E L P E R I Ó D I C O G L O B A L E N E S P A Ñ O Lwww.elpais.com TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 2011

ENGLISH EDITION WITH THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE

ZOOMING IN ON A GENIUS. David Douglas Duncan, the 95-year-old photographer who had unprecedent-ed access to Pablo Picasso, was present as 115 of his photographs were shown at the Picasso Museum in Málagaon Monday. “Picasso said he was a fantastic photographer, so discreet that you forgot he was there. By notgetting in the way when Picasso was in his studio, he was able to take pictures no other photographer had everbeen permitted to,” said the painter’s daughter-in-law, Christine Ruiz-Picasso. / julián rojas

The Socialists on Monday lostthe only region they had hopedto retain after their disastrousdefeat at the May 22 ballot boxwhen local leaders of the UnitedLeft (IU) decided to withdrawtheir support for the ruling par-ty and allow the Popular Party(PP) to take office.

The surprise move by IU lead-ers in Extremadura has upsetthe party’s national leaders,who will meet today to see whatdisciplinary measures should betaken.

“Expulsion is a very strong

word,” said IU leader Cayo Lara,who explained that helping theconservative PP to govern “goesagainst party policy.” Some inthe IU were calling for Lara’sresignation.

Pedro Escobar, the IU chiefin Extremadura, insisted that hehad not broken the party’s rules,arguing that there was a “prob-lem with trusting” the Social-ists. Escobar said he will nottake back his decision. “Let mebe clear: the IU didn’t give any-thing to the PP, only that theyget to keep their seats,” he said.

Meanwhile, the outgoing So-cialist regional premier, Guiller-mo Fernández Vara, who triedto drum up support from the IUto remain in office, asked hisparty to respect the United Leftmembers’ decisions.

After 28 years of Socialistrule in Extremadura, José Anto-nio Monago of the PP is expect-ed to be sworn in as the regionalpremier in the coming weeks.However, the IU’s regional coun-cil voted to abstain from attend-ing the ceremonies.

The IU has formed governingcoalitions with the PP in 19towns across Extremadura. OnJune 13, Lara warned IU localbosses about partnering withthe conservatives. The Socialistsclaim that in at least 60 munici-palities across Spain there weresigns of the PP and IU helpingeach other to keep them fromgoverning in city halls. The IUmade important gains on May22 after taking ballots from tra-ditional leftist voters who be-lieve the Socialists have veeredaway from their party’s philoso-phy. Continued on page 3

See EDITORIAL Page 2

A pilot project run jointly by Spainand Brazil in 2009 that delivered40,000 tons of food aid to Haiti,Honduras and Cuba, which hadbeen struck by hurricanes, is set tobe touted as a future model for in-ternational aid cooperation at thenext G20 meeting.

An informal 2009 telephoneconversation between former Bra-zilian President Luiz Inácio Lulada Silva and José Luis Rodríguez

Zapatero led to a bilateral initia-tive that sidestepped the WorldFood Program (WFP) and deliv-ered the food aid, donated by Bra-zil, on ships paid for by Spain, at acost of ¤16 million.

Normally, the WFP buys thefood from a specialized intermedi-ary. The Spanish Agency for Inter-national Cooperation and Develop-ment estimates that this process,called triangulation, would deliverthree times as much aid for thesame price as the current model.

Social order Ps 4 & 5

While European finance minis-ters met in Luxembourg to dis-cuss extending emergencyloans to Greece, Economy Min-ister Elena Salgado reaffirmedon Monday that Spain will notbe the next in line to seek aid.

“There has been turbu-lence over the past severalweeks and evidently it wouldhave been desirable if wewould have reached a muchmore immediate agreement[on Sunday]. But I think themarkets know perfectly howto distinguish one countryfrom another; they know thatwe are making the reformsthat our country needs, andthat we are undergoing fiscalconsolidation. So therefore Ido not think there should beconcern about Spain,” shesaid.

The ministers’ decision todelay approving emergencyloans to Greece rattled themarkets across Europe. TheIbex 35 dropped 0.96 percent,closing at 10,038.10 points.

Madrid, Brasilia tooffer G20 aid model

What was billed as a momentousoccasion for the Picasso Museumof Málaga on Monday turned intoa bitter war of words between thecelebrated Spanish painter’sdaughter-in-law, Christine Ruiz-Picasso, and the organizers oftwo temporary exhibitions.

The shows, Picasso creates.Through the camera of David Dou-

glas Duncan, and Vignettes on thefront were due to be unveiled inunison but Ruiz-Picasso, the hon-orary president of the museum’sfoundation, refused to allow thelatter to go ahead. The pieces, il-lustrations against the militaryuprising in 1936 that were to besold to raise funds at the SpanishRepublic’s stand at the Paris Ex-po, are part of a series of etchings,The Dream and Lie of Franco.

In a handwritten letter, Ruiz-

Picasso complained about theirinclusion, saying she had noknowledge of the showing, andcalled the decision an “opportu-nistic political use [of the work]in a period of electoral controver-sy.” The Socialist Andalusian re-gional culture chief, Paulino Pla-ta, countered that “all the mem-bers of the Picasso Museum Foun-dation” knew of the inclusion ofthe works and denied any “parti-san or opportunistic” intent.

