How to bully your neighbours

This extract from the blog article by Ann Nicholas under the pseudonym of 'Majorcan Pearls', is it true of the Spanish mentality?

"There’s a very good game in Spain known as denunciación, literally denunciation, which whole communities enjoy. No one knows for sure of its origins but it’s likely to hark back to the days of the Spanish Inquisition and was enthusiastically revived in the thirties by General Franco during the Spanish Civil War.

Want to settle an old score? Jealous of another’s prosperity? Then look no further than the town hall or police station for vengeance. By filling out a denunciation form, in effect seeking public condemnation of an individual, it is easy to set the wheels in motion to reek revenge on just about anyone who causes irritation. And don’t be fooled into thinking that nearest and dearest are exempt. Recently a local tiler told me that he’d just denounced his brother for constructing a small outhouse in his garden without first gaining a building licence. When I questioned his motives, he admitted it was to get even with his brother for a past misdemeanour.

Not surprisingly, the act of public condemnation is most widely used against neighbours for intimidation purposes. If music is played too often, a dog’s bark is too loud, a garden hedge too high, an outhouse or garage built or extended without permission, only one word is necessary to strike terror in a neighbour’s heart: Denunciación.

Once the complaint has been filed, the accused will be contacted by a council official who will arrange a visit to the offending premises. Depending on the gravity of the ‘crime’, a heavy fine will be issued or worse, a demolition order for any illegal construction. An animal can also be condemned to death for offences such as mauling a neighbour’s sheep, a regular occurrence in the rural zones."

The full article can be read here: How to bully your neighbours – Telegraph Blogs.

It does not seem that the UK Expat community has taken up this game whole heartedly yet, although some are learning. More often or not their first dipping of their toes in the pool are against the Ayuntamiento (Town Hall)in respect of a failure of public services. Next they will try against the neighbour with the noisy dog. Where next after that?