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Spaniards leading a national surge in global business and politics, culture and the arts. As the country prepares for a pivotal election, TIME examines its striking creative burst
After a kind of cultural tabula rasa during the Franco era, there is no single tradition that artists feel obligated to follow — or react against. And perhaps there are fewer sacred cows, in both social and business terms, than there are in many other European countries. “I think we’re probably the people most prepared to do what’s necessary,” says Vela. “A lot of other countries have inertia, it costs them a lot to change, while we just make the best of what we’ve got. If a country sold stock and I could buy it, I’d buy Spain, because it’s clearly a country prepared for anything, with flexible executives, ready to change strategies when it’s time to change.”
For all that, the participants are concerned about the costs of Spain’s propensity for change. Palacio fears her compatriots could fall into a “nouveau riche” syndrome: become too materialistic, too apt to forget where they came from and look down on others. Jiménez says that while Spaniards are big donors for disasters like 1998’s Hurricane Mitch, the “internal solidarity” of the country is becoming a problem. “Here in Madrid, 10% of the population lives on less than €300 a month,” she says.
Bound up in that, too, is immigration, for which — Jiménez and Palacio both agree — Spain has yet to find an adequate response. It’s booming, and some immigrants are fitting in: Vela says that one-third of the housing loans granted by his bank last year went to immigrants.
But many encounter the same difficulties and discriminations in Spain as they do in much of the rest of the developed world. “There’s an ancestral fear of what comes from the Maghreb, particularly among the nouveau riche,” says Palacio. “And if there is anything that could provoke an internal rupture in Spain, it’s this difficult problem of assimilating people of the Muslim faith. Because [Muslims are] considered the Other, and the Other with an atavistic and complex culture. Here we’ve got to do a lot of [educational] work.”
The participants agree there is no thought of following France in introducing a law that would ban the wearing of the veil in schools or elsewhere. But before Spain congratulates itself on its relative tolerance, Trueba warns, its politicians should be clear that they haven’t yet faced as acute a problem as the French. Jiménez concurs: “We still don’t have girls in the classroom with veils. When we get to that situation, the debate will open.”
One debate that already has opened, in full force, is the legacy of José María Aznar. Even on his way out, he polarized the debate at the Casino de Madrid just as he has the election campaign in general. For Vela, Aznar’s eight years at the helm of government have been a boon not only for Spain’s economy, but for its political culture as well. “When he thinks something is good for the country, he pursues it to the end,” the banker says of Aznar. “When he started on the idea of a zero public deficit, or the banning of [eta’s political front] Batasuna, lots of people told him it would be impossible, but he insisted and insisted. He may not be the most simpatico, but I think he has produced an extraordinary benefit for this country.”
Palacio defends Aznar’s support of the war in Iraq, which was opposed by some 90% of Spanish citizens, in similar terms. “In February and March last year, there was a general feeling that the PP, in defending its position on the war, was going to lose the municipal elections,” she says. “If there is ever an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records for a government taking a decision in the interest of the country rather than for short-term interests, this is it.” And indeed, she points out proudly, just two months later the PP did well in those elections.
Jiménez and Trueba, on the other hand, condemn Aznar’s hard-nosed politics as divisive, marking an end to — or at least a departure from — the consensual politics that characterized Spain’s exemplary transition from dictatorship to democracy. What really rankles Jiménez is the lack of respect she sees in Aznar’s attitude to the opposition. “To say that the Socialist Party doesn’t have a strong engagement against terrorism and for the defense of Spain’s unity is not only irresponsible politics, but an insult against all the [Socialist and other] council members and office holders who every day, just like their PP counterparts, have to have police protection to protect their lives [against ETA terrorists],” she fumes. “I believe there has been a radical approach, which has cast a shadow on the political climate in the last months and years.”
Divide And Conquer [Mar. 1, 2004]
Basque terrorist group ETA throws a "message bomb" into the Spanish general-election campaign
Death Coast [Dec 2, 2002]
After an aging tanker sins off Spain, a vast slick of fuel oil destroys beaches, wildlife and fishermen's dreams. Could this disaster have been prevented?
They Came To Reign in Spain [Sep. 27, 2002]
You wait for a major sporting competition to come along, and three show up at the same time.
A Meeting Of Minds [Jul. 15, 2002]
European Union leaders meet in Seville to look for common ground on everything
Gaudí Mania [Apr. 26, 2002]
The work of controversial architect Antoni Gaudí is getting a fresh look as Spain marks the 150th anniversary of his birth
Bust In Madrid [Dec. 21, 2001]
A well-established al-Qaeda cell may have been directly involved in planning the U.S. terrorist attacks
Madrid: Living la Vida Loca [Nov. 12, 2001]
Madrileos like it late, loud and lively in their multitude of bars and restaurants
Mogadishu at 60 Miles an Hour Arms merchants are once again doing brisk business after a rapid change of power in this tough town, but so far the peace has held
The Year of The Nuke A rundown of the world's nuclear powerhouses, and what to expect in the coming months
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