So has the European Union actually backed a winner in Morocco? As the shockwaves from the unexpected uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt spread across the region, Morocco –the only North African country with advanced EU neighbour status– has seen relatively little unrest. The cynical and ultimately short-sighted European approach to the regimes facing its southern flank was exposed when Tunisians exploded in outrage against a government Brussels had looked on kindly. The French, Italian and Spanish governments were all lobbying for Ben Ali's regime to be given preferential partner status. Morocco, meanwhile, has made a number of strides towards democracy during King Mohammed VI’s 11-year … [Read more...] about Morocco: the next North African revolution?
Politics
Time is Zapatero’s enemy as he seeks to reform
The government and the unions are back at the negotiating table. This time, among the issues they are discussing are reforms to the pensions system and the proposal to delay the retirement age from 65 to 67. This willingness to talk is in many ways encouraging. It is a throwback to the days, not so long ago, when the Zapatero government and the unions got on so well it was hard to detect any ideological discrepancies between them. It also hints at political maturity on both sides. But it’s also important to remember that this pensions reform was first mooted in early 2010, as the government scrambled to fend off market hostility and Zapatero started moving away from his centre-left … [Read more...] about Time is Zapatero’s enemy as he seeks to reform
ETA stumbles to ceasefire but can it convince?
ETA’s latest ceasefire announcement may have captured the headlines, but it did not surprise anyone who has been following Spanish politics in recent months. Pressure has been building on the group to offer a convincing sign that it is committed to peaceful politics ever since it declared in the vaguest of terms on September 5 that it had ceased “offensive armed actions”. Much of that pressure has come from ETA’s own political support, the izquierda abertzale. Arnaldo Otegi, the most visible figure within that collective, is one of many key players who have stressed the need for the terrorist group to end its campaign of violence. In addition, there has been a degree of coercion on an … [Read more...] about ETA stumbles to ceasefire but can it convince?
Wikileaks: Washington’s peculiar view of Spain
The amount of information related to Spain that has emerged as part of the recent Wikileaks revelations is enormous. With El País nominated as one of the five newspapers to benefit from the distribution, this was inevitable. Since the first day of publication, on November 28, we have seen reports of how the US government pressured Spanish legal authorities to drop the case against American troops blamed for the death of cameraman José Couso in Iraq; of how Washington pressured Spanish firms to leave Iran and the Spanish government to approve internet anti-piracy legislation; of Madrid’s covert support for Morocco’s cause in the Western Sahara conflict; and of Prime Minister Zapatero’s … [Read more...] about Wikileaks: Washington’s peculiar view of Spain
Spain’s air traffic strike: We’ve been here before
On December 3, Barcelona’s El Prat and Madrid’s Barajas, along with every other airport in Spain, shut down, closing the country’s air space. Air traffic controllers (ATCs) had walked off the job at the start of the country’s longest holiday weekend —a five-day break for some— leaving hundreds of thousands of people stranded, and scuppering an enormous number of vacations. The controllers were responding to a government decree passed that very afternoon —the third this year relating to the ATCs—approving new regulations and the partial privatisation of Spain’s airport authority, AENA. In Spain, so-called “royal decrees” can be passed by a government without prior approval by … [Read more...] about Spain’s air traffic strike: We’ve been here before
What I learned in a Spanish brothel
“My mother brought me my first client when I was 14. Since then, I’ve had an average of three to five men per night. I’m 25 now. I think I am probably the biggest whore in this club”, says Diana (her “professional” name), one of the 120 prostitutes who work at Vive, one of the best-known brothels in Madrid. Vive is located in the Bravo Murillo district, next to Estrecho metro station. Every night it opens its doors to clients who, as Manuel, a regular for the past three years, puts it, are “just looking for some drinks and some fun if the night really warms up.” He adds: “I don’t sleep with the girls every night I come, only when I really feel like it. Most of the time, I just come for … [Read more...] about What I learned in a Spanish brothel
Economy the priority for Catalan election victors
Much has been made of the fact that the CiU nationalist candidate in the Catalan elections, Artur Mas, has said he would vote “yes” in a putative referendum on independence. However, having won the November 28 ballot in resounding fashion, he and his party will be worrying more about the state of the region’s economy than stoking the fires of separatism – at least in the short term. CiU won 62 seats in the regional parliament, up from 48 in 2006 and just six short of an overall majority, enabling it to govern alone for the next four years, although it will need help to push laws through. The governing Catalan Socialists saw their share of seats drop from 37 to 28 and their tripartite … [Read more...] about Economy the priority for Catalan election victors
Catalan elections mark end of an era
A turbulent year in Catalonia is coming to an end with what is likely to be a major upheaval in the region’s political balance of power, caused by the November 28 regional election. The issue of regional sovereignty and the related questions of autonomy and even independence have been in the air more than usual throughout 2010. An unbinding referendum on independence in 211 Catalan towns (which gave an overwhelming “yes” response but saw an extremely low turnout) in April set the tone. Then in June, the Constitutional Court, after four years of deliberation and institutional foot-dragging, struck down several clauses in the new Estatut, which granted extra powers to the region. The … [Read more...] about Catalan elections mark end of an era
Western Sahara violence unleashes a media war
Restrictions on the Spanish media’s coverage of the recent dismantling of the Gdaym Izik protest camp in Western Sahara were so severe, it is amazing so many column inches have been filled on the issue. With some newspaper reporters mysteriously told at Rabat airport that their tickets were not valid to travel to Laâyoune, and others, such as two correspondents from La Ser radio station, expelled from the region, it hasn’t been easy to cover the story. This might explain why there has been so much confusion over what exactly happened on November 8, when Moroccan troops entered the camp to bring an end to the protest. At the time many media in Spain, informed it seems by pro-Sahrawi … [Read more...] about Western Sahara violence unleashes a media war
Camp mentality reflects Western Sahara’s new dissidence
At first glance it seems surprising that representatives of Morocco and the Polisario were negotiating the future of the disputed Western Sahara region while the territorial capital of Laâyoune and the protest camp erected outside the city were shrouded in smoke after security forces had violently dispersed demonstrators. But the two sides talking on November 8 and 9 under the auspices of the UN in Manhasset, near New York, may for once have had some motivation to accelerate the process towards the resolution of a 35-year-old impasse. A new force appears to have been born made up of disaffected Sahrawis who have other things on their minds besides the status of their land and the colours … [Read more...] about Camp mentality reflects Western Sahara’s new dissidence