Picasso heir refuses to allowCivil War pieces to be shown

The rise (andfall?) of Spanishcynicism

Spain won’tneed bailout,says economyminister

Socialists loseIU support inExtremaduraLeftist party leaders mull action againstrebels as PP prepares to take office

EL PAÍS, Madrid

P. X. DE SANDOVAL, Madrid

EL PAÍSMadrid

SERGIO MELLADOMálaga

2 EL PAÍS, Tuesday, June 21, 2011

OPINION AND EDITORIAL

THE UNITED LEFT (IU) coalition party inExtremadura has opted for a visceral re-sponse — in obedience to the urges felt bya majority of grassroots members — andnot a political one — as demanded by theprogram line of the national organiza-tion — to the problems of reaching anunderstanding with the Socialist Party(PSOE) to produce a voting majority inthe regional parliament. Its decision toabstain in the session of investiture ofthe new regional government gives therightist Popular Party (PP) the premier-ship of the only regional governmentthat might have remained in the hands ofthe PSOE after the recent elections.

Finding itself unsure of what courseto take, the IU Extremadura leadershipcommitted the first mistake and chose amiddle path — that of debating among itsrank and file what ought to be done. Itwas not easy to resolve the dilemma be-fore them: support the PSOE, or furtherenlarge the already vast municipal politi-cal power attained by the PP in the May22 ballots. The presence of IU’s nationalcoordinator, Cayo Lara, on the scene andhis insistence that the dilemma was not areal one, and that the balance should fi-nally tip in favor of support for the PSOE,shows how important it was for IU thatits members do the right thing. Lara’sfailure places him in a difficult situation.He has been disowned by the party mem-bers. Besides, the federal structure of IUhas been split, because a question thataffects all of the federated chapters hasfinally been decided by only one of them.

It will be very hard to convince IU and

its voters throughout Spain that this re-sponse represents the party’s politicalline. Many will interpret that allowingthe PP to take over the government ofExtremadura as a repetition of the pincermovement first essayed by the then IUleader Julio Anguita in the 1993-96 peri-od, his unrealistic and indeed petulantpretension being to make IU the land-mark party of the left, displacing thePSOE. The pincer mounted Extremadu-ra’s United Left is more earthy in nature,apparently motivated by the desire topunish that region’s Socialists for theirarrogance and snubs during a 28-yearstint of uninterrupted government.

This reaction has nothing to do withpolitics. Cayo Lara has unsuccessfully at-tempted to explain this, while the IUspokesman in Congress, Gaspar Llamaza-res, considers it a very grave error. Toallow the PP to govern in Extremaduranot only contradicts the promises madeby IU in its electoral campaign; it alsobelies the statement made by the party’scoordinator in that region, Pedro Esco-bar, that IU would never make deals withparties or policies of the right.

The abstention will facilitate both ofthese things: government by a party ofthe right, and implementation of policiesof the right, in the original version of thePP and not the PSOE’s crisis-era copiedversion, as IU puts it. Sunday’s announce-ment can be interpreted as a dangerouswithdrawal of IU into itself. Many of itsmembers and voters are going to wonderif this party’s existence has any realmeaning anymore.

Back to thepincer movement

IU of Extremadura hands the regionalgovernment to the PP, ousting the Socialists

Alberto Camus wrote that“it was in Spain that [mygeneration] learned thatone can be right and yetbe beaten, that force canvanquish spirit, that thereare times when courageis not its own recom-pense.”

And it was also precise-ly in Spain where, 72years after reason was de-feated by force and annihi-lated the hope of a betterlife, thousands of menand women — indignantover the injustice, the ex-ploitation, the privileges,the corruption, the farci-

cal democracy and the dic-tatorship of money — re-acted and peacefully occu-pied the squares and tookto the streets, chargedwith courage and rea-sons, demanding dignityand the right to anotherSpain, to another worldwhere we are not mer-chandise.

Perhaps it is in Spainwhere we learn that, unit-ed, it is possible to changethe world and that reasonmight not always now bedefeated.— María HoyosCuevas. Valencina,Seville.

EDICIONES EL PAÍS, SOCIEDAD LIMITADA

PRESIDENTJuan Luis CebriánCHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERJosé Luis SainzCHIEF OPERATING OFFICERSJesús Ceberio & José Ángel García OleaEDITORJavier MorenoDEPUTY EDITORSVicente Jiménez & Lluís Bassets

EDITOR ENGLISH EDITION:James BadcockEDICIONES EL PAÍS SL is aGRUPO PRISA company.PRESIDENT: Ignacio PolancoCHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER:Juan Luis CebriánDEPUTY CHIEF EXECUTIVEOFFICER:Fernando Abril Martorell

Lettersto the Editor

Letters submitted to this sec-tion should not exceed 20typed lines. It is imperative thateach one is signed and is com-plete with an address, tele-phone number and DNI orpassport number of the au-thor. EL PAÍS 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: iht@elpais.es

The demonstrations against the Pactfor the Euro would have been just an-other protest, had the groups thatcalled it not been in the public eye forseveral weeks now. Under the slogan“They don’t represent us” — legitimateenough in reference to political leadersand parties, but disturbing if it meansthe institutions themselves — the “in-dignant ones” have adopted variouscauses as they crop up, ranging fromboycotts against judicial evictions ofmortgage defaulters to a sit-in at thegates of the Catalan parliament in pro-test against the regional government’sproposed budget cuts.

