Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Spain: suicide the first cause of violent death, largely because of economic desperation

Most Spaniards who die violently do not fall in traffic or labor accidents but they kill themselves. The statistical data is just dripping with clear delay but in 2011 alone more than 3000 citizens killed themselves. It is estimated that some 32% of them do because of effects derived from the socio-economic crisis. 

The most notorious cases are surely those who lose their homes to foreclosures, invariably leaving them with huge debts, because in barbaric Spain, unlike in most other places, the mortgage debt is not canceled by foreclosure but remains forever (growing because of interests and other charges). Private bankruptcy is not a right in this infamous state. 

But there have been other notorious cases, some have killed themselves after being evicted for non-payment of rent, others in protest for not being attended in a family health emergency. Recently in Málaga, Leandro C.M.G. set himself on fire before the regional administration in protest for the death of his mother who had been denied aid. The government washed its hands: the documentation provided was not sufficient... the body count countinues. 

The media barely covers these tragedies, while instead dedicates lots of space of a couple of notorious murders that seem to monopolize media attention since many years ago, as if we could care anymore.

A very incomplete list of suicides for economic causes can be found in the wiki[es] created by 15-M activists.


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