Chinese workers has raised some dust. It is not clear why CATL needs to bring almost 2,000 Chinese workers to raise their factory. Nor if that work could have been left in the close environment or if knowledge is missing for it. Similarly, it has also been put on the table how Figueruelas will face its population. Bertol pointed to The Aragon newspaper that “noise is more in the media than among our neighbors.” Explain that the idea is to start prefabricated housing near the factory facilities. And he shields that there was already a similar situation in the 80s when General Motors lifted the Opel plant (which now belongs to Stellantis) in the town. Is it legal? According to The Aragon newspaperChinese workers who will arrive in Figueruelas will not be only operators that aim to lift the factory. Intermediate controls are expected and, of course, high -ranking controls. To do this, Catl will apply the framework of the Unity Law of large companies and strategic groups (Law 14/2013) Born to promote the arrival of these macroprojects after the 2008 crisis. This law is included, for example, the streamlining of residence permits for highly qualified workers. Is Chinese labor needed? “At the start you need people who, getting out of the plane, know what to do in that factory later.” Thus defends Bertol, mayor of Figueruelas, the arrival of these workers in the city. “You don’t have to get your hands to the head for this matter, it is a logical and normal process,” he explains to The Aragon newspaper. “Catl brings battery technology, which is also the best in the world market, and brings its machines and ways of working.” Without these workers it would not be the factory in motion although, yes, it is not said how long they are expected to maintain their work in the Aragonese town or if formations will be established to local workers. Other cases. Although striking, the case of Figueruelas is not exceptional either. Catl’s landing in Germany was similarwith investments that came from the hand of Chinese workers who could train local workers but, above all, they did Full performance What was lifting. Byd has worked similarly on his arrival in Hungary. And it is something that works in the two West-Oriente directions. Following the tariff war that the United States opened with all the countries of the world, the debate of Why Apple did not make its iPhone in the United States. Beyond costs, there was a simple reason: there is a lack of people formed. Photo | Stellantis and Catl In Xataka | Nissan pointed to the electric car as a future plan. It will fire 9,000 employees and prove Toyota

Aragon wanted his children to eat more fruit at school. So he went to look for her 10,000 kilometers away

by

The Aragonese political debate has waited these days with two unexpected protagonists: fruit and schools. Or rather, the fruit that is distributed in schools. Although Aragon has thousands and thousands of hectares full of fruit and vegetable trees and stands out in the production Of cherry, peach and apples, among other fruits, the farmers of the region have raised their voice to complain that in the educational centers of their villages, pieces that arrive from plantations located abroad are being distributed, in some cases thousands of kilometers. The complaint the has launched the union of farmers and ranchers of Aragon (UAGA) and puts the finger in a yaga that already has taken to the collective To the street. What happened? The complaint has been made public UAGA-COAG. In A statement Published yesterday the Agrarian Organization ensures that there are dining rooms of educational centers in Aragon in which fruit arrives from foreign countries is being distributed. Moreover, UAGA goes further and claims to have witnesses confirming that in several schools in the region oranges from Egypt and pears of South Africa have been delivered, cultivated to more than 10,000 kilometers of distance. As a test, the association includes a photograph in which a box of pears is shown that indicates that its origin is South Africa, although there is no reference that reveals that the image was taken in a Aragon school. Click on the image to go to Tweet. “Unfair competition”. In its statement UAGA claims to feel “outraged” by the importation of fruits that it is perfectly possible to find in the Spanish fields and questions that countries from which the merchandise is brought meet the sanitary, environmental and labor standards that the European Union does require that community farmers. “It involves the violation of the demands of the organization and the fruit growers that require the application of ‘mirror clauses’ to imports from third countries “, They emphasize From the collective. UAGA-COAG wields two reasons that, in their opinion, condemn local farmers to suffer “unfair competition” against imports from other countries. The first is the strict regulation imposed by Brussels to European plantations on the use of pesticides, manipulation and conservation of fruit. The second is labor costs. While in Spain they go up every year, in Egypt, complaintthe minimum wage is 176 euros per month and in South Africa it is around 270. Looking at the EU. The complaint of the UAGA has reached enough draft for the Aragon Government to have gone to give explanations. The regional press appointment Sources of the Ministry of Agriculture that clarify that the key is in the financing of the lunch and sowing program to schools: the funds start from the EU, with what they arrive accompanied by their standards. When hiring the fruit supply, a geographical proximity requirement is not applied nor is it requested that the products be of community origin precisely to avoid a “discriminatory competitive advantage” in the process. The regional government argues that its role is that of intermediary. And now what? The Regional Executive emphasize Also that the objective is to “consolidate healthy eating habits” among schoolchildren and that fruit and milk are distributed at times such as lunch and snack, not in dining services. The program is not exactly new, but now it is offered with mixed funds that combine a community contribution and another from Aragon. With the EU money, a lot of 300,000 euros that is managed with the requirements of Brussels is paid. With the one contributed by the Aragon government, another 200,000 is financed that can handle with its own criteria. And the administration already guarantees that, “in line with its defense of the local product,” will give priority to proximity productions. The idea is to distribute cherries, apricot and nectarines, although they can also be replaced by apples or pears if requested by the centers. Beyond schools. The fruit distribution program is important because it reaches hundreds of school points and thousands of children, but the “outrage” of Uaga-Coag is not explained only by the alleged distribution of pears of South Africa and oranges of Egypt instead of fruit grown in the Aragonese countryside. Farmers It has come out To the street On several occasions to claim decent prices, changes in community policy and greater controls to ensure that the merchandise that comes to the country conforms to the community demands with which they work. “These parameters make it possible to import fruit from third countries profitable for certain companies and generate unfair competition at all levels,” the Agrarian Association in Your statement. “To end these practices, UAGA insists on claiming public administrations (regional, state and European) the regulation of markets and the recovery of the principle of community preference.” Images | Federicoeth Photography (Flickr) and Uaga In Xataka | We have a hard time differentiating a banana from a banana. And an illegal network was taking advantage of it in Spain

