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E L P E R I D I C O G L O B A L E N E S P A O Lwww.elpais.com SATURDAY, APRIL 2,2011

ENGLISH EDITION WITH THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE

The Caja del Mediterrneo(CAM) savings bank, which isheavily exposed to the ailing realestate sector, faces being taken

over by the Bank of Spain and of-fered to its competitors. CAMsmanagement saidFridayit wouldseek 2.8billionfromthe state Or-derly Bank Restructuring Fund(FROB) to meet new solvency re-quirements. Continued on page 6

See EDITORIAL page 2

Its allthoughtout, Prime Minis-ter Jos Luis Rodrguez Zapaterotolda group of internationaljour-nalists regarding his future plans.I know its my responsibility todo whats best for Spain and forthe Socialist Party [...] I knowhow and when I need to dothings.Thisis themost theSpan-ishleaderwouldsay about wheth-er he would run for a third termin next years elections, an issuethats been looming large on thecountrys political agenda. In re-cent weeks analysts have positedthat Zapatero will step down infavor of his powerful deputy, Al-fredo Prez Rubalcaba, with De-fense Minister Carme Chacn al-so considered a possible candi-date.

In a joint interview with LeMonde, Der Spiegel, Gazeta Wy-borcza, The Guardian and ELPAS focusing on the challengesfacing Europe, Zapatero droppeda few hints.

Political and institutional sta-bility, which is parliamentarysta-bility, is crucial for the task thatlies ahead on the economic front.And I am doing that job. The gov-ernment will complete the term,and it will havesufficient supportin parliament. And this is verygood economic news, he said. Aweek ago, Zapatero suggestedthat unveiling his plans woulddraw attention away from theeconomy and make internationalmarkets even more jittery.

Yet uncertainty and discon-

tent is how most regional partyleaders described the state of af-fairs going into a Socialist federalcommittee meeting on Saturday.Untila fewdaysago,everyoneas-

sumed Zapaterowould announcehe would notrun for officeagain,but now nobody is sure what toexpect. See INTERVIEW Ps 4 & 5

Nationalizationlooms as cajaseeks state aid

Zapatero keepsparty and nationguessing on futureSocialists keynote speech to party maynot end speculation over third term

Britains Prince Charles and Camilla, Duch-ess of Cornwall continued their whirlwindtour of Spain in Seville on Friday. While

Charles met British and Spanish businessleaders, hiswife (secondfrom right) enjoyeda brief show by dancer Cristina Hoyos at the

FlamencoDanceMuseum.She wasjoinedatthe event by the eccentric darling of Spainsgossip press, the Duchess of Alba (far right).

Anti-corruption prosecutors haveformally accused the Popular Par-tys Valencian top brass with sixcharges of corruption linked to the

kickbacks-for-contracts scandalknown as theGrtelcase.The pros-ecutors have asked for dozens ofhigh-ranking PP officials to becalled to the dock of the Valencianregional High Court, including re-gional premier Francisco Camps,congressman and former regional

PP secretary Ricardo Costa and ex-PP treasurer Luis Brcenas.

All the offenses carry prisonterms and would entail disqualifi-cation from public office. Theprose-cutors have also called the corrupt

network of Grtel businessmen tothe stand, includingFrancisco Cor-rea, Pablo Crespo and lvaroPrez, as well as constructionchiefs who allegedly helped to fi-nance large-scale PP electoralevents for which public fundswerefunneled back to the network.

cristina quicler (afp)

In Seville, Camilla becomes slave to Andalusian rhythm

Prosecutors line up PPsValencia chiefs for graft

Just a dayafter PortuguesePresi-dent Anbal Cavaco Silva calledearly elections for June 5, the in-terim Socialist government ofPrime Minister Jos Scratesand the main opposition partyon Friday were at each othersthroats over the need for a bail-out to resolve the countrys debtcrisis.

The Socialists accused the

leader of the Social DemocratParty (PSD), Pedro Passos Coel-ho, of political hypocrisy in of-fering to back the Socialists if itdecides to seek external help, asolution the government has de-fiantly rejected.

It was the PSDs vote againstausterity measures proposed bythe government that causedthem to be rejected by parlia-ment and led Scrates to tenderhis resignation on March 23.

The minister for parliamenta-ry affairs, Jorge Lacao, claimedPassos Coelho favored askingthe IMF for help, and was nowtrying to push the governmentinto doing so.

The political sparring tookplaceas Fitch cutPortugalslong-term rating three notches to justabove junk status at BBB-, argu-ingthat timelyexternal supportis much less likely because ofthe elections. See DEBT page 6

. D. B. / A. S., Madrid

Government, opposition squareup over bailout for Portugal

I. ZAFRA, Valencia

AGENCIES, Madrid

V. JIMNEZ / A. DEZ, Madrid


2/8

2 EL PAS, Saturday, April 2, 2011OPINION AND EDITORIAL

THE FAILED Banco Base operation, the fi-nancial alliance of of Cajastur, Caja Cant-abria, Caja de Extremadura and Caja delMediterraneo, is a serious setback for thecredibility of financial reform in Spain.The circumstances of the failure lendthemselves to the biased argument thatthe balance sheets cajas (publicly admin-istered regional savings banks) areopaque and contain more toxic assetsthan what has been officially admitted.

The assemblies of the cajas of As-turias, Extremadura and Cantabria al-most unanimously rejected a merger,once it was known that the restructuringof CAM would require more than 2.5billionowing to therisk of itslarger-than-expected exposure to the real estate sec-

tor. The future of the merger is uncertain(Cajastur, Caja de Extremadura and CajaCantabriawill probably go ahead withit),but the CAM now constitutes a seriousfinancial and political problem.

It could be sold, but not before costlyrestructuring, or taken over by the cen-tral bank, which would also be an oner-ous solution.

TheCAM case has surfaced afterwhatwas considered to be some decisive stepsin the reform of the savings banks. Therevelation of CAMs ills may undermineconfidence in the balances of other cajasat a time when stress tests are underway, and when the financial marketsseem bent on sniffing out any economic,financial or political weaknessin order totrigger short-term speculative move-ments against a countrys debt.

All such merger operations are as-sumed to be overseen and sponsored bytheBankof Spain.Thus, thesupervisorof

the Spanish banking sector bears some ofthe responsibility for the failure. When amerger operation is mounted in which ahigh risk caja, which is the case of CAMasothers were, isinvolved, it isunaccept-able for surprises of this nature to cropup in the required restructuring exercisebeing undertaken. The extent of CAMsimpaired assets ought to have beenknown to all the players in the mergerbefore it was set in motion. But not onlymust the Bank of Spain rethink its super-

visory duties, the managements of all thecajas involved also need to explain whythey had such deficient knowledge of thebalance sheet of the partner with whichthey were about to merge.