Ever since the indignant ones ap-peared on the scene, numerous observ-ers have attempted to explain the phe-nomenon, often projecting on themovement a meaning that does notseem easy to derive from the grab-bagof their demands. Sociologists, politicalscientists and specialists in various dis-ciplines, not to mention politicians,have put in these people’s mouthswords that, it would seem, they wereincapable of saying for themselves.

Conservative observers are inclinedto see in the protests the strategy of adiffuse entity — the left — which is notin the political parties or openly in themedia, but forms part of an under-ground network that moves who-knows-which pawns this way for nebu-lous ends — beginning with undermin-ing beforehand the moral authority ofthe next general elections, which in allprobability will be won by the PopularParty.

Many of the movement’s demandsreflect malaise with the improper usebeing made of power; others are sim-ply not viable. This is neither here northere because the indignant ones, be-ing citizens, have a perfect right to de-fend their ideas. However, it so hap-pens that the camp in Sol and in othercities came to occupy a gray zone oflegality in the day of reflection beforethe municipal elections. Not only ow-

ing to the demonstrators’ deliberate civ-il disobedience, but also to the CentralElectoral Council which, disregardingthe difficulty of breaking up the crowd,passed a resolution that could not havebeen enforced without causing a worsealteration of election-day calm thanthat it aimed to avoid. There are thosewho maintain that this risk ought tohave been run, whatever the cost. Butit is also possible to hold that the Coun-cil, which is not a resolution-dispens-ing machine, ought to have made an-other decision, setting the limits neces-sary so that the camp-in would not in-terfere with the holding of elections,instead of ordering it broken up. Bothsolutions were possible within theterms of the law, as shown by the exist-ence of earlier precedents, so that theoption for one or the other called for apolitical discussion, not a technical aca-demic argument. All this is now waterunder the bridge, but unfortunately itis still turning mill-wheels.

The incidents at the Catalan parlia-ment have marked a turning point, giv-en that a group of hotheads harassedsome deputies whom they do not, per-haps, see as representing them, butwho do represent the democraticallyexpressed will of thousands of citizens.The organizers of the camp-out issueda statement distancing themselvesfrom these incidents.

It is impossible to see what the dem-ocratic system has to gain by disregard-ing this statement, at the same timedeclining to explain who these hot-heads were, and preferring to portraythe whole indignant ones phenomenonas a variation on the kale borroka or theurban guerrillas. Speculations of anideological, sociological or any othernature on the meaning of the move-ment may be useful in the sphere ofknowledge; in that of democratic poli-tics, the phenomenon first requires adescription in terms of law, to decideon an appropriate official response,and put an end to the gray zone inwhich, for different reasons, everyonehas been putting it.

It was in Spain

Indignant in a gray zone

EL ROTO

“When the bankers invited me to the party, I should have suspected something”

JOSÉ MARÍA RIDAO

EL PAÍS, Tuesday, June 21, 2011 3

NEWS

The human “shadows,” whichfor years have guarded thosewho have been threatened byETA, are less visible on thestreets of the Basque Countrythese days. But the reduction inthe numbers of personal body-guards has become a major con-cern for both Socialist and Popu-lar Party (PP) councilors — amove that could also leave hun-dreds of people unemployed. Atthe same time it is also being con-strued by some as a sign that theend of ETA is ever closer.

The Interior Ministry and itsBasque regional equivalent havebegun implementing cuts thatwould leave just one bodyguardassigned to elected councilors ofthe Basque Socialist Party (PSE)and the PP, who until now hadtwo, and eliminate bodyguardsfor all former councilors of bothparties who are no longer in of-fice.

On May 22, the Socialists andthe PP won in 398 municipalities,119 fewer than in 2007. A littlemore than 700 bodyguards willbe without jobs in the BasqueCountry. A similar number willalso be unemployed in Navarre.“You are marked for life workingin this job, and if you become un-employed there is really nochance someone will be there tohelp you find another position,”says one of the security workerswho stands to lose his job.

Interior Minister AlfredoPérez Rubalcaba has been explic-it in stating that “if the risk dimin-ishes, so will the protection.” Butlast week, in towns governed bythe Bildu separatist coalition,mayors issued orders to munici-

pal employees not to allow body-guards to enter any public build-ings. In Andoain, municipal po-lice carried out those orders onMonday and prevented two coun-cilors from the PP and the PSEfrom entering town hall withtheir escorts.

The Spanish Bodyguards Asso-ciation (ASES) has asked Rubal-caba to give them legal protec-tion from the Bildu mayors.

Nevertheless, the eliminationof the bodyguards has become adouble headache for those whofor years have learned to livewith their special guardian an-gels. Beyond the “uncertainty”

that it entails, it also comes witha now-mandatory change of hab-it. “First we were forced to livewith bodyguards, and adapt to ev-erything that came with it, andnow they are taking them awaywithout even consulting us,” saidone mayor, who adds that person-al protection is a guarantee for a“full democratic life.”

“Not only do they [thebodyguards] protect us from at-tacks, which fortunately have notoccurred in a long time, but alsofrom the harassment, assaults

and insults that seem to havebeen ignited once again,” he ex-plains.

Political opinions are diverseamong the politicians who livedunder threats, but most agreethere is widespread euphoriaabout the prospects for peacesince Bildu’s electoral success.There are many who agree thatthe security situation — althoughstill far from normal — has im-proved in recent years. Othersare less optimistic, arguing thatin some ways the situation hasreverted to mimic that of an earli-er time. “Eusko Alkartasuna wasnot afraid to condemn any ETAattacks three years ago but nowthey are not so outspoken,” saysone PP councilor of another pro-independence party.

