By Tomasz Skowronek
(Gazeta Wyborcza)
Rural Spain is in the process of depopulation.
In some villages, only a few people still reside.
This is where the first European political movement, focused on the revitalization of these areas, emerged.
Like many young provincials, Diego Castillejo wanted to leave his hometown of Cuenca (located in the Castile-La Mancha region, in central Spain).
As a computer scientist, he believed that going abroad, even to Germany, would offer him interesting career opportunities.
But shortly before his departure, he changed his mind.
“I realized that nowhere else in the world would I have the same quality of life and the same tranquility
,” he explains.
Today, he owns an apartment in the old town, on the Plaza Mayor, which has no more than 500 residents.
There is no supermarket here, but there are bars and a few expensive restaurants, which attract tourists on weekends.
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