The most reasonable political option

is for the three other cajas to proceedwith their merger, after revising theirplans jointly with the Bank of Spain, andfor the CAM to be taken over by the cen-tral bank with all of what this entails.

All of this, because there is no roomfor impunity in the management of a fi-nancial entity. If a financial institutionsfinances causes the failure of a merger, itis necessary know through interventionwhose decisions broughtabout sucha se-rious deterioration in a caja; and wheth-er these decisions conform to the criteriaof due prudency action; and what normshaveto beimposednowto avoid therepe-tition of such collapses in the future.

The answers to these and other ques-tions will reveal, more clearly than anyacademic theory,how thereal estate bub-ble was financed, who made money out

of it, and who is to blame for the lack ofcredit now being suffered by manyinher-ently solvent companies.

Sale or

takeoverThe CAM case lends itself to the belief the cajas

have been even harder hit by property bubble

EDICIONES EL PAS, SOCIEDAD LIMITADA

As attempts by EL PASleaderwriters to blametheopposition for the calami-tous Zapatero regime be-come ever less plausible, itisclearthat, asM. .Baste-nier has suggested, Spainhas few reasons to patron-isesome of itserstwhilecol-onies.By contrast with Ibe-ria, Standard & Poors has

just rated the governmentdebt of Colombia (unem-ployment 11.8 percent) in-

vestment grade, and mea-sures have been taken toprevent the appreciation ofthe peso precipitatingDutch disease.

However, the devalua-tions prompted by 20thCentury Socialism wouldappearto be an even worseaffliction, andBarclaysCap-ital has recently calculatedthat, despitemassiveoil rev-enues, Venezuela has fallensubstantially behind itsneighbours during the lastdecade. Had the countrymatched othermajor LatinAmerican economies itwould by now be about 15percent more prosperous,while the figure based ontheOPECaverage isno lessthan55 percent.Iain Salis-bury. Edgbaston, UK.

Lettersto the Editor

PRESIDENT

Ignacio PolancoCHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Juan Luis CebrinCHIEF OPERATING OFFICERS

Jess Ceberio & Jos ngel Garca Olea

EDITOR

Javier MorenoDEPUTY EDITORS

Vicente Jimnez & Llus BassetsEDITOR ENGLISH EDITION

James Badcock

Letters submitted to this sec-tion should not exceed 20typed lines. It is imperative that

each one is signed and is com-plete with an address, tele-phone number and DNI orpassport number of the au-thor. EL PAS reserves the rightto publish such pieces, eitherin shortened version or as anextract when it is consideredopportune. Unless otherwisestated, original letters will notbe returned, nor will informa-tion be made available aboutthem by mail or by phone.Email: [email protected]

We love to amend the past, or at leastto judge it in our own terms, whichare normally condescending: Howstupid people were in those days, how

brutal, how unjust. Whether peoplenow are any better remains to beseen, and in history we see many peri-ods infinitely more barbarous thanthose that preceded them. Yet the un-speakable pride of the present is al-ways such that no one who lives in itthinks that his is a time of decadenceor error as if the road to the truthwere straight and depended only onthe march of chronology. As if Germa-ny, for example, were closer to rightand truth in 1936 than in 1926, orSpain a better place in 1948 than in1932.

The dawn of the 21st century willprobably be seen some day as a periodof particular blindness, arrogance andfatuity. I have spoken before of thearrogance of cleansing Mark Twainsworks of politically incorrect words,and of the local governments in An-dalusia who are now banishing thelegendary phrase supposedly ad-dressed by his mother to Boabdil, thelast Moorish king of Granada (Weepnot as a woman for what thou couldstnot defend as a man) as being a sluron the feminine gender.

Butthe plagueof conceit (what con-ceit, what arrogance, to amend thewords of the dead, to falsify pastevents to our taste) goes further, toalmost inconceivable lengths. Oneidea now in the air in Spain is to annulthe kangaroo trials of the Civil Warperiod, so as to rehabilitate thoseconvicted in them. If a new militarycourt, which has nothing to do withthose of 1936, comes along in 2011,and declares these trials now to benull and void, it is a gesture just as

vain as when the Catholic Church to-day apologizes to Galileo.

One recent foolery of this sort isthat of the outgoing governor of NewMexico, Bill Richardson, who pro-

posed a posthumous pardon for Will-iam H. Bonney, better known as Billythe Kid. Very posthumous indeed, thesheriff Pat Garrett having shot himdown in 1881. It seems that the thengovernor, Lew Wallace, better known

as the author ofBen-Hur, and suppos-edly a man of his word, failed to keepit after an amnesty deal he had madewith the outlaw in 1879: leave him le-gallycleanin exchange forhis testimo-nyon a murderhe hadwitnessed.Wal-laces bad faith, they say, caused Bon-ney to break out of jail, killing more inthe process.

After various doubts and a flood ofemails fromaround the worldarguingfor or against the pardon (so manypeople have so much free time ontheir hands), Richardson consultedsomedescendantsof Pat Garrett, who,for reasons as obvious as they are vainand childish, were flatly opposed to apardon. The governor, unwilling to goagainst their wishes, solemnly pro-claimed that after all, the outlawspent his time robbing and killing,both those who deserved it and thosewho didnt. Wonderful, the clairvoy-ance of this politico in 2011, whoknows who deserved to be shot andwho didnt, in a series of homicidesprevious to 1881.

However, neither the bones of Billythe Kid nor his variable legend can bechanged in the least by the very post-humous doings of a governor bent onpublicity and on having the last wordon something that does not concernhim. Billy the Kid himself, who died atthe age of 21, knew better than thesupposedly grown-up governor. Thereis an interview, perhaps genuine, witha journalist from the Texas Star, whoat one point called him Billy, to whichhe replied: Mr Bonney, please.

And when the reporter asked him:As for you, do you believe you willlast long in peoples memory? heimmediately answered: I will be withthe world until it dies. Not a badphrase: would the governor care toamend it?

A tale of two currencies

Until the world dies

Dont let those who create the danger decide what is dangerous

EL ROTO

JAVIER MARAS


3/8


4/8

4 EL PAS, Saturday, April 2, 2011NEWS

Jos Luis Rodrguez Zapateroarrives for the interview look-ing relaxed and smiling, seem-ingly oblivious to the specula-tion regarding his future as theleader of the Spanish SocialistParty, which on Saturday holdsits Federal Committee meeting.The event has created expecta-tion in the Spanish media,which will be waiting to see ifZapatero finally announces

whether he will run for a thirdterm in next years general elec-tions.

But while his party may bein a state of fervor over the is-sue, when Zapatero met with

journalists from Le Monde, DerSpiegel, Gazeta Wyborcza, TheGuardian, and EL PAS as partof a series of reports the fivenewspapers are preparing onEurope, the Spanish prime min-ister insisted that the succes-sion issue was not going to cre-ate instability within the party.