The mountains of Aragon are plagued by Christian crosses. Now there is a battle to tear them down or maintain them

by

Aragon lives his peculiar “Cruces War”. One that has begun in the mountains of the region, has jumped to the administrations and threatens Finish in the Courts. And all following a crucifix of several meters installed in the Sierra de Albarracín, a construction that has divided part of the Aragonese political class and society: for some it is a symbol that It must be preserved for its heritage, historical and symbolic value; For others, an element that must be withdrawn by representing a danger or directly crash with the aconfesionality of the State. The debate is served. The beginning of everything, a ray. If Aragon has faced his particular “battle of the crosses” for a few weeks, it is for lightning. A few months ago, In September of 2024, the Sierra de Albarracín suffered a storm that affected THE CROSS OF BEZASa monument of several meters high and several steps located on top of a rock. The cross did not fall, but it was affected by a ray that, Precise Diario de TeruelHe broke part of the concrete and gave a scare to a guard. What happened? The episode was a problem for several reasons. The ray was supposedly splintered part of the stone that covers the metal structure of the cross and the fragments fell near a guard. Enough for the Provincial Environment Service will send a letter to the town hall in which he proposed to withdraw the monument. Among other reasons alleged that it acts as a lightning rod during storms, a risk that could now increase that its metal is air. “An environmental risk”. The regional report in which it was argued that the cross represents “An environmental risk” convinced the Consistory, that He gave green light to demolition. Beyond the danger it can represent, the cross is popular in the area (it names the Peñasco on which it rose), but it is not especially old nor is there a clear unanimity about its historical value. The monument was installed in July 1939in memory of battalion 135 Bailén, but Alfonso Casas, expert in the Spanish Civil War, I explained recently In an interview with Diario de Teruel that in his opinion “it is not properly a vestige of the war.” Moreover, in his opinion he also does not have a special artistic value. And the debate arrived. Not everyone thinks the same. The decision to tear down the cross He didn’t like it For example to Christian lawyers, who a few days ago filed an appeal before the contentious-administrative court of Teruel. Its argument is simple: the cross has been in the same state for several decades (they presented a video in which they ensure that it can be seen how in the 80s the structure already had the pampering damages that now blame the lightning), so there is no reasons to remove it from the rock. “This monument, erected in 1939, reaches three meters with the base and is an important symbol of Christianity in the valley,” Highlight entitywho complains that “everything that recalls that Spain is and must remain Catholic” produces “a strange hives” in institutions. To reinforce his claim he has also initiated a collection of signatures that backed by more than 13,300 people. Beyond the Cruz de Bezas. So far the case is interesting but basically affects the municipality of Bezas and its neighbors. If you have caught the attention of state media It is because the debate has climbed and that September ray has put in the point of view other religious monuments distributed throughout the Aragonese mountains. One of the key actors of that debate has been Vox, which He has taken advantage to go beyond the decision of demolition of Bezas. His spokesman in the courts of Aragon, Alejandro Nolasco, has advanced Two party decisions. First, claim in the courts to keep the Cross of Bezas. Second, promote an initiative for “all historical and artistic goods that the Taliban of the PP and PSOE want to destroy” are declared BIC. “We are going to live times in which the crosses are going to tear down putting environmental, landscape excuses. Of course, free way for mills and plates.” “Contributes to degradation”. Vox has already proposed to achieve BIC’s tag (and armor) sights Located in the Old Pueblo de Belchite, Los Pinares de Venice, Monzón, Barbastro or Teruel, where he also wants protection to The cross located in the Plaza del Seminario. However, another group that advocates something very different: the Movement towards a secular state (Mhuel). In fact the entity has launched A campaign to demand the withdrawal of religious symbols distributed by the Summits of Aragon. “Aragonese mountains are fragile spaces that already suffer strong pressure from human activity,” The association arguesthat insists in that the presence of metal crossings affects the ecosystem and are a danger for hikers, especially during storms. “The installation of artificial elements contributes to the degradation of these spaces, many cataloged.” The great background debate. It is not the only argument that Mhuel wields, which also points to the great background debate: religious symbols in the middle of the mountain. “The presence of Christian symbols in public natural spaces contravenes the principle of aconfesionality of the State collected in our Constitution,” ditch: “The mountains are heritage of all citizens, regardless of their beliefs, and must remain free of religious symbols that represent only one part.” Hence the entity advocates extending Bezas’s criteria. But … how many are there? Good question, difficult answer. Bezas is not the only cross that crown rocks or peaks. In La Peña Oroel There is another very popular, just like that of The top of Anetowho jumped to the media in 2013 after the Benasque City Council decided to withdraw it to repair it. In 2024 Today Aragon needed That in the mountains there are different types of crosses with a religious or civil value, from indicators of sanctuaries or hermitages to guides for pilgrims, tributes to deceased or … Read more

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.