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The Climate in Spain Mary E. Farrell

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What the Press Says: El Pais

Now to look at the newspaper that used to be part of the uniform of the left-thinking members on Spanish socio-political scene. Today it still has this tendency somewhat, but has changed with the thrust of the advertising that pays the most. For our project of pulse taking we have chosen the Saturday and Sunday editions which have the greatest circulation. From the Saturday newspaper print sections, we glean the following:

On the sixth of November International speaks of nothing but the American elections held on November 2, 2004. The front page announces that "The reelection of Bush opens anew the differences among the European Union leaders." Page four quotes Tony Blair as saying "American has spoken and the rest of the world should listen." Then Blair hopes that "Bush is going to invest energy in bettering relations with Europe." Page eight moans, as did many Americans, "Four more years" with a photo of George W. Bush along with columns and photos of U.S. soldiers in Faluya, Iraq. Page ten brings us Thomas L. Friedman, American political analyst, with the words: "Two nations under governed by God." He holds that Bush used religion to waste the States' political energy.

A letter to the editor unites Putin, Bush and Ben Laden in a kind of incompetent conspiracy of election strategies based on the terrorist threat. The section Spain tells us that Rajoy, Aznar's successor salutes the anti-terrorist stance of Bush. Society, too, mentions Bush and shows a photo. There are full-page ads on the following pages for Bridget Jones, a British idea on the American screen. Entertainment provides, among other columns, a quarter page on Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor mentioned above, opens with "Michael Tilson Thomas manifested his disgust at the victory of George W. Bush." Luis Sunen, the critic, then continues with praise for the musical qualities of both conductor and orchestra saying: "The orchestra is one of the greats of America." Thus we have a measure of the complexity that America represents, yet at the level of general impressions, as we will check in the questionnaire, the Americans, except in limited circles, are believed to be consumers of junk food and junk culture, and are adept at setting up expensive wars presided by junk politicians.

These same printed pages give a half-page obituary to Joe Bushkin, a great pianist of the "Swing Era". The author uses both the words swing and big band as part of the Spanish repertoire of expressions, both in italics. Under the rubric Sports Javier Irureta, soccer coach for the team El Deportivo says, "Routine is good if it does not imply resignation. When Armstrong always does the same thing and wins six Tours, his routine is sensational." We read this against the booing that occurred in France during Armstrong's last victory during the summer of 2004. In this section, usually devoted almost completely to soccer football, we have one reference to the NBA, a point of reference in Spanish basketball, and two references to the Davis Cup being played in Seville with featured Spanish players. Economy lists problems because of the descent of dollar, and the system of downsizing, such as General Motors eliminating six-hundred eighteen jobs in Zaragoza. Du Pont, the second most important chemical company in the US, is good news--to inaugurate a service center in Asturias for the emerging countries of Eastern Europe. Then, of course, on the financial markets, the barometer for all of Europe is the Dow Jones Index and a major, if not the major Exchange, is the New York Stock Exchange. Finally, the TV/Radio section recommends seven American films in a total of nine. So there we have one Saturaday. Nearly every section mentions influences from the United States in some respect.

The descriptions of the contents related in some way to the Americans of the next three Saturday editions will be shorter, yet still with the objective of giving an overall view of what Spanish readers might glance at within that span in El PaÕs. November 13th, 20th and 27th (2004) continue to thrash about over the election of Bush and his snub at President Rodriguez-Zapatero's phone call to wish him well in his new term. Saturday, November 20th devotes the whole of page two to the demonstration in Caracas, Venezuela showing the words of street protest, "Bush your $ will not get through. Now we are millions of Danilos," referring to Danilo Anderson, a district attorney who was assassinated when he tried to investigate the impunity of certain questionable political figures. November 20th also features an editorial by Fernando Savater, a well-known Spanish philosopher, in which he analyses the dangers hidden in democracies that hold up religious banners. One of his phrases is indicative of the feelings both intellectuals and the general public seem to have: "visceral anti-Americanism."

In the local version of the newspaper on the 27th, reporter Susana Fuertes says on page two. "It has been almost a month since the world lost the American elections, and since then I haven stopped receiving e-mails from my American friends who set up a web page called sorryeverybody.com." The 27th continues with articles that lean against Bush. On the other hand, there is praise in favor of Ansel Keys as "Mr. Cholesterol." The death notice talks in positive terms about this "excellent mathematician." And then in a half-page retirement notice "Goodbye to the NBA from Brown" we see what a great coach Hubbie Brown has been in the world of basketball. There is no mention of their being good at their jobs because, as many say about the cinema, they were rich, and, of course, that was the reason for their success. The paper finishes up with recommendations for films with seven out of ten being American. Again we perceive the complexity of American influences, but the desire for simple coordinates seems too strong for most people to contend with on a visceral scale. Both in America and in Spain good and evil seem easier thought patterns. Maybe one of those borrowed lexical item--the "think tank"--would help.

Of course, here we have greater importance than perhaps is usual with the election coverage, but this coverage in itself is important in its expanse. The following Wednesdays, starting with 10th, continue to weight the up-front information in the direction of the sequels of the American elections. In addition to the snide absence of returning Zapatero's congratulatory phone call, Bush's attitude toward Spain and its removal of troops from Iraq is made more remarkable by his invitation of ex-President Aznar to an interview in Washington. The prisoners in Guantanamo remain in the news, John Ashcorft, secretary of justice resigns and, despite the internal resistance and lack of agreement with Bush' policy, the reputation of the Americans keeps going downhill in the view finder of the Spanish press. Culture points to the excellence of pianist Keith Jarrett, the San Francisco Symphony and the Detroit Cobras, pop-rock group that opens the itinerant Wintercase Festival 2004 in Barcelona. And for Sports we have the NBA and the best Spanish seeds to play tennis in Los Angeles Masters Cup, USA. Finally on page 59, Economy rounds off the news with Richard Cheney's opinion about the no-problem attitude to the great new US deficit. Reference is made to Daniel Altman's term of the neoconomia which "signifies the materialization of the utopia (imagined) by the radical North American Republicans." So there we have it. America and its sparks are simply in the papers.

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Mary E. Farrell is Associate Professor of American Literature at the University Jaume I, Castellon, Spain. She is the author of From Cha to Tea: A Study of the Influence of Tea on British Culture (2002).

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