During the question and an-swer session, Zapatero dis-cussed the impact of the finan-cial crisis on the euro zone, thefuture of the European Union,

the uprising across the Arabworld, and the debate on thefuture of nuclear energy, post-Fukushima.

Question. When you met re-cently with Spains businessleaders they called for politicalstabilityas thebasis for econom-ic growth, and one, EmilioBotn, even asked you to put thesuccession issue to one side.Will you be announcing at theFederal Committee meetingthat you wont run for a thirdterm?

Answer. Im not going to saywhat I will or wont announceat the meeting. But lets be clearaboutthe issueof stability. Polit-ical and institutional stabilitymean a stable Congress, and weneed that to get on withthe eco-nomic tasks we have set our-selves. The government willmeet its commitments and seeout the current legislature, andit will do so with congressionalsupport, which is good for theeconomy.

Q. But you know you willhave to address the issue atsome point.

A. It has all been thoughtthrough, but Im not going tosay anything about the issue.But I will say this. As the leaderof the Spanish Socialist Party,the support I have receivedfrom my colleagues has beenimpressive. They have support-ed me throughout my leader-ship. I understand the responsi-bility I bear. I know that since2000, my responsibility hasbeen to do the best for Spainand the Socialist Party.

Q. Would you say that you

have become a liability for theSocialist Party?

A. I have always worked forthe good of the party, which has132 years behind it. We havegoverned for two-thirds of themodern democratic period. Ihad the opportunity to win twoelections with high turnouts onboth occasions. One cannot beat the top of ones game for eter-nity. I understand that. I havealways made it clear that de-mocracy is essential. Thatmeans respecting others com-peting within the democraticarena. Nobody would deny that

everybody within the party isfree to speak their mind.

Q. Do you think that the de-bate over who will lead the par-ty after you is harming the par-ty and the country?

A. The reason that partymembers arediscussing thesuc-cession issue is because the me-dia keeps going on about it.That said, people obviouslywant to know. I think that it is agood thing that we discussthese issues, and that we do soobjectively, perhaps even with adegree of irony. The oppositionPopular Party goes on about me

as a liability, and that the partyhas closed ranks around methe party leader who has losttwoelections.But theseare sim-ply the paradoxes of life.

Q. Last week, EL PAS pub-lished a survey showing thatSpaniards have a very low opin-ion of their politicians. Howmuch of the blame for thatwould you accept?

A. First of all, I refute thepremise of the question. Over-all, the last 30 years have been

verypositivefor Spain. No coun-try can match Spain in terms ofthe economic change, the

change in terms of freedoms,the social changes that thiscountry has experienced. Whenthere is a crisis, the voters ex-pect more from their politi-cians, which is perfectly nor-mal. If what you say were true,then electoral turnout wouldntbe so high. In the last two elec-tions, the turnout was 75 per-cent. That is the best barometerof democracy. It is understand-able after 15 years unprecedent-ed growth thatpeoplefeel disap-pointed. The downturn has

been sharp, and sudden.Q. On May 22, there are re-gional and municipal elections.The polls suggest the SocialistParty will take a very heavybeating.

A. We will do better thanthey are saying. The SocialistParty knows how to perform,and we are going to perform.There are those who havesought to use the crisis to wipe

the party off the political map.But we will overcome this cri-sis, and those who have tried touse the crisis may well findthemselves left out in the cold.

Q. What will your role in thecampaign be?

A. The same as always: as ac-tive as possible, bearing inmind my responsibilities ashead of the government. I willbe attending all the main ral-lies. My participation will bethe same as in every other ma-

jor campaign. I will be out onthe stump, explaining to voterswhy we have gotten over thecrisis, and who has helped andwho hasnt.

Q. When you say that Spainhas gotten over the crisis, are

you referring to the percentagepoints of growth, or somethingelse?

A.Theeconomy isnow grow-ing; we are stabilizing the debtrisk, and are out of the dangerzone; and we are close to thefinal task of being able to createemployment. I have alreadysaid that next monthwill be bet-ter and that we will build onthe positive employment trendsin the second half of the year.

Q. At the last European sum-mit, measures were taken toprotect the economies of mem-ber states in the event of future

The welfare state remains in place

JOS LUIS RODRGUEZ ZAPATERO Spains prime ministerThe Spanish leader met with journalists from five leading European newspapers, including EL PAS, aspart of the New Europe collaborative series of reports. In the interview, he argues that the governmentsmedicine is beginning to improve Spains economic performance and insists that the core values of hisSocialist Party have been maintained. Unemployment, he admits, is still a very serious concern

VICENTE JIMNEZMadrid

Interview

I won two electionsbut one cannot be atthe top of onesgame for ever

The economy isnow growing butthe final task is tocreate employment

Zapatero listens thoughtfully during the interview. / gorka lejarcegi


5/8

EL PAS, Saturday, April 2, 2011 5

NEWS

economic crises. A day later,the Portuguese Prime Minister,JosScrates,resignedafter hislatest austerity package was re-buffed in parliament. There isnow doubt as to whether Portu-gal should accept what wouldbe the EUs third financial res-cue package after Greece andIreland. Do you think Portugal

should accept a bailout?A. The view within the insti-

tutions of the EU is that Portu-gal can continue to finance it-self. I believe in Jos Scratesability to handle this, and Idont think that it would begood for Portugal or the eurozoneif Portugal asked forfinan-cial assistance.

Q. Are you afraid that Spaincould find itselfin a similar posi-tion?

A. Nobodyasks me thatques-tion any more. But when theydid, I said that there was noquestion of it happening. Ifthere was barely a 10-percentchance of it happening sixmonths ago, then the chances

now are less than one percent.Q. You recently announced

that Spain would be setting itsspending on the basis of GDPgrowth and other economicmeasures, including a plan tobring the informal economy outinto the open. Can you outlinehow you intend to do this?

A. We have a wide range ofmeasures at our disposal. First,we will meet our deficit goalsthis year. Secondly, we are justdays away from a deal betweenemployers and unions over col-lective bargaining. Thirdly, weare introducing reforms toboost competitiveness. Therearealso reforms to generate em-ployment, and plans to regulatethe informal sector, and we arealso introducing training andskills formation programs. Fi-nally, we are putting the finish-ing touches to plans to reformthe financial system. Banks andsavings banks have had to in-crease their core capital re-

quirements. In the near futurewe will introduce measures tolimit public spending, but thiswill require further negotia-tions with the regional govern-ments via a broad-based agree-ment.

Q. Despite their rescue pack-ages, Greeceand Irelandcontin-ue to pay more to borrow mon-

ey on the international mar-kets. So what use did the bail-outs do?

