Rural Depopulation, Civil Society and Its Participation in the Political Arena in Spain: Rise and Fall of ‘Emptied Spain’ as a New Political Actor?

Abstract

Over the last decades, Europe has been affected by major demographic changes. There are many remote rural areas where the general processes of rural shrinking are being accompanied by demographic decline. The severity of these processes has meant that the issue of depopulation has emerged on the agenda of European Commission and some European governments. In the case of the central and regional governments in Spain, the consideration of rural depopulation as a central issue on the public agenda occurred primarily due to the second wave of depopulation (which took place as a direct consequence of the Great Recession of 2008–2013). Virtually all public administrations have designed or implemented public policies, programs and actions aimed at combating the effects of this intense depopulation. The population in rural areas has not remained passive in the face of rural shrinking in general and depopulation in particular. Their dissatisfaction with the delayed intervention of public administrations, as well as with the limited effects of public policies, has led to the emergence and organization of many civic platforms. In 2021, they have given rise to a new political party, ‘Emptied Spain’. In this article, it is analyzed its emergence, the receptiveness of the Spanish population the—negative—reaction of all other political parties (including the furious reaction from the right-wing media) and the latest developments competing in the political arena. Their first electoral tests (in 2022 and 2023) suggest that the success of the new player is much less than expected, and there is a risk for it to remain marginal, even before it has had a chance to develop and consolidate itself. To conclude, and beyond the specific political actors, it is emphasized that it is necessary to better incorporate effective public policies that, in turn, will make it possible to deal more effectively with rural shrinkage and rural depopulation in Spain.