To Our Readers
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
A game of anagrams using the word SPAIN quickly yields SPAN, PAINS, SPIN, IN and NAPS ... Curiously, just about every possible derivative seems to fit the modern nation as tightly as a toreador’s trousers. Above all, Spain is more “in” than it has ever been, its influence in Europe and the world unrivaled since the days of empire. That era was built on sheer military clout, which is superficial and fleeting. Today, Spain has presence.
The Spanish economy is growing faster than most others in the European Union. Outgoing Prime Minister José María Aznar boasted on a recent trip to America that his country’s GDP now surpasses those of two G-8 members — Canada and Russia — and ranks eighth worldwide, not-so-subtly implying that Spain should be part of any Big Boys’ club. Certainly the Spanish voice is being heard, if not always appreciated, from Brussels to
Buenos Aires to Washington. A nation that only a few decades ago was inward-looking and oppressed now has the nerve to help scupper a pondered E.U. constitution and send 1,300 troops to help the U.S. pacify Iraq. Wherever you look—food, film, music, literature, business, architecture, sport — there’s a Spaniard gesticulating. The span extends with the language — 400 million speakers and counting, 35 million of them in the U.S. The main propagator, the Cervantes Institute, has 40 centers in 25 countries, and this year will open new ones in Belgrade, Budapest, Prague and
Stockholm. Its next, most ambitious,
project: China.
There is pain. Terrorism still casts its dark red shadow over the Basque Country. Unemployment, although slashed in half since Aznar took over in 1996, heads the E.U.’s list, at 11.2%, and nearly two-thirds of workers under 25 are on short-term contracts. Economic growth is looking more and more precarious too, given that it is largely based on a construction boom and consumer spending that may not last. And with its own constitution recently turned 25, centrifugal and centripetal forces threaten to upset Spain’s jigsaw of 17 autonomous regions. Ahead of general elections on March 14, politicians are fumbling to find a recipe best described by the new leader of Germany’s SPD, Franz Müntefering: “As much federalism as possible, as much centralism as necessary.”
And yes, there is spin. When it comes to media control, Spanish governments defer only to Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi in WMD — Weapons of Media Domination. Dictatorship of the screen has reached the point where a Spanish court ruled last year that the main state channel, TVE-1, infringed the public’s right to be informed by burying news of a general strike. Filmmaker David Trueba says he fears Spaniards will soon react to their television news the way Cubans do on opening their state-controlled newspaper Granma: “They can only laugh.” But for all such shortcomings — and analysts say the country is napping on R and D and entrepreneurship — few can dispute that Spain is taking on the world in a way it hasn’t before.
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
Premium Content
