Spain: Economic disaster, like Trump says, or a model for the civilized world?
This is a special report from Tropic Press European correspondent Bob Brecha
By Bob Brecha
Donald Trump recently attacked Spain for its “disastrous economic figures” and asked, “Has anyone noticed how badly Spain is doing? Its economic figures, despite contributing practically nothing to NATO or its military defense, are absolutely disastrous. It’s very sad to see.”
Unfortunately, and as is often the case, many press outlets reported Trump’s statements without checking to see if they were at all true.
Let’s start with the numbers, taken on their face. GDP growth in the Eurozone as a whole was about 0.9% in 2024 and 1.5% in 2025, significantly lower than that of the U.S. (2.8% in 2024 under Biden and 2.2% in 2025 under Trump). What about the “disastrous” Spanish economy? Quick searches show 3.2% growth in 2024 and 2.8% growth in 2025.
Oops – the “sad” economy has faster growth than the U.S. under Trump. So, which country is the real disaster? And those countries that did pledge to spend a lot more on military defense, such as Germany and Italy, have shown economic growth even lower than the EU average.
There are lots of reasons to question how important GDP is as a measure of well-being in a country, and critics will point out that the overall economic growth in Spain is not necessarily well distributed among all levels of society. But Trump is not likely to look into those kinds of details.
It is interesting to look at some potential reasons for Spain’s relative economic success over the recent past. Two issues stand out (aside from the refusal of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to bow down to Trump’s threats over spending on military hardware): immigration and energy.
Spain garnered headlines recently because of a new program meant to regularize the immigration status of at least 500,000 people who are in the country and working, but who have not had the option of legalizing their status. Like in most European countries and the U.S., people come to have a better life, and for the vast majority, to build a life, become part of the workforce where they are badly needed, and in the end, contribute to their new society.
Not only does the Spanish program remove some legal hurdles, but there are also efforts to actively promote and assist in integration of immigrants. These programs are in stark contrast to countries like Germany and Italy, both desperately in need of immigrants at all levels of education and skills. In the latter two countries, government policies are best described as highly hypocritical, with programs to import labor to support industry and (especially) agriculture, with workers then often subject to abusive conditions and little to no support. The pretense is that these people will “just go away” when their work is done, and the government can continue to rail against foreigners.
Another pillar of Spain’s modernization efforts is the energy system transformation the country is undergoing. Electricity generation has gone from 60% fossil fuel to 25% over the past couple of decades, and CO2 emissions from electricity generation have decreased by 70%.
Solar and wind energy are now the two largest sources of electricity and are growing rapidly. And Spain consistently has amongst the cheapest electricity in Europe, belying the further claims of the Trump administration that only fossil fuels can provide affordable power.
International crises like unprovoked attacks by Russia on Ukraine or by Israel and the U.S. against Iran impact oil prices most dramatically and, to a lesser degree, electricity prices. Countries like Spain and many others in Europe are realizing more clearly why it is to their advantage to transition away from oil and natural gas as an economic hedging strategy with clear benefits for their citizens.
Although Spain lags behind other European countries in sales of EVs, I would be willing to bet that this will change in the near future, especially since they have a strong domestic automobile industry that has moved increasingly into electric vehicles.
Spain has higher economic growth than other peer countries, is attempting to build up a more welcoming culture for immigrants, and is also pushing forward with great success on the ecological transition away from fossil fuels and toward domestic renewable energy sources.
None of these efforts is perfect, and we can find critics from all sides of the political spectrum. However, rather than being a “disaster,” for many, Spain could actually serve more as a beacon of hope for how societies can adapt to the challenges of the 21st century.
Bob Brecha is a retired professor of sustainability, renewable energy and physics (University of Dayton), and longtime newspaper junkie (print and electronic). He consults on energy systems and climate change policies, based in Berlin, Germany. When not fretting about the state of the world and the global climate emergency, he enjoys hiking, biking and reading as much as possible.