AFP correspondent based in Madrid. Portuguese-Canadian who has lived in Lisbon, Riga, Amsterdam, Toronto.
Madrid
Joined February 2014
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Daniel Silva retweeted
What will be scarce, once AI makes everything cheap? Land with a nice climate, in a good position.
Let's consider Portugal first. I think it could be a bet, along with places like Uruguay and New Zealand. Climate-wise, the North especially will still be great in many years and many parts have a "Mediterranean climate".
I don't think generic land in the middle of nowhere will necessarily appreciate. I believe it's more likely that places within 40 minutes of larger centers, with a good climate, will.
For now, just because you asked, I pinned down the areas of Portugal that will remain cooler in 2050. I keep thinking that part of Alentejo is potentially an interesting bet, and so are the Beiras and Trás-os-Montes.
Again, there are more factors to consider and in the end it's just directional, but which other areas of other countries could follow the same logic, i.e. extremely cheap today, potentially great tomorrow?
When AI makes almost everything cheap, what stays scarce?
Land with water, sun and a climate people want to live in. Ideally, land that can feed itself.
The more I talk about this, the more I think optionality will soon mean this too: living on your own land, able to switch off the internet and still be self-sufficient.
After my trip to Porto and many conversations on this, I mapped the regions with a Mediterranean climate against what a hectare of farmland costs today.
For now, Europe's best value sits in Alentejo, Dalmatia and Languedoc. Tuscany is the most resilient, but the market has already priced it in. California and the Cape, and potentially Central Chile, come next.
This land can also earn a yield: solar, water rights, robot-run farming, olives and vines. And resilience plots for people who want their own water, energy and food, a trend I can already see coming.
Would you invest in land chosen this way?
Daniel Silva retweeted
More than 80 million tourists visited Spain in the first nine months of 2026, a 5 percent increase over the same period last year.
Spain is well on track to surpass 100 million visitors by the end of the year.
That would be *25 million more tourists* than in 2016.
Daniel Silva retweeted
⚽ 📺 🇨🇳 🇪🇸 🇫🇷 Chinese state broadcaster CCTV did not broadcast a Real Madrid La Liga match on Sunday after star forward Kylian Mbappe caused a furore in China with remarks he made about former leader Mao Zedong ➡️ u.afp.com/Syso
ALT Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe (C) celebrates scoring the opening goal with teammate Dean Huijsen during their Spanish La Liga match against Racing de Santander in Santander, northern Spain on November 1, 2026
Spanish village gathers for memorial Mass for train crash victims straitstimes.com/world/europ…
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Daniel Silva retweeted
Distraught relatives of the 69 victims of Spain's second high-speed train collision this year endured growing anguish on Friday as the authorities worked to identify the bodies u.afp.com/SydR
Daniel Silva retweeted
🇪🇸 People in Toledo reflect on 'inexplicable' Spanish train crash
People in Toledo reflect the day after a high-speed rail collision that happened nearby in the central province of Castilla-La Mancha, claiming the lives of 69 people.
Daniel Silva retweeted
🇪🇸 Minute of silence held in front of Madrid Assembly for victims of Spanish train crash
Officials including regional leader Isabel Diaz Ayuso take part in a minute of silence in front of the Madrid Assembly for the victims of a high-speed rail collision in the central region of Castilla-La Mancha.
Daniel Silva retweeted
Trump's tariffs on Canada -- and Ottawa's retaliation -- have taken center stage in timber-producing Maine, walloped by the economic fallout perhaps more than any other state
u.afp.com/SyJ6
One month after starting as a small camp, a sprawling warren of tents and tarpaulin in Madrid has spearheaded protests over Spain's housing crisis -- a key issue in November elections afp.com/en/well-keep-growing… by @diegourdanetap
Daniel Silva retweeted
🇨🇦 'This is not defeat': Alberta separatists react after losing independence
Separatists insist "this is not defeat" as Canada's province of Alberta rejects a plan to hold a binding independence referendum.
Ceuta migrant crisis stokes anger at Sanchez ahead of Spain vote uk.news.yahoo.com/ceuta-migr… via @rsulleiro
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Daniel Silva retweeted
🇪🇸 Residents in eastern Spain clean up after flooding
Their cars piled up and mud-coated furniture left outside homes, residents of Els Poblets, near Alicante in eastern Spain, assess the damage left by flooding triggered by heavy rain.
Tents spring up in Lisbon as Portugal housing protests spread yahoo.com/news/world/article…
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On the front line of ocean conservation off Portugal's Madeira uk.news.yahoo.com/front-line… via @ThomasSCabral
Daniel Silva retweeted
🇪🇸 Across Spain, soaring rents and a shortage of affordable homes are forcing people to delay starting families, putting pressure on households with children and leaving young people struggling to set up home.
➡️ u.afp.com/SCWy
Across Spain, soaring rents and a shortage of affordable homes are forcing people to delay starting families, putting pressure on households with children and leaving young people struggling to set up on their own uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/ca…
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Daniel Silva retweeted
🇪🇸 Cheering crowds waving Spanish flags filled Ceuta on Tuesday as King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia made a diplomatically sensitive visit to the North African enclave following July's migrant influx from Morocco ➡️ u.afp.com/SCMf
ALT Spain's King Felipe VI (L) and Queen Letizia greet people upon their arrival in the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta, on October 13, 2026
Daniel Silva retweeted
🇫🇷 EXPLAINED: Why are French high school students protesting?
A wave of protests has swept across high schools in France, with students blocking entry to their institutions and facing off against riot police.
Rights groups have condemned what they call heavy-handed police tactics after some students have been seriously injured. But why are the students protesting? And how is the government responding?
Housing crisis set to dominate Spain's snap election uk.news.yahoo.com/housing-cr… via @@yahooNewsUK
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