A. When a country needs to

ask for financial help, it knowsthe process will be long andpainful. We need to think aboutthe medium term here. Greeceand Ireland both have hugedebts. They will have to intro-duce reforms, and they willhave difficulties in paying thedebt. That is the reason for thebailout in both cases. They willneed time, but they can counton Europes support.

Q. Whatdo yousayto accusa-tions that you are betraying theprinciples of the left and behav-ing in the way a right-wing gov-ernment would?

A. The government is imple-menting the reforms that thiscountry needs. This involvessacrifice and effort, but theywill bring their rewards. I amabsolutely confident that wecan achieve financial stability,and that we can create jobs. Itwill take time, and I wish that itcould be quicker, but the mostimportant thing is that we are

going to rebuild this countrysfinancial infrastructure...

Q. but these are all reformsthat the right has traditionallyimplemented.

A. Its not about right andleft. There are reforms thatneed to be implemented. Wehave lowered public sectorworkers salaries by five per-

cent, and we have frozen pen-sion increases for a year. Therest of the measures are vital ifwe are to improve competitive-ness. The left has to look toways to create more wealth, tocompete, to innovate. We arethe only country in Europe notto have cut education spending,nor health. The main pillars ofthe welfare state remain inplace. More than 75 percent ofthose without work receivesome kind of benefit payment.But unemployment is difficulttobudge,and that isa great con-cern to me.

Q. Wouldnt it be easier tor ai se t he t ax r at e on t hewealthy?

A. We have done that wehave increased income tax. Butfiscal policy has its limits. If youraise taxes too high, it eats intobusinesses profits, and thatp ut s l imit s on e conomi cgrowth. At a time of economiccrisis, increasing fiscal pres-sure can stall growth.

Q. Critics of the EU point toits inability to respond quicklyand effectively to the crisis or tothe uprisings in the Arab world,saying thatit has failedto estab-lish common policies. Howwould you counter those accu-sations?

A. When you are in govern-ment, you have to accept criti-cism, and also know how to becritical of oneself. We are livingthrough a time of great change,and driving that change are theeconomy and communication.What has happened is that pro-duction has shifted to Asia.Over the last decade and a half,millions of people have escaped

poverty. Europe is paying theprice for that. We have to adaptto the new situation, and thatmeans strengthening Europesinstitutions. The only way thatwe can produce energy morecheaply, or that our universitiescan compete with those in theUnited States, or that we can

join the top internet companies

is by joining forces within Eu-rope.Q. You have said that the re-

volts in the Arab world are in-

spired by Europe. Do you reallybelieve that the emerging econ-omies of the world look to Eu-rope?

A. China and India haveachieved a huge amount, butwe have to remember that Eu-rope created the welfare state;European workers enjoy betterprotection than any others; it iswhere womens rights are bestprotected; and where individu-al freedoms arenot subjected toeconomic disadvantage. Whatdo we have to do to maintainthat model? The answer isclear. We have to further devel-op our talent, our knowledgeand skills base. We can com-pete through our talent and in-novation.

Q. Do you think the EUsmember states are prepared togive up their sovereignty?

A. Member states have al-ready given up much in termsof economicpolicy.We aremov-ingmoreslowlyas regards secu-

rity and defense. TheEU is builtin such a way that there is al-ways a balance between collec-tive and national responsibility.At times like this, maintainingthat balance isnt easy. But wewill see big changes over thenext five years.

Q. After events in Japan,should the EU establish a com-

mon nuclear policy, at least interms of security?A. We have decided to test

thesecurity of ournuclearpow-er plants based on common pa-rameters. But there is no deny-ing that there are many differ-ent perspectives on nuclear en-ergy within the EU. At eitherextreme are France and Aus-tria: Austria has banned nucle-ar energy; France has 60 nucle-ar power plants, with two moreunder construction. Events inFukushima have shown thatSpains policy is correct: use nu-clear energy if there is no alter-native. But as soon as there is,drop it.

Q. So Spain will close its nu-

clear plants when they becometoo old?A. Yes. We do not believe in

building new ones, whichmeans that we have to find newways to replace that capacity.Thiswill require a huge techno-logical leap, but we believe thatalthough the risks from nuclearenergy are minimal, whensomething goes wrong, the ef-fects can be devastating.

Q. Because of its links toNorth Africa, can Spain play akey role in the uprisings there?It doesnt seem to have takenthe initiative yet.

A. We are playing a key rolein Tunisia, as well as in Egypt.We support the reforms there

and in other countries. Spainwent througha transition to de-mocracy, and we can teachthose countries a great dealabout the best way to go aboutimplementing new laws, chang-ing laws We also support thedemands for reform in Moroc-co, a country whose stability isessential for North Africa.Former Prime Minister FelipeGonzlez is advising the Tuni-sian authorities.

Q. Do you think that directmilitary intervention will beneeded in any other countrythan Libya?

A. If there were similar cir-cumstances, where the civilianpopulation was under threat.Butit would require theapprov-al of the UN Security Council.Resolution1973 isimportant be-cause it is the first such resolu-tion aimed at protecting a civil-ian population, and because itestablishesthe useof onlylimit-ed military power, and express-ly forbids the use of groundtroops. It is a historic resolu-tion. For the moment, resolu-t ions hav e b ee n b as ed onthreats to world peace, or theright of defense, as happenedwith Iraq and Kuwait. It isworth highlighting that in Lib-

ya, there have been no civiliancasualties: only military objec-tives are being targeted.

Q. Would it be right to usetroops in other countries in theregion?

A. The use of force is to pro-tect the population. Regimechange would require the useof force, as well as economicmeasures.

Zapatero gesticulates during the interview at his official La Moncloa residence. / g. l.

I dont think thata bailout would begood for Portugalor the euro zone

The chances nowof Spain needingassistance are lessthan one percent

Events inFukushima haveshown that Spainspolicy is correct

Resolution 1973 ishistoric because it isaimed at protectinga civilian population

Interview


6/8

6 EL PAS, Saturday, April 2, 2011BUSINESS

IBEX35

EquityLatest

priceD ai ly v ar iati on Y es te rd ay Annual Variation %

Euros % Min. Mx. Previous Current

BIGGEST LOWS

% Euros

Quabit -3,33 -0,007

Tub os Reunidos -3,24 -0,075

G ra l. d e I nv er si on es - 2, 97 - 0, 05 5GAM -2,65 -0,050

Fergo Aisa -2,63 -0,005

Almirall -2,54 -0,200

Faes -2,46 -0,070

Reno de Mdici -2,22 -0,005

Iberpapel -2,21 -0,340

Elecnor -1,54 -0,170

Portugalmanaged to sell1.6 bil-lion in Treasury bills at an ex-traordinary tender held on Fri-day but was forced to pay wellover the oddsto do so as govern-ment bond yields hit new euro-era highs, increasing the likeli-hood of a bailout.

