Simon Wade
DIVORCE applications have plummeted 40% throughout Spain’s Costa Blanca, but not just because of the coronavirus lockdown.
It is true that the near collapse of Spain’s judiciary system and various lockdown restrictions during the state of alarm have meant very few couples have been able to apply for a marriage dissolution.
But once systems are back up and running, newly-released data shows that far fewer divorces are set to be processed.
Before the March lockdown earlier this year, only 2,100 couples applied for a dissolution, compared with 3,493 during the first quarter of 2019.
The Valencia region still has the third highest rate of divorce applications with five lawsuits per 100,000 people, behind Murcia (5.2) and The Canary Islands (5.3)
Data supplied by the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) from the first quarter of 2020 compared with the same period in 2019 show huge drops in the main provinces of the region.
In Alicante there were 700 divorce applications in the first quarter of 2020, down from 1,269 over the same period last year.
In Castellon there was a 38% drop over the same periods and in Valencia city a 37% decline.
Overall the first quarter of 2020 showed a 40% year-on-year drop in divorce applications in the Valenciana region.
Time will tell whether the trend will continue in the region once the pandemic is over.
