Rise of rural telework in Spain hit by digital divide

Spanish consultant Antonio Linaje in Villalba de Duero, Spain, on Dec 4. — Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP

VILLALBA DE DUERO, Spain: Tired of Madrid's crowds, Antonio Linaje took advantage of the shift to telework sparked by the pandemic to move back to the village where he spent his holidays as a child.

The 28-year-old political consultant settled in October in a house he inherited from his grandparents in Villalba de Duero, a village of around 700 people about 170km (105 miles) north of the bustling Spanish capital.