The auction took place hoursafter President Anbal CavacoSilva announced early electionswould be held on June 5 afterthe resignation of Prime Minis-terJosScrateson March 23inresponse to parliaments rejec-tion of further austerity mea-sures proposed by the Socialist

government to rein in thepublicdeficit.The debt management agen-

cy IGCP said the bills due June2012 were sold at an averagerate of 5.793 percent, well abovethe 3.159 percent paid at an auc-tion held in July of last year.However, it was below second-ary market rates where the

yield on paper with the same

maturity was trading at around7 percent.

According to Bloomberg, theyield on the 10-year governmentbond climbed to a new euro-erahigh of 8.481 percent on Friday.That also caused the spreadwith the German equivalent towiden toa new maximum of510basis points.

Demand for the paper at Fri-days tender eased to 1.4 timesfrom 2.3 times. The IGCP saidThursday it had called the auc-tion in response to specific de-mand.Both China and more re-cently Brazil have said theywould consider buying Portu-guese sovereign debt.

The Finance Ministry de-scribed the outcome as posi-tive in the light of Portugalsdifficult political and economicsituation.

The tender also came the dayafter the National Statistics Of-fice(INE) revisedthe public defi-cit upward for last year after be-ing required by the EuropeanUnion to include a further 3 bil-

lion of spending incurred as aresultof assistance to twobanksand the public transport sector.The INE said the shortfallamounted to 8.6 percent, caus-ing the government to miss itstarget of 7.3 percent.

Eur op ean C ommi ss ionspokesman Amadeu Altafaj saidFriday there was no intentionon the part of the Portuguesegovernment to deceive with itsfigures, adding it simply imple-mented European accountingprinciples.

Scrates has rejected theneed for a bailout and FinanceMinister Fernando Teixeira dosSantos on Thursday said the in-

terim government lacked the le-gitimacy to negotiate a rescuepackage. The earliest the newgovernment is expected to be inplace is the end of June.

The country has to repayover 4 billion in maturingbondson April15, aswell ascou-pons on some debt, and willneed a further 6 billion onJune 15.

Abengoa 23,305 - 0, 06 5 - 0, 28 2 3, 250 2 3, 54 5 4 ,2 26,8

Abertis 15,455 0, 125 0, 82 1 5,180 1 5,500 8,0 14,9

Acciona 77,210 0, 53 0 0, 69 7 6, 100 77 ,7 70 - 11, 0 48,2

Acerinox 14,015 0, 090 0, 65 1 3,920 1 4,090 0,8 7,6

ACS 33,315 0, 235 0, 71 3 2,860 3 3,385 4,6 -2,5

Amadeus 13,575 0, 07 5 0, 56 1 3, 465 1 3, 65 0 1 4, 1 -13,4

Arcelor Mittal 25,600 0, 07 5 0, 29 2 5, 335 25 ,9 00 - 15, 6 -5,2

Banco Popular 4,208 0, 060 1, 45 4,150 4,251 -14, 4 11,1

Banco Sabadell 3,101 0, 014 0, 45 3,069 3,134 -16, 0 5,1

Banco Santander 8,410 0, 218 2, 66 8,210 8,410 -20, 4 7,7

Bankinter 4,990 0, 150 3, 10 4,851 4,998 -26, 5 21,5

BBVA 8,624 0, 206 2, 45 8,456 8,678 -23, 7 19,6

BME 22,730 1, 26 0 5, 87 2 1, 550 2 3, 00 0 1 1, 5 27,5

Criteria 5,010 0,033 0,66 4,933 5,090 68,5 29,9

Ebro Foods 16,610 0, 03 0 0, 18 1 6, 420 1 6, 75 0 1 9, 0 4,9

Enags 16,025 0, 10 5 0, 66 1 5, 840 1 6, 10 0 1 0, 1 7,4

Endesa 22,135 0, 270 1, 23 21,760 22,195 -0, 1 17,8

FCC 23,410 0, 05 0 0, 21 2 3, 320 23 ,6 55 - 12, 3 23,6

Ferrovial 8,964 0,114 1,29 8,761 8,980 18,7 20,6

Gamesa 7,365 0, 032 0, 44 7,250 7,420 -36, 6 28,9

Gas Natural 13,325 0, 070 0, 53 13,210 13,370 -3, 0 19,8

Grifols 12,480 0, 180 1, 46 1 2,320 1 2,480 3,8 22,4

Iag 2,581 -0,016 -0,62 2,540 2,669 - -22,0

Iberdrola 6,217 0,081 1,32 6,110 6,220 -4,2 7,8

Iberdrola Renov. 3,085 0,040 1,31 3,047 3,085 -6,3 16,2

Inditex 57,570 0, 95 0 1, 68 5 6, 520 5 7, 60 0 3 4, 6 2,8

Indra 14,175 0, 025 0, 18 14,025 14,270 -9, 5 10,9

Mapfre 2,714 0,055 2,07 2,661 2,730 -0,1 30,6

OHL 25,600 0, 11 0 0, 43 2 5, 320 2 5, 89 0 3 8, 4 12,9

Red Elctrica 40,115 0, 01 5 0, 04 3 9, 800 4 0, 34 5 1 0, 1 15,9

Repsol 24,540 0, 36 5 1, 51 2 4, 055 2 4, 60 0 3 7, 6 20,6

Sacyr 8,273 0,073 0,89 8,060 8,390 4,9 75,5

Tcnicas Reunidas 43,180 0, 76 0 1, 79 4 2, 480 4 3, 34 0 1 2, 9 -8,0

Telecinco 8,193 0,115 1,42 8,020 8,230 -9,3 -0,5

Telefnica 17,950 0, 285 1, 61 17,680 17,970 -1, 1 5,8

Portugal gets through debttender but at high costYields continue to set new records in secondary market

CONTINUOUS MARKET

BIGGEST HIGHS

% Euros

Puleva Biotech 28,06 0,195

Azkoyen 7,25 0,150

BME 5,87 1,260

Amper 5,70 0,220

Cie Automotive 4,05 0,225

Sniace 3,50 0,056

Bankinter 3,10 0,150

Banco Santander 2,66 0,218

Duro Felguera 2,46 0,140

BBVA 2,45 0,206

Heavily indebted Spanishhouseholds beset by theweakness of the economyand high unemploymentwere forced to loosen theirpurse strings at the end oflast year as disposable in-come fell.

According to figures re-leased Friday by the NationalStatistics Institute (INE), thehousehold savings rate fell4.3 percentage points from a

year earlier to 19.8 percent.For the whole of last year thesavings rate dropped 4.9points to 13.1 percent.

TheINE said themainrea-son for the contraction at the

end of the year was a drop inprimary income of 0.7 per-cent due to a fall in wages of1.7 percent and a decline inearnings from investments.At the same time, consumerspending climbed 4.9 per-cent.

