USA and Spain: a new chapter

Author: Rosa Maria Young

Spain had general elections a few weeks ago and the incumbent socialist government of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero won. In 2004 Zapatero defeated the previous conservative president Jose Maria Aznar who had been a follower of Bush, agreeing blindly to all decisions of the American administration, and an avid supporter of the Iraq war. One of the first acts of Zapatero upon his ascension to power had been to bring all the Spanish troops home from Iraq, following so the wishes of the majority of the Spanish population. This obviously did not carry favor with the Bush administration and the last four years have been characterized by a certain coldness between both countries.

Today in his speech of investiture Zapatero sent some warm signals towards the United States. Expressing his wishes for a new chapter in the relations he declared “we want to look towards the future, counting in a mutual respect to confront the common challenges and to intensify our relations.” If the next president of the United States is a Democrat, it is most probable that such an improvement in the relationship of both countries will take place.