For the family of late police-man Eduardo Puelles, who waskilled in an ETA attack two yearsago, Bildu is helping erase thememory of the victims of terror-ism. “The legalization of Bildu isleading us to a type of peace thatis based on forgetting and cover-ing up the past,” said JosuPuelles, the late inspector’s broth-er, during a ceremony markingthe second anniversary of hisdeath. Eduardo Puelles diedwhen a bomb went off in a park-ing lot in Arrigorriaga in Vizcayaon June 19, 2009.

Although less given to issuingpublic statements — perhaps be-cause of the decline in escortsamong their own party — the So-cialists are also concerned.

This was reflected by partyspokesman in Andoain, EstanisAmutxastegi, who had insistedon going to town hall with hisbodyguards despite the ban byMayor Ane Carrere of Bildu.Amutxastegi says he won’t risk

being killed. This fear is sharedby many other councilors, espe-cially those who have been left aspart of a minority in municipali-ties governed by the coalition.

For other Socialist councilors,the decision to readjust body-guard services could be consid-ered a “reasonable” measure ifthe political and economic situa-tion in the Basque Country is tak-en into account. Some are evenseeing it as a new type of “person-al freedom.”

The councilors only representthe cornerstone of a plan that hasalready been introduced in sever-al previous stages. In recent

months, bodyguards have beenquietly eliminated among someBasque government officials andprofessionals from other sectorssubject to ETA threats, such asjournalists, university professorsand judges.

The members of the judiciaryhave been the only ones whohave spoken out to show their dis-pleasure about the cutbacks. Andin the coming weeks the Social-ists and the PP, including mem-bers of the regional parliament,could also follow suit.

Basque Country’s human “shadows”begin to fade along with ETA threatConcerns begin to heighten over the elimination of publicly paid bodyguards

Prime Minister José Luis Ro-dríguez Zapatero on Mondayrecognized the “profound” ef-fects the May 15 protest move-ment is having on society butat the same time disagreedwith the calls from withinthe movement for a with-drawal from a party-baseddemocratic system.

In an assessment of Sun-day’s nationwide march orga-nized by the so-called “indig-nant ones,” Zapatero dis-cussed with his fellow Social-ists during the party’s federalexecutive meeting the de-mands made by May 15 lead-ers. Among them are the in-troduction of stringent anti-corruption measures and bet-ter political representation.

Zapatero said that the po-litical system “can be im-proved, but there can be noother alternative to a partyrepresentative democracy.”

Other Socialist leaderssaid that some May 15 lead-ers were misleading the peo-ple by claiming that the gov-ernment took money fromthe workers and gave it tothe banks. They said that themoney didn’t burden the pub-lic coffers because the bankshave returned the ¤3.3 billionthey received from the gov-ernment at the beginning ofthe crisis.

From page 1

“If I had to make that deci-sion in Extremadura I wouldput our platform on top ofVara’s desk and negotiate itwith him,” said Lara.

Juan Manuel Sánchez Gor-dillo, an IU lawmaker in An-dalusia’s parliament, ap-plauded Escobar’s decisionand said the party should al-so make a similar move inhis region.

“Why should we have topay for the Socialists’ mis-takes? To form a govern-ment in Andalusia with theSocialists would be suicidefor the IU,” Sánchez Gordillosaid.

Marcelino Iglesias, Social-ist Party secretary, called theevents in Extremadura “un-fortunate” and said the IU Ex-tremadura leaders will haveto explain to their grassrootsas well as the federal commit-tee why it had chosen to takesuch action.

For her part, PP congres-sional spokeswoman SorayaSáenz de Santamaría saidthat the move was “coher-ent” because the IU was “re-belling” against Vara.

May 15 protestmovementis “profound,”says Zapatero

Socialists callIU pullout inExtremadura“unfortunate”

“You are markedfor life working inthis job,” saysone bodyguard

“First we wereforced to have themand now they wantto take them away”

L. R. AIZPEOLEA, Madrid

UNAI MORÁN / EL PAÍSBilbao / Madrid

PP councilor Begoña Pereira of Lizartza, Guipúzcoa is accompanied by her two bodyguards. / jesús uriarte

“If the riskdiminishes, sowill the protection,”says Rubalcaba

In Andoain,bodyguards fortwo councilorswere refused entry

4 EL PAÍS, Tuesday, June 21, 2011

FEATURES

Almost three quarters of Span-iards aged between 18 and 34believe that their fellow citizenswould take advantage of themgiven the opportunity. Further-more, a third say that nobody,or almost nobody, could be de-scribed as a “good person.” Fur-ther up the age scale, it seemswe are a little less cynical, with57 percent and 25 percent ofthose aged between 35 and 54respectively sharing those pessi-mistic views; of the over-55s,the figures fall to 52 percent and23 percent. And while Span-iards themselves admit theydon’t always see the best in peo-ple, it seems clear that the un-der-30s are especially skepticalabout the world around them.How come?

The report, which aims tocapture Spanish attitudes on awide range of issues, was basedon surveys by polling companyMetroscopia and published bythe Ortega y Gasset Foundation.José Juan Toharia, Metrosco-pia’s academic director, says itisn’t entirely clear why youngerSpaniards have lost their faithin society. “It’s a difficult issueto analyze,” he says.