With a fifth of theworkingpopulation currently unem-ployed, benefits receivedclimbed6.3 percent,while so-cial security payments de-creased 0.5 percent.

The European Unions sta-tisticsofficeEurostatsaid Fri-day that Spain remained atthe top of the unemploymenttable in February when the

jobless rate rose to 20.5 per-

cent from 20.4 percent at thestart of the year. By contrast,the overall rate in the eurozone dipped to below 10 per-cent for the first time sinceOctober 2009.

In a report released earli-er this week, the Bank ofSpain predicted the savingsrate would continue to de-cline this year. Householdsare projected to consume alargerproportion of theirdis-posable income in 2011, sothat the decline in the savingrate from its 2009 peak is ex-pected to continue, the re-port said.

N D JF F MM MA S OJ J A

14,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

Yesterday10,729.90

12,000

Ibex 35

Source: Bloomberg. EL PAS

FOREIGN CURRENCIES

Buy Sell

US dollar 1,4202 1,4201

A rg en ti ne an p es o 5 ,7 62 1 5 ,7 56 0

A us tr al ia n d ol la r 1 ,3 68 9 1 ,3 68 5

Brazilian r eal 2,3009 2,2993

C ana di an d ol lar 1, 36 94 1, 36 90

C ze ch k or un a 2 4, 49 30 2 4, 45 20

Danish k rone 7,4566 7,4562

H on g Kon g doll ar 1 1,04 82 1 1,04 66

Hungarian forint 265,5700 265,1700

I ce la ndic kron a 1 62 ,3 10 0 1 61 ,7 90 0

I nd ia n r upe e 6 3, 05 18 6 2, 95 13

J ap an es e y en 1 19 ,6 30 0 1 19 ,6 10 0

M ex ica n p es o 1 6, 81 03 1 6, 80 56

M oroc ca n dirham 1 1,30 50 1 1,30 50

N or we gi an k ro ne r 7 ,8 10 3 7 ,8 05 7

Polish zloty 4,0223 4,0186

R us ian r ub le 4 0, 21 06 4 0, 17 11

S in ga po re d ol la r 1 ,7 90 8 1 ,7 90 0

Sout h A frica n ran d 9 ,5 15 1 9 ,5 04 7

S te rl in g p ou nd 0, 88 15 0, 88 14

Swedish kro na 8,9429 8,9398

Swiss franc 1,3165 1,3163

Units per euro at 18:00

Operating conditions in theSpanish manufacturing sectorimproved, albeit at a slowerpace than the previous month,while employment fell again,consultant Markit said on Fri-day.

Markits Purchasing Manag-ersIndex for the sector came in

at 51.6 points last month, downfrom 52.1 points in February. Areading of over 50 points indi-cates expansion, while one ofbelow 50 points signifies a con-traction.

The consultant said the re-covery is largely being drivenby foreign demand. The firstquarter as a whole saw steadyprogress on the road to recov-

ery in the manufacturing sec-tor, albeit with little sign of astrengthening of domestic de-mand, Markit economist An-drew Harker said.

Markit also noted a recordrise in output prices in themonth, although companiescontinue not to fully pass on theincrease in inflation as demandremains on the weak side.

From page 1

The development emergedaf-ter CAMs proposed mergerwith three other local cajasto form Banco Base fell apartafter the Alicante-based sav-ings bank was abandoned byits erstwhile merger part-ners.

The central bankis expect-ed to remove CAMs manage-ment andeventually offerthecaja to some of the strongerlocal banks, with the leadingcontender being BancoSantander. BBVA and LaCaixa are also possible candi-datesto take over the reins atCAM.

Cajastur, Caja Extremadu-ra and Caja Cantabria pulled

out of the proposed tie-upwith CAM this week afterBanco Base askedfor 2.8 bil-lion from the FROB, almosttwicethe amount theBank ofSpain estimated would be re-quired to meet the new mini-mum core capital ratio of 10percent.

CAM said it also neededthe 2.8 billion from FROB topassthe stress tests being car-ried out on European lend-ers.

Meanwhile, Fitch on Fri-day cut CAMs long-term rat-ing to junk-status BB+ fromBBB+ as a result of the cajasneedfor outsidehelp. The rat-ings agency also cited the de-

terioration in the quality ofits assets.Fitch also put Cajastur

and Caja Extremaduras rat-ings under review with nega-tive implications. The ratingsagency does not cover CajaCantabria. The three cajasare expected to try to pursuean alliance among them-selves.

Sales of new passenger carsdeclined 29.1 percent inMarch to 88,396 units in theabsence of direct govern-ment subsidies that wereavailable a year earlier, ac-cording to figures releasedFridayby theindustryassoci-ations Anfac and Ganvam.

Sales in thefirst quarter ofthe year dropped 27.3 per-cent to 208,151 units as con-sumer confidence remainedweak.Sales to individuals fell46.4 percent. Ganvam said itexpected sales for the full

yearcoulddropbelowtheini-tial forecast of 900,000 units.

Householdsavings ratedeclines asincome falls

Manufacturing sector improvesbut local demand remains weak

Fitch cuts CAMratings to junkstatus aftermerger failure

Automobilesales stay onslide in March

A. S., Madrid

A. S.,Madrid

AGENCIES / A. S., Madrid

A. S., Madrid


7/8

EL PAS, Saturday, April 2, 2011 7

SPORTS

Regal FC Barcelonas dream of

defending its title on home turfat the Palau Sant Jordi on May 8was over on Thursday night.The Euroleague champion wentdown78-67 to a tacticallysuperi-or Panathinaikos in their fourthquarterfinal playoff gamein Ath-ens an overall 3-1 series de-feat.

On a bad night for Spanishbasketball, Caja Laboral alsomissed out on a place in the Eu-roleague Final Four with a thirddefeat against Maccabi Tel Aviv,while Power Electronics Valen-cia pushed itsseriesagainst RealMadrid to a deciding fifth gamewith a 81-72 win over the eight-time title holder.

There were few traces of the

Barcelona team that has earnedadmiration across Europe at theOAKA stadium. Navarro wasntNavarro. Alan Anderson was er-ratic. Ricky Rubio and Victor Sa-dawerentcapable ofimposingamore lively rhythm of play tosuit the style of the team. Timeand again, Bara lost the re-bound battle, missed the three-pointers and showed they didntknow how defend against aPanathinaikos that had a fieldday at the basket.

It was the Greek sides Serbi-an coach Zeljko Obradovic whoemerged as the hero of the nightfor getting his team to turn ev-erything he wrote on his tacticsboard into results on the pitch.

Panathinaikos went round andround until they found the in-side pass, including to some ofits outside players. And went itdidnt, Nick Calathes or DimitrisDiamantidis penetrated. Theproblem for Bara was closingthe door on the inside while pre-

venting Panathinaikos fromcomfortably circulating the ball.

