Julio leaves behind the last traces of a long holiday season as many Europeans pause to catch their breath. Last Friday, Spain faced a stark reminder of rising costs, with inflation ticking higher than a decade’s peak and settling above ten percent on an annual basis. A euro saved a year ago now buys about ninety cents, widening the gap every day. The same pressure squeezes salaries, and the prospect of a winter marked by recessionary winds looms large if the improved first-half figures in the United States are any guide. Real estate values, stock markets, mutual funds, and pension plans all feel the strain, and unemployment climbs steadily. Spain might weather the immediate impact, but the global economic backdrop—stagnation and a stubbornly high inflation rate—will likely leave scars across households. Gas cut plans for the coming months echo the sense of a new era, where the festive glow fades and the season becomes a reminder of harsher times. In short, many are leaving behind the old normal and stepping into a future defined by tighter budgets and tighter belts, with a sense that the era of abundance has paused for a while.
For the middle class—a broad, defining slice of Spanish workers—the squeeze began well before today, taking root with the introduction of the euro and the rapid rise of competition from other global producers. What we see is less a straightforward shortage and more a fracture that widens year after year. Erosion wears away purchasing power and living standards, slowly but relentlessly, until the cumulative effect is hard to ignore. Rather than narrowing over the past twenty years, the gap has widened, notwithstanding social programs and a safety net meant to protect the vulnerable. The forces at work are multiple: technology concentrates wealth while making some jobs cheaper and easier to replace; industrial shifts take time to reverse course; and a housing bubble acts like a pressure valve, trapping households in expensive rents and mortgages while wages lag behind. The absence of affordable, quality housing as a central pillar of welfare remains a striking gap in policy discussions, a paradox that jars with the vitality seen in some cities from Madrid to Barcelona and across the archipelago. Behind the surge in property prices lies a quiet, stubborn poverty in the shadows, suggesting that the scale of the housing problem is far from solved. The question is not only about homes but about a society willing to invest in homes as a core part of welfare, rather than letting the market dictate outcomes with a blunt, profit-first lens.
Julio exits the scene as summer fades and routines resume. The sun, beaches, mountains, gatherings with friends, starry nights, short trips and long journeys all define a season that seems suspended in time, where there is little clear distinction between past, present, and future. Autumn, a season described by the writer Patrick Modiano as a time of plans and movement, signals that action follows intention. But movement does not automatically guarantee progress, and the arrival of inflation brings difficult times without a clear, universal playbook for defense. People find themselves improvising, weighing options, and hoping that policy responses will catch up with the realities on the ground. The path forward remains unsettled, and the common chorus is a shared desire for practical protections that can withstand the test of rising prices and shifting markets. In this climate, ordinary life continues—yet with a sharpened awareness that the next choices may define the living standards of families for years to come.