To begin with, he says thatwariness about the world ispart of growing up, and the re-sult of conflicting messages.

During childhood we are toldabout the virtues of goodness,but at the same time we are con-stantly being told to be careful,and that we cannot necessarilytrust those around us.

“We find it very hard to ac-cept that evil exists, that thereare bad people around us: itgoes against what we have beentaught,” says Toharia. Our firstexperiences with the harsh reali-ties of life put us on our guardduring adolescence, and re-minds us that our parents toldus to be careful. “As we growolder, we tend to believe thatthere are more good peoplethan bad people out there, andthat tends to temper our lack oftrust,” he adds.

“As far as young people areconcerned, the adult world is ex-ternal and hostile,” says Tohar-ia. At the same time, we are be-ing brought up to be part of thatsociety; we have to find ourplace in society, the socialist ex-plains. “For young people, theworld seems a closed fortress,and it is hard to find a crackthrough which to enter.”

But does that explain thehuge difference in perceptionsbetween two generations re-garding the nature and state ofthe world around us? Emilio La-mo de Espinosa, an academicwho has also contributed to thereport, believes that our society

suffers from a problem of unful-filled expectations. Older peoplewere born into harder timesand have seen things improveover their lifetimes.

“They see society as moder-ate, well-behaved, and calm.They live in a world that is farbetter than they could haveimagined when they were grow-ing up. From their perspective,the difference between expecta-tions and reality has made themtrusting of the world,” he says.To live through a dictatorship,and then a transition to democ-racy, which even taking into ac-

count its ups and downs, hasseen the country move forward,is likely to make you see thingsin a more positive light, and totrust people.

Julio Iglesias de Ussel, also a

member of the panel that drewup the report, agrees, and adds:“The magnitude of this differ-ence is an indicator of the prob-lem we have in making the piec-es of our society fit together:that means the processes of inte-gration, in the workplace, in ourprivate lives; a large number ofpeople are fearful of the future.”

Spaniards themselves saythat they are an untrusting lot;they blame history, and say thatthe tumultuous events of thelast century have led most peo-ple to rely on family and closefriends. And at times of crisis,such as now, that tendency man-ifests itself even more so.

A report published in Septem-ber 2010 based on research car-ried out by the government-funded Center for SociologicalResearch (CIS) showed that 87percent of Spaniards would goto family first if they neededhelp, with friends their secondoption. Lamo de Espinosa saysthat this is typical of Mediterra-nean societies such as Spain, Ita-ly and Greece: “It’s what we callan amoral faith in the family,and it explains the power andpresence of the mafia.”

We should also rememberthat for centuries, and up untilthe middle part of the last centu-ry, Spain was an overwhelming-ly rural society made up ofsmall towns where everybody

knew everybody else, and therewas no need to trust strangers.This contrasts sharply with themore modern, impersonal soci-eties of northern Europe, whereit is important to find otherways to work with people withwhom you have no previouslinks.

The costs of askeptical societySpain seems caught in a vicious circle of failed expectationsand a growing lack of confidence that politicians can meetthem. Instead of working for the good of society, its citizenstraditionally fall back on family and friends

Barcelona was the scene on Sun-day of a peaceful, and indeed fes-tive, demonstration that attract-ed an estimated 98,000 people insupport of the 15-M movement,which aims to channel public an-ger at a political system that pri-oritizes the needs of the interna-tional money markets and is im-posing severe spending cutbackson public services.

In the case of Barcelona theorganizers were determined toavoid the violence that has beenassociated with the movementafter police cleared a sit-instaged in front of Catalonia’s re-gional parliament last week.The authorities were criticizedfor using excessive force, andfringe elements then upped thestakes by staging a picket that

aimed to prevent regional depu-ties from entering the assemblybuilding to debate an austeritybudget for the debt-laden re-gion.

The pacific nature of Sun-day’s march will have under-mined the efforts of Catalonia’sinterior chief, Felip Puig, whohas tried to tarnish the 15-Mmovement’s image by linking itto the violence of a minority.Puig insists that the “peaceful re-sistance” of the movement is sim-ply a front for a more violent ap-proach, and that the public ismistaken in supporting the pro-testors.

The violence that eruptedduring the bid to block entry tothe Catalan parliament lastWednesday was in everybody’sminds during Sunday’s demon-stration. Reflecting the calls to

reject violence by the move-ment’s organizers, many ofthose marching carried bannersand placards in favor of a peace-ful protest. “Fewer beatings andmore hugs,” shouted one youngwoman among the crowds, pro-ducing smiles and laughterfrom those around her.

The protestors on Sundayhad bigger fish to fry than Puigor the police; that said, manycalled for his resignation, andfrequently booed the police heli-copter hovering overhead. Thepoint, says the 15-M movement,is to bring as many people to-gether as possible, from all sec-tors of society to protest thecountry’s worsening economicclimate and the inability ofSpain’s Socialist government toprotect vulnerable people’s in-terests, along with what many

“To young people,the adult worldseems externaland hostile”

The generationswho lived throughthe transition tendto be more positive

Outraged, but peacefully soas Barcelona protest swells15-M movement intent on maintaining order within ranks

Young demonstrators joinforces in protest outsidethe Labor Ministry aspart of Spain’s 15-Mmovement. / gorka lejarcegi

JESÚS GARCÍA, Barcelona

AITOR RIVEIRO

Social order

Around 98,000 15-M movement protestors march peacefully in Barcelona against interior chief Fe

EL PAÍS, Tuesday, June 21, 2011 5

FEATURES

De Ussel says that a skepticaloutlook on the world and life iscreating problems for manySpaniards. “It is a serious issue,because the essence of life istrusting those around us, andthat is something that is evenmore important today, becausebefore, we all knew each other,”he explains.