The third quarter was themost devastating. Bara lostballs and Panathinaikos tri-umphed in the battle for the re-

bound. The Catalans luck ran

out when baskets by Diamanti-dis and Calathes increased thegap between the teams to 13points with five minutes to go.

The round hashad threeandhalfvery equal matches,reflect-ed Bara coach Xavi Pascual.But in the second half therewas only one team. The firstlead they got over us, six points,seemed like a mountain. At thefirst moment of weakness, westopped believing. When the lastquarter began, at nine points

down, I thought that we could

get back in. But we lost the balland now didnt believe. Then wefought, but without options. Inthe second half we werent our-selves.

It is a tough day for every-body. Since we began the season,oneof theobjectiveswas to beinthe Final Four. It was what wewere most excited about and wefelt a sense of duty because it isinBarcelona andbecausewe arechampions. I feel disappointed.It is very painful for everyone.

Greek tragedy for BaraReigning Euroleague champion crashes out to Panathinaikos

LIGA BBVA / 1st DIVISION Week 30

SATURDAY Time Television

Real Madrid-Sporting 18.00 C+ Liga, GolTV

Getafe-Valencia 20.00 C+ Liga, GolTV

Villarreal-Barcelona 22.00 La Sexta, Aut.

SUNDAY

R. Sociedad-Hrcules 17.00 PPV

Espanyol-Racing 17.00 PPV

Levante-Mlaga 17.00 PPV

Deportivo-Mallorca 17.00 PPV

Sevilla-Zaragoza 19.00 C+ Liga, GolTV

Osasuna Atltico 21.00 Canal +

MONDAY

Almera-Athletic 21.00 PPV, GolTV

P. W. T. L. GF.GA. Pt.

1. B ar celo na 2 9 2 5 3 1 81 1 5 78

2. Real Madrid 29 23 4 2 69 21 73

3. V il larr eal 2 9 1 6 6 7 4 8 3 0 54

4. V al en ci a 29 1 6 6 7 4 2 3 3 54

5. E sp an yo l 2 9 1 4 1 1 4 3 7 41 43

6. A th leti c 2 9 1 3 3 1 3 4 4 4 1 42

7. S ev il la 29 1 2 6 1 1 4 3 4 3 428. A tl t ic o 2 9 1 1 6 1 2 4 2 3 9 39

9. Mallorca 2 9 1 1 5 1 3 30 3 8 38

10. L ev an te 2 9 1 0 5 1 4 3 0 3 9 35

11. O sa sun a 29 9 8 1 2 3 4 3 3 35

12. R. Sociedad 29 11 2 16 39 48 35

13. Getafe 29 9 7 13 39 45 34

14. Ra cing 29 8 9 12 28 43 33

15. S po rt in g 2 9 7 1 1 11 2 7 35 32

16. Deportivo 29 7 10 12 23 39 31

17. Z ar ag oz a 2 9 7 9 1 3 2 8 4 0 30

18. M laga 29 8 5 16 38 59 29

19. A lm er a 29 5 1 1 13 30 48 26

20. H r cu les 2 9 7 5 1 7 2 5 4 7 26

Sunshine and showersClouds from the West will eclipse a brightstart to Saturday morning in south andeastern Spain over the course of the day.The northeast will be mostly rainy and

overcast throughout, with scatteredstorms and this wet weather will spread toCantabria, Castilla y Leon and Alto Ebro.The Balearics will see mostly clear skieswhile the Canary Islands can expectcloudy spells. Saturdays highs: Madrid22C, Barcelona 21C, Valencia 24 C.

All emergencies .......................... 112Ambulance ............................. 061

Fire Brigade ...........................080

Municipal police .................... 092National police ..................... 091www.policia.esCivil Guard ............................. 062www.guardiacivil.orgCatalan police ........................ 088Traffic ..................... 900 123 505Consumeri nfo rm at io n ................ 900 775 757Forest fires ............ 900 850 500Domesticabuse ............................ 900 100 009Coast Guard ........... 900 202 202ImmigrationInformation ............. 900 150 000Directory .......................... 11818Internationaldirectory inq .......................... 11825

TOURIST POLICE

Madrid ............ ........... 9 1 5 48 8 5 3 7........................... 91 548 80 08

FLIGHT INFO

AENA (airports authority).......................................... 902 404 704

Iberia ................... 902 400 500

TRAINS

RENFE ......................... 902 240 202

www.renfe.comInternational ............. 902 243 402

BUSESwww.socibus.es

www.avanzabus.com

www.alsa.es

EMBASSIES

Australia ..................... 91 353 66 00Canada ........................ 91 382 84 00Ireland ......................... 91 436 40 93New Zealand ............. 91 523 02 26UK . ................................ 91 714 63 00US ................................. 91 587 22 00

CITY WEBSITESwww.munimadrid.eswww.bcn.eswww.sevilla.orgwww.valencia.es

www.ayto-malaga.esa.org

CINEMA, THEATERwww.entradas.es

PORTUGALAll emergencies .......................... 112

Rafael Nadal beat Tomas Ber-dych and Roger Federer wentthrough against Gilles Simontoset upa semifinalencounteragainst each other in theplacetheir rivalry first began in2004 at the Miami Masters.

TheSpaniard faced a toughride againstworld number sev-en Berdych in his quarterfinalmatch, prevailing 6-2, 3-6, 6-3in two hours and 17 minutes.

The Swiss world numberthree had a considerably easi-er time against Simon afterthe Frenchman retired due toinjury after three games andless than 10 minutes.

It was at the same stage of

the same tournament back in2004 that the 17-year-old Mal-lorcan first met, andbeat,Fed-erer, who lost his ATP second-place ranking after his defeatto Novak Djokovic at IndianWells two weeks ago.

We have played each oth-er few times in semifinals,said Nadal after his quarterfi-nal win. It has normally beenat big title deciders. It is al-ways special to play againsthim. They are very importantmatches forour careers: finalsat Roland Garros, at Wimble-don, at the Australian Open[...] thatmakesour rivalryspe-cial.

I think the hard court, es-

pecially the slow hard court isa neutral territory, so it setsthings up for a great match,said Federer, who has lost 14and won eight against Nadal.However, he leads the Span-iard 5-2 in their meetings onoutdoor hard courts.

Spains David Ferrer failedto make the semifinal grade,going down 5-7, 2-6 to Ameri-canMardy Fish.Fish wasplay-ingDjokovic in theothersemi-final at press time.

Nadal andFederer meetagain backwhere it began

Thebadnewsfor Jos Mourin-ho is that Cristiano Ronaldowill not be fit to play in RealMadrids home match againstSporting Gijn on Saturday,nor in next weeks ChampionsLeague quarterfinal first legagainst Tottenham. Marceloand Karim Benzema are alsounfit. The good news, though,is thatReals Argentinean strik-er, Gonzalo Higuan is fitenough to called up after fourmonths out of action. Also onSaturday, Barcelona faces atough test at Villarreal, whileValencia travels to Getafe.

