THE other day, prime minister Pedro Sanchez pointed out that Spain is the only one of Europe’s largest economies expected to have more people in 2100 than it does today.
That sounds like a triumph.
But it comes with a warning that should be painted in letters ten feet high: Spain will not be growing because the locals are having lots of little niños y niñas.
No, it will continue to grow because people from abroad are choosing to come and live here. People like me.
And no, I’m not talking about the people who keep turning up on the UK’s south coast, or those who stormed into Ceuta recently.
I’m talking about those who since 2017 have filled 97% of the 600,000 new jobs created in Catalunya.
Spain’s fertility rate is around 1.29 children per woman, nowhere near the 2.1 needed to replace the population naturally.
Without positive net migration, the country’s population could fall by roughly 37%, from about 49.1 million in 2026 to 31.7 million by the end of the century.
So let us call the current wave of Vox-driven anti-foreigner anger in Spain what it is: economic self-harm.
Whether they arrive as workers, entrepreneurs, retirees, residents or tourists, foreigners bring demand, skills, investment and taxes to Spain.
They fill jobs in hospitality, construction, healthcare, agriculture and countless small businesses.
They rent and buy homes, eat in restaurants, use local tradespeople and help keep entire communities alive. Many inland areas are only being kept alive by immigrants.
And before anyone starts shouting, this is not an argument for open borders, uncontrolled immigration or ignoring illegal behaviour.
Every country has the right to manage migration properly. Every town has the right to demand infrastructure that keeps pace with growth.
Rules must be enforced fairly, wherever somebody was born and whatever their cultural upbringing.
Nor should we pretend the protests have appeared from nowhere.
Housing is too expensive in Spain and wages have simply not kept pace.
Roads, schools, hospitals and water systems are under way too much pressure. Too much money has been poorly spent – or stolen/syphoned away – by local politicians
In some destinations, badly managed mass tourism has distorted neighbourhoods and priced local people out.
But blaming foreigners is lazy politics.
A British pensioner in Malaga did not fail to build social housing.
A Moroccan worker did not write Spain’s planning laws.
A German family on holiday did not create low wages or permit too many short-term holiday lets.
The answer is competent government and sensible policies: build more homes, regulate holiday rentals properly, train local workers, invest in public services and ensure businesses and individuals pay taxes properly.
Make growth work for residents instead of setting residents against newcomers.
I have spent my life building businesses, and one lesson is simple: you do not solve a labour shortage by driving workers away, and if you want a good example take a look at Brexit in the UK. What a disaster.
And remember: you do not strengthen an ageing country by frightening off younger taxpayers.
And you do not protect prosperity by insulting the customers who help pay for it.
Spain needs controlled migration and better-managed tourism, not xenophobia dressed up as economic policy.
Protest bad planning, by all means. Demand affordable homes, decent wages and first-rate services.
Hold politicians and profiteers to account.
But do not confuse the symptom with the cause.
If Spain wants a growing economy, funded pensions and thriving towns in 2100, foreigners are not the enemy. They are very much part of the future.
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