Comment by schnitzelstoat 18 hours ago
I hope this cheap populism doesn't win out. As someone who actually lives in Spain I want there to be good jobs for my children in the future.
Without tech companies and data centres we will just be a theme park for tourists with the poorly paid, precarious hospitality jobs that go along with that.
Yes, but thats is not what the article advocates for (allocation of water between farming/residential/industry).
It wants to keep industrial water use away without even having a discussion about water allocation/price. This is because farmers (all around the world tbh) are getting an insanely good deal right now (on water), and any public discussion of water price is only ever gonna make things worse for them.
> Without tech companies and data centres we will just be a theme park for tourists with the poorly paid
Since when was Aragon ever a tourist hotspot? As far as I know (as another "actual" Spain resident), tourists flock to the coastal areas and the islands (and for some reason, Madrid), not to the inner-mainland like Teruel and Zaragoza.
People go to Teruel to see Albarracín (IMHO one of the most beautiful villages in Spain -- 100% worth the trip) and to make side trips to places like Valderrobres, Calaceite, Rubielos de Mora, Puertomingalvo, Cantavieja, and Mirambel. Tends to be more popular with non-Spanish tourists.
I agree, the inner mainland is beautiful, and so is Teruel, but that's kind of besides the point. Are you disagreeing with me that the tourist hotspots are the coasts + islands? In my experience, it's more of us who already live in Spain who visit various inner mainland areas, not so much tourists who are staying for a week or two.
I meant for the country as a whole.
But Zaragoza is quite touristic, although probably mostly domestic tourism.
How would "tech companies and data centres" alleviate the situation? Tech companies typically employ highly specialized staff that are often not even local to the community. The result of inviting tech companies to your country can be seen in Ireland (/Dublin).
Data centres are even worse - they need only a handful of staff members while draining incredible amounts of energy and water.
You live in Spain - why not advocate for boosting the energy sector, better grid infrastructure, more renewables, etc.? This would harness a tangible, sustainable strength of your country within the EU and, considering the blackout last month, is definitely something to work on before any tech company or datacentre can settle in Spain ...
> Without tech companies [...]
Maybe. Tech companies might have some good jobs for a while. But they will continue to transfer their profits to their parent companies in the US (and/or some tax shelter somewhere).
> and data centres
Data centres employ very few people. Pretty much exclusively during construction. Once operational, very little actual labour is required. Mostly maintenance.
> we will just be a theme park for tourists with the poorly paid, precarious hospitality jobs that go along with that.
No more poorly paid or precarious than a data centre job for Big Tech, I would imagine.
I agree with the sentiment that Spain (and much of Europe, really) needs a big economic boost beyond tourism. But AI fueled data centres ain't it.