The
YouTuber
Rubén Doblas, popularly known as
El Rubius
, was the one who sparked the controversy.
In January 2021, when the pandemic was still very present in homes across half the planet, El Rubius announced in a
Twitch
broadcast that he was leaving Spain and moving to Andorra.
The
streamer
justified his decision by saying that he wanted to be close to his friends since dozens of content creators resided in the country.
It was soon discovered what made Andorra so attractive: the maximum personal income tax rate in Andorra is 10%, while in Spain if the income exceeds 300,000 euros — like that of big
YouTubers
— it exceeds 47%.
Public opinion and the Spanish authorities criticized the lack of solidarity of those crossing the border.
On the contrary, the Andorran government welcomed them with open arms, since in the country of tourism and shopping, the pandemic had destroyed the economy and the arrival of new income became vital.
Three years after the escape of
youtubers
, a new adventure of one of them has come to the fore in the small country.
Last Monday it came to light that another Spanish YouTuber, David Cánovas, known as TheGrefg, intends to evict an 80-year-old woman from an apartment block that he bought in the summer of 2020 in Escaldes-Engordany.
Canovas, like many of his colleagues, has dedicated himself to investing in brick in a country where housing prices have risen so much in recent years that even the Andorrans themselves — who are a minority in a country where 85,000 people live and only 30,000 They were born there—they have problems renting apartments.
The situation has worsened to the point that on December 8, more than 2,700 people demonstrated across the country because the high price of apartments drove them out.
It was the largest demonstration in memory in Andorra, where discretion and social peace are usually the maxims to follow.
The government finds itself at a real crossroads.
Joan Ramon Crespo, a member of the coordinating platform for decent housing in Andorra, was one of the promoters of the demonstration, and dates the origin of the problem: “In 2008 the economic crisis caused 10,000 Portuguese who worked in the country to leave. .
Many apartments were left empty and politicians thought that foreign investment would save the economy.
Red carpets have been laid out for investment and luxury construction to the point that today, workers who earn 1,370 euros cannot rent apartments that exceed 1,500 euros per month.”
Crespo maintains that
YouTubers
are the most "obvious" "speculators" but there are also "vulture funds and wealthy Andorran families that have joined the party."
As a result, many Andorrans are looking for rentals outside the country.
“The Government has been permissive, and while the population is becoming poorer.
Foreign investment should be reduced and tourist housing regulated, because there are 2,700 apartments that are only rented to tourists,” he laments.
The coordinator for decent housing assures that the Andorran middle class is “totally sunk.”
“The future of our children is on the verge of disappearing,” warns Crespo.
The majority of content creators who broadcast from Andorra are foreigners, but there is one exception.
The
tiktocker
Clau Bunny (Claudia Cunill) is Andorran and her x-ray of the country is very similar to Crespo's.
“Andorra no longer belongs to the Andorrans.
They have managed to ensure that only
YouTubers
and investors can live here.
In the end I had to buy a house in the south of France because it was impossible to rent or buy in my country,” she complains.
The attempted eviction of YouTuber TheGrefg is not the only misdeed committed in Andorra by these new residents.
Just when El Rubius announced his move to Andorra, the police in this country arrested half a dozen people for working for
YouTubers
without legal permits.
Shortly after, the
influencer
Gonzalo Sapiña was arrested for various scams with cryptocurrency courses.
In August 2023, the arrestee was
Ferrariman
, a popular
streamer
who records himself driving while exceeding the speed limits.
In September, the Andorran prosecutor's office opened proceedings against the
influencer
ElmilloR for calling the police “fucking subnormals,” and in October they arrested another content creator for sexually assaulting a young woman.
When the eviction caused by TheGrefg came to light this January, tempers were very tense among Andorrans.
So tense that the head of government of Andorra, Xavier Espot, asked that the group of YouTubers not be criminalized.
“I think they are blamed for evils of which they are not guilty, but rather the set of factors is much broader,” he defended.
EL PAÍS has contacted the Minister Spokesperson of Andorra, Guillem Casal, who has asked for time for the judicial process regarding the eviction of TheGrefg to be resolved, although he maintains that the Government will take care of the elderly woman if she is in a situation of abandonment.
Casal admits: “There is a problem with housing and we are going to solve it.”
The Minister spokesperson assures that 54 million euros will be allocated to the construction of public housing and foreign investors will be forced to pay a tax if they want to purchase apartments.
He still defends the
YouTubers
: “Our country is attractive to reside in.
About nine million visitors come a year and it is interesting that these content creators arrive because we diversify the economy.
Furthermore, they are not to blame for the rise in housing prices because they live in high-end homes.”
The unrest has spread to workers' representatives.
The general secretary of the Andorran Trade Union Union (USdA), Gabril Ubach, has criticized the country's economic opening model.
“It has become very easy for
YouTubers
and the powerful to enter Andorra.
Housing has risen so much that there are fewer and fewer Spaniards or French working in the country.
Now they come from Latin America and live in crowded apartments.
We need many workers, but they are given miserable salaries and they have nowhere to live because the great fortunes have devastated everything,” he concludes.
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