Spanish views from a small town

There has been talk these days about whether or not Spain is a full democracy. The leftist partners of the Spanish government, Podemos, brought up that ghost in a comment. Since then, they have been criticized, ad nauseam. The Socialist half of the government even came out and contradicted the leader of Podemos, Vice President Pablo Iglesias. What is a full democracy? One view of it is a society where one can express their opinions without being jailed. Also, where there is no exaltation of a dictatorship, nor calling out that a certain minority, long ostracized, is the enemy of Spain. If that view of what a full democracy is, is correct, then, no, Spain is not a full democracy. The first problem is the rapper Pablo Hasel, who was condemned for expressing his opinion about the state and the monarchy. The second is a march last Saturday in Madrid. The march was to honor the Blue Division that fought in the Soviet Union during the Second World War. It was held on Saturday because it was ...

Democracy isn't what it used to be. Once upon a time, about forty years ago, what people decided in the voting booths was pretty much what came about politically. Yes, even then there were interferences from special interests, and politicians who said one thing and then listened to their cronies and friends instead of the people who voted for them. But they were the exceptions, not the majority. Once upon a time, the intent of democracy was to enfranchise as many people as possible, so that ALL the people would be represented in government. Everyone was supposed to have a say, everyone was supposed to be able to participate in public affairs. That idea originated in Western countries, and was transported to many others. In some countries, things got twisted and "everybody" came to mean only a certain elite, but, in general, the idea travelled well.  Now, the idea is dying or dead. The most obvious and sad example is what is happening in the United States. Politician...

I read an article online yesterday morning that brought back memories of conclusions I had come to some years ago. The  article is from The Guardian, and was written by an American woman at least ten years younger than me. She grew up in a bubble of an environment; a middle class white town with conservative values and no interest in the outside world, nor much historical and cultural curiosity. I grew up in a slightly more diverse neighborhood, developed liberalized values, was very interested in everything that happened in the world and the country around me, and devoured history books as if they were Harlequin novels and I a lovesick little girl. In the first years I lived here, everything compared disfavorably with America. I grew up believing America was the best country in the world, and the one with the most freedom. I believed, much like the woman in the article did, that the United States was the epitome of a civilized nation. In fact, I believed that the truth was wors...

The transition of power is never completely smooth, whatever some might say. Especially not when power is transferred from a dictatorship to a flawed, but functioning, democracy. Francisco Franco, Spain's Generalísimo , died on 20 November, 1975. He left things tidied up. The grandson of the King who had fled at the beginning of the Republic that Franco had defeated, would inherit the country's leadership. Juan Carlos I had been carefully tutored by Franco to continue the dictatorship, albeit now as a monarchy. But the new King knew that that was not what the country wanted. To avoid another civil war, he started the transition to a democracy. It was welcome by most. But not everyone was happy. There were extreme leftists who wanted a more -than- Soviet-style state, the GRAPO (Grupos de Resistencia Antifascista Primero de Octubre) , who were actively kidnapping for ransom, robbing banks, and killing those they considered politically worthwhile. Then there were the remains of ...

Yesterday was a special day in history here in Spain, but I only remembered it by a chance remark and by then looking at the calendar. As I have mentioned before, history is not well-thought of here, even recent history that just might repeat itself. The thought of someone walking into the Congreso de los Diputados , the lower house of parliament, and shooting into the air sounds too scary, too possible, and too recent. Because thirty-five years ago that's just what happened.  It was a different Spain in 1981. The forty year dictatorship had come to an end with Franco's death in 1975. A new democracy had just been born and another constitution had just been added to the list of Spanish constitutions in 1978. The monarchy had been restored, along with a multi-party parliament. The Communist Party had been legalized in 1977; the end-all for some who still thought the Soviet Union would one day engulf all Europe. ETA, the Basque separatist group had been planting bombs and killi...