Useful information

Ronaldo outfor Sportingand Tottenhamgames

EL PAS, Madrid J. J. M. / EL PAS, Madrid

ROBERT LVAREZ / EL PAS

Barcelonas Fran Vzquez shows his despair. / thanassis stavrakis (ap)


8/8

MADRID: Miguel Yuste, 40. 28037 Madrid. 91 337 82 00 .Fax: 91 327 08 18. Legal deposit: M-14951-1976. Ediciones EL PAS, SL. Madrid, 2009. All rights reserved.

According to articles 8 and 32.1, second paragraph, of theintellectual Property Law, it is expressly prohibited toreproduce, distribute or communicate in public, including

making available, the entirety or segments of this publication forcommercial ends, in any shape or form, without the authorization ofEdiciones EL PAS, SL.

ENGLISH EDITION WITH THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE

SATURDAY, APRIL2, 2011

What happens when architectsbecome not-for-profit builders?When they become interested inaddressing societys most basicneeds, trading in the blueprintsfor construction sites? A specterishauntingSpain,the specter ofakind of architecture made up ofthe leftovers nobody else wants,and made possible through tem-porary concessions by landown-ers,businessdonations, the good-will of various city councils andthe poorly paid (or unpaid) workof scoresof young people. Groupssuch as recetasurbanas.net fromSeville and estonoesunsolar.comfromZaragoza arecreating an op-timistic new architecture that ischanging the rules of the game.

Vacant lots, temporary con-structions, public participation,employment plansand a newlog-icareall partand parcel ofPark-a-Part, a buildingmade outof three

freight containers that the collec-tive Straddle3 erected inArbcies, Girona. The spaceworks as a social center, a danceschool and an architecture stu-dio.Park-a-Part was madeentire-lyfrom recycledmaterial thatoth-ers had discarded, and its pricewas 169 per square meter. A lo-cal resident, Fran Casadess, al-lowed Straddle3 temporary useof the land.

We tried to apply the con-cepts of ecology and open-sourcesystems to architecture and cityzoning. We want to renew theconcept of public space on publicland, saida spokesperson for thegroup.

These approximately 50

groupsdo more than design build-ings (more often than notthereisno time for technical drawings,anyway) and take charge of theactual construction. But whatthey do is becoming increasingly

visiblethroughprojectslike Alg-a-lab in Barrocas, Vigo (where

space goes for 107.70/m2 ratherthanthe average700/m2 forsub-sidizedhousing),or Niu,a branch-covered construction at the Con-

temporary Art Center of Blit, inGirona (308.35/m2).

The sense of commitment isclear when you learn how thesearchitects make a living. Fromteaching, from small fund alloca-tions forculture, fromprofession-aljobs...Each group juggles sever-

al options, says Santiago Ciruge-da of Recetas Urbanas. Were al-ways looking out for resources,and often share the projects we

are offered, in order to also sharethe budget, and of course the re-sponsibility, the authorship andthe beers.

And the beer reference hintsat the fact that good vibes are ascrucial as ideology for these col-lective projects. It was 15 years

ago that Cirugeda began his per-sonal battle to change the face ofcities, starting with Seville. Hestudied the zoning legislation andfound out how to use the loop-holes to make way for a differenttype of architecture. There wereprecedents for this. In the late1960s, the British architectCedric Price whose ideas influ-enced Rogers and Pianos designfor the Pompidou center in Paris replaced blueprints with on-site work. He also felt that usersshouldparticipatecreatively in ar-chitecture. But things had nevergone this far. The internet was

the medium that got the ball roll-ing and brought together the ex-perience, knowledge and theideas of all the various groupsworking along similar lines. Theycall it open-source architecturebecause they do not charge intel-lectual copyright fees.

Instead of seeking clients, thearchitect must seek situations ofsocial urgency, explains the de-signer Jos Mara Galn Conde.

Paula V. lvarez, author ofCa-miones, contenedores, colectivos

(or, Trucks, containers, collec-tives), has beendocumenting thiswork in what she describes as ahandbook for open-source archi-tecture.

When Cirugeda heard, follow-ing a conference in Zaragoza,that a Gypsy shantytown was go-ing to be torn down (its dwellerswere moved to subsidized hous-ing), he did the necessary paper-work to be able to offer some ofthecontainers to culturalassocia-tions. The book explains whatthose containers turned into and

illustrates an entire processwhose ideals are as lofty as thoseof the hippies in the 1970s.

There are more and more sto-ries like this across Spain. A mu-nicipal employment plan turned20 vacant lots in Zaragoza intoparks, community gardens andsports courts in under two years.The architects Patrizia di Monteand Ignacio Grvalos, from Esto-noesunsolar, submitted the win-ning project. The idea was tochange the appearance of fenced,

vacant lots that its owners havean obligation to keep clean.Patri-zialed a team of50 jobless peopleand turned these spaces into lei-sure spots for the local residents.She hired workers, organizedtalks with neighborhood associa-tions, supervised thework andde-signed with no plans.

In 2009,her teaminauguratedsome 10 parks in the historicalarea of Zaragoza on a budget of amillion euros (of which 700,000went topay thesalaries ofthe for-merly unemployed team mem-bers). In early March, MayorJuan Alberto Belloch inaugurat-ed the beach-park Vadorrey, onthe banks of the River Ebro.

Cirugeda is convincedthat thefuture lies in international aid

projects, although it requiresmore attention than local[projects], because there is a lotof mistrust in some countries.Both Recetas Urbanas and Strad-dle3 erected cultural centers inSaltillo, Mexico, while Todo porla Praxis, La Creactiva and Clubde Alterne inaugurated sportscourts in Bogot.

The architects of the modernera were committed to makingaccessible housing.Todayscollec-tive architect groups seem intenton taking space back for the citi-zens. These groups are neithertrying tostay onthe fringes ofthesystem, nor to be an accompliceto the same. They merely askthemselves whether their work

can confront the system fromwithin. They are living proof thatit is possible to protest withoutbeing destructive. The overarch-ing goal is to fix what doesntwork,and to rethink architecturefrom theviewpoint of peoplesre-al, everyday needs.

Space invadersA new order of public architecture is blooming in Spanish cities

Above: A plaza built on vacantland in Zaragoza. Left:Sevilles Recetas Urbanasused engineer Julio Barbassystem for supporting

buildings being restored.

ANATXU ZABALBEASCOA

The Estonoesunsolar collective created this garden with a room for association meetings in a street in the old quarter of Zaragoza.

Instead of seekingclients, the architectmust seek situationsof social urgency

Documents

Herald2 April Imprimir Pag 4_5