He youtuber Rubén Doblas, popularly known as The 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 broadcast of Twitch who was leaving Spain and moving to Andorra. He streamer He 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 the large youtubers— 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 the youtubers They 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.
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The majority of content creators who broadcast from Andorra are foreigners, but there is one exception. The tick tocker 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 the youtubers and investors. 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,” he 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 permissions. Shortly after, they arrested influencer Gonzalo Sapiña for various scams with cryptocurrency courses. In August 2023, the detainee was Ferrarimana popular streamer who is dedicated to recording 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 morons,” and in October another content creator was arrested 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.
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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