Add to this the current reali-ty: a global economic crisis thathas hit Spain’s youth particular-ly hard. Unemployment has al-ways been high among the un-der-30s: the best it ever got was

17 percent in 2006, but it hasnow shot up to 45 percent, snub-bing out any hope of a stable fu-ture. “Older people’s financesare more balanced — they earnmore money, for a start. Youngpeople live in a continuous stateof worry about work and mon-ey. Also, they are growing up ina much more competitive envi-ronment, which only strength-ens their feelings of mistrust to-wards others,” says De Ussel.

Emilio Lamo calls it a “classbarrier.” Life is tougher foryoung people today than it was

25 years ago. De Ussel agreesthat the mistrust shown by to-day’s youth is a reflection of thecrisis. Work is essential both toour financial and material well-being, but is also necessary forour self-esteem. The process ofconstantly applying for, andthen being turned down for, bad-ly paid, low-skilled jobs leads in-evitably to a negative percep-tion of the rest of society, whobecome merely competitors.

“Unemployment damagesyour sense of identity; it frus-trates your dreams, and makes

you more dependent on the fam-ily and the way that you interactwith other people,” says de Us-sel.

Academic José RamónMontero, writing in the RevistaEspañola de InvestigacionesSociológicas (or, Spanish Journalof Sociological Research) saysthat a positive outlook is hard tosustain over a long period of un-employment. “It seems prettyclear that educated, satisfiedand socially integrated peopleare more likely to trust others.Therefore, both trust and a hap-py life tend to be directly linkedto education and social status.”

This is a view shared by Mari-ana Szmulewicz, who oversawthe 2009 European Mindset re-port, sponsored by the BBVAFoundation, which concludesthat Spaniards with less than 15years in education have a trustlevel of 4.6 out of 10, comparedto 5.3 for those with higher lev-els of study. In Scandinavia, aver-age scores are between six andseven points.

The European Social Survey,an EU-funded comparativestudy, unsurprisingly reportsthat in Scandinavian societies,more than 70 percent of peopleare trusting toward others,while Spain features in the low-er half of the table, at around 40percent.

But cause and effect in thisregard is not one-directional,but circular. People are not likethey are solely because of thehistory and customs of theircountry; because of their par-ents; or because they are livingthrough an economic crisis.When trust and confidence — atboth the personal and institu-tional levels — are high, democ-racy works better, the economydevelops with fewer problems,

interpersonal relations are easi-er and more straightforward,people behave more altruistical-ly, and standards of living in-crease.

Among the variables that ex-plain a particular society’s confi-dence and trust levels are, ac-cording to Montero: “income, so-cial status, belonging to a major-ity group, work satisfaction, eco-nomic confidence, and content-ment with life.”

Szmulewicz agrees on the vir-tuous circle these factors create:

“They reduce negotiation costsand timetables, facilitate com-munication, and generallyspeed up transactions,” shesays.

“Not all wealthy or devel-oped countries have such highindices of trust, but all coun-tries sharing these factors havegood levels of development,”says sociologist Marta Portela,who has researched the subjectfor her PhD. Lamo de Espinosaagrees: “High levels of trust anda positive outlook on the futurereduce all transaction costs:family, business, work and soon.” Portela adds that societiesfunction better when peopletrust others; the money spenton implementing control sys-tems can be applied to other ar-eas and “corruption disap-pears.”

This relationship betweentrust in society, in our politicalparties, and in democracy ingeneral is highlighted in Monte-ro’s 2008 study. Using data frombefore the current crisis, he ar-gues that there is a “significantlink between trust at the person-al level and trust in political in-stitutions, and between trust inpoliticians and our degree of sat-isfaction with our democracy.”These findings lead him to con-clude that “those who showhigh levels of trust socially tendto be happier with the politicalsystem they live under.”

The motor that drives this vir-tuous circle is trust in thosearound us. When members ofsociety are not envious of oth-ers, people are more likely totake part in democracy, whichin turn favors the building of so-cial and political institutions, inturn strengthening govern-ment. This then creates the con-ditions for people to develop asense of civic responsibility thatencourages them to be more in-volved in their community, andin taking part in society as awhole. Perhaps the healthy de-gree of mistrust in our politicalinstitutions that Spain’s youth isdisplaying in demonstrationsup and down the country willlead more of these individualsto learn to trust in one another.This really could be a revolu-tion.

see as the empty promises ofthe opposition Popular Party.

Sunday’s march, and the factthat it passed off peacefully, wasimportant to a movement thathas been riven by infighting inrecent weeks about its longer-term objectives and strategiesto see them carried out, manag-ing to bring together a disparategroup of collectives.

Fearful that the event mightbe hijacked by a violent minori-ty, or even by agents provoca-teurs, the organizers took every

step possible, even tellingmarchers how to deal with trou-blemakers. Stewards and mar-shals were on hand to defusepossible problems, and the po-lice presence was discreet. Theorganizers had warned violentgroups to stay away, although acontingent of around 1,000 peo-

ple gathered in front of the Cata-lan parliament in an echo of lastweek’s troubles, but they latermoved on.

The demonstration began at5pm in Catalunya square,where marches from differentpoints in the city had con-verged. There were a large num-ber of families, with childrencarried aloft on their parents’shoulders. It took two hours be-fore those at the end of themarch were able to move out ofthe square.

A festive dragon made of pa-per and cardboard was the most“aggressive” aspect of Sunday’smarch in the Catalan capital,where many people carried post-ers equating politics with dis-honesty, and others insisted onthe thoroughgoing change toSpanish political institutions ad-vocated by 15-M.

“We’re changing the percep-tion of reality,” said one of thehundreds of placards carried bymarchers between Catalunyasquare and the Pla de Palau,near Ciutadella park. Accordingto EL PAÍS calculations, 98,000attended the protest. City Hallput the number at 75,000.

In Scandinaviansocieties, 70 percenttrust others; almostdouble Spain’s rate

“There’s a linkbetween trust at thepersonal level andtrust in institutions”

Social order

“We’re changingthe perception ofreality,” said one ofthe many placards

hief Felip Puig and spending cuts. / carles ribes

6 EL PAÍS, Tuesday, June 21, 2011

BUSINESS

IBEX35

Equity

Latest

priceDaily variation Yesterday Annual Variation %

Euros % Min. Máx. Previous Current

N D J F M M JAMA S OJ J A

14,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

Yesterday

10,038.1012,000

Ibex 35

BIGGEST LOWS

% Euros

CAM -8,87 -0,410

Solaria -8,02 -0,170

Gamesa -7,12 -0,425

Barón de Ley -4,36 -2,090

Natraceutical -4,29 -0,012

Banco de Valencia -3,66 -0,070

Codere -3,42 -0,320

Puleva Biotech -3,33 -0,025

Nyesa (Inbesós) -3,13 -0,020

Mapfre -3,11 -0,082

Abengoa 20,730 -0,430 -2,03 20,530 21,090 -7,3 12,8

Abertis 15,200 -0,140 -0,91 15,110 15,345 6,2 13,0

Acciona 71,150 -1,670 -2,29 70,710 72,290 -18,0 36,6

Acerinox 11,850 -0,250 -2,07 11,820 11,960 -14,2 -8,4

ACS 31,050 -0,575 -1,82 30,800 31,370 -2,5 -9,1

Amadeus 13,945 -0,075 -0,53 13,820 14,070 17,2 -11,1

Arcelor Mittal 22,100 -0,065 -0,29 21,655 22,140 -26,8 -17,7

Banco Popular 3,873 -0,091 -2,30 3,850 3,901 -19,4 4,7

Banco Sabadell 2,880 -0,055 -1,87 2,862 2,910 -20,4 -0,4

Banco Santander 7,865 -0,085 -1,07 7,705 7,898 -23,5 3,5

Bankinter 4,570 -0,044 -0,95 4,480 4,578 -32,7 11,3

BBVA 7,831 -0,111 -1,40 7,683 7,870 -30,7 8,6

BME 19,680 0,030 0,15 19,260 19,735 0,8 15,2

Criteria 4,620 -0,026 -0,56 4,572 4,633 55,4 19,8

Ebro Foods 15,650 -0,245 -1,54 15,630 15,850 13,8 0,4

Enagás 15,725 -0,285 -1,78 15,720 15,895 8,0 5,4

Endesa 22,195 -0,380 -1,68 22,010 22,455 0,2 18,1

FCC 19,900 -0,400 -1,97 19,845 20,240 -25,5 5,0

Ferrovial 8,491 -0,056 -0,66 8,365 8,577 16,4 18,2

Gamesa 5,546 -0,425 -7,12 5,493 5,845 -52,2 -2,9

Gas Natural 13,665 -0,110 -0,80 13,525 13,710 3,0 27,3

Grifols 13,195 -0,115 -0,86 13,060 13,240 9,8 29,4

Iag 2,687 0,060 2,28 2,600 2,700 - -18,8

Iberdrola 5,985 -0,043 -0,71 5,912 6,002 -7,8 3,8

Iberdrola Renov. 3,020 -0,014 -0,46 3,000 3,030 -8,2 13,7

Inditex 60,320 -0,260 -0,43 59,250 60,460 43,0 9,1

Indra 13,500 -0,055 -0,41 13,390 13,615 -13,8 5,6

Mapfre 2,553 -0,082 -3,11 2,536 2,619 -6,0 23,0

Mediaset 5,684 -0,156 -2,67 5,641 5,812 -36,2 -30,0

OHL 25,100 -0,060 -0,24 24,750 25,185 38,3 12,8

Red Eléctrica 40,030 -0,775 -1,90 39,985 40,600 9,9 15,7

Repsol 22,270 -0,160 -0,71 21,915 22,400 24,9 9,5

Sacyr 6,340 -0,109 -1,69 6,260 6,425 -16,0 40,5

Técnicas Reunidas 35,020 -0,300 -0,85 34,645 35,260 -8,5 -25,4

Telefónica 16,385 -0,110 -0,67 16,200 16,420 -5,8 0,8

The newly elected premier ofCastilla-La Mancha, María Do-lores de Cospedal of the PopularParty (PP), has announced thatshe will eliminate public jobs andagencies when she takes office.The PP accuses the outgoing So-cialist government of racking upover ¤7 billion in debt in the third-largest region in Spain, with apopulation of over two millionand 95 agencies funded with pub-lic money. Cospedal talked aboutthe “excesses” of Spain’s decen-tralized system, which devolvesmany powers to the 17 regionalgovernments.

Cospedal’s announcement il-lustrates how regional spendinghas become the new stickingpoint in Spain’s strained politicalclimate, following the implemen-tation of unpopular austerity mea-sures at the national level. AndCastilla-La Mancha, is not eventhe most controversial region.

Last Wednesday, the Catalanpremier had to be flown in by heli-copter to the regional assemblyfor a heated session involving a10-percent spending cut to entitle-ments like health and social ser-vices, including drastic measureslike shutting down a number ofoperating rooms at public hospi-tals. Outside, other assemblymembers had to be escorted intothe building by security forces toprotect them from violent demon-strators protesting the cuts.

And despite that budget reduc-tion, which comes on top of priva-tizations worth ¤1.85 billion, Cata-lonia says it is still unable to bringits deficit down from last year’s3.86 percent to the target 1.3 per-cent which Madrid is demandingof all regions, in order for Spain tomeet its overall deficit commit-ments.

Until last March, nine out ofthe 17 semi-autonomous regions

of Spain registered greater imbal-ances than expected, for a globalnegative figure of 0.46 percent ofGDP, twice as much as in thesame period last year. Mean-while, authorities in Murcia saidthey will slash 3,500 substituteteacher positions at publicschools; the Valencia regionseems set to slim down the region-al television budget and trim thenumber of public companies.

“The markets are in charge,

but I didn’t vote for them,” readsome of the signs seen at the re-cent camp-outs across Spain’scity squares, where thousands ofpeople protested the politicalclass’ handling of the ongoing eco-nomic crisis. True, nobody votedfor them, yet the public adminis-trations have borrowed nearly¤680 billion from the markets.Over half of this debt is in foreignhands. And the public sector’s fi-nancing needs for this year aloneare around ¤200 billion.

Creditors frown when theylook at Spain’s public accounts, es-pecially at the regional level (na-tional efforts have mostly earnedplaudits, but with requests for fur-ther action), and they demand as-surances that it is still a good ideato invest in Spanish debt. Yet

there is little basis for such misgiv-ings if one takes a close look atthe numbers: regional debt re-mains below 20 percent of the to-tal, and the state has enough wig-gle room to make up for budget-ary deviations from the target insome regions, as already oc-curred last year.

This is what César Miralles, di-rector of the public sector depart-ment at the securities firm Inter-money, believes: “Since the statecannot afford to not comply withits deficit targets, it will compen-sate [for the regions]. There is al-ways margin for new measures.”Antonio García Pascual, chiefeconomist for southern Europe atBarclays Capital, agrees and addsthat “the central government hasenough margin to raise taxes.”

CONTINUOUS MARKET

BIGGEST HIGHS

% Euros

Sniace 3,60 0,055

IAG 2,28 0,060

Funespaña 1,94 0,140

Vértice 360 1,90 0,004

Reno de Médici 1,70 0,004

Unipapel 1,63 0,200

Sotogrande 1,55 0,060

La Seda Barcelona 1,14 0,001

Sol Meliá 0,82 0,065

Clínica Baviera 0,62 0,050

Markets eye Spain’s regions warilyLocal imbalances light another fire under Spain’s international credibility

FOREIGN CURRENCIES

Buy Sell

US dollar 1,4310 1,4310

Argentinean peso 5,8620 5,8610

Australian dollar 1,3530 1,3530

Brazilian real 2,2830 2,2820

Canadian dollar 1,4010 1,4010

Czech koruna 24,1380 24,1250

Danish krone 7,4600 7,4590

Hong Kong dollar 11,1520 11,1510

Hungarian forint 268,4100 268,2300

Icelandic krona 165,1000 164,8500

Indian rupee 64,0390 63,9890

Japanese yen 114,8800 114,8700

Mexican peso 16,9940 16,9910

Moroccan dirham 11,3320 11,3300

Norwegian kroner 7,9320 7,9290

Polish zloty 3,9890 3,9880

Rusian ruble 40,2210 40,1950

Singapore dollar 1,7680 1,7680

South African rand 9,7080 9,7000

Sterling pound 0,8840 0,8840

Swedish krona 9,1610 9,1590

Swiss franc 1,2080 1,2080

Units per euro at 18:00

Spain’s banking sector did a lit-tle less well in the first quarterof 2011, posting joint net prof-its of ¤3.7 billion, a 4.5 percentdrop from the same periodlast year. This was due to few-er earnings as a result of thecrisis, said Pedro Pablo Villas-ante, secretary general of theSpanish Banking Association(AEB). Villasante said the in-terest margin fell 0.8 percent,while the operating margin re-treated 4.7 percent to ¤5.66 bil-lion. The bad loan rate was4.45 percent, 23 basis pointsmore than in March 2010.

Hourly labor costs in Spaingrew more slowly than the eu-ro zone average, according todata published by Eurostat.This moderate rise in wagesand salaries, which helps raiseproductivity and demand forSpanish exports, was just un-der 1.9 percent in Spain, com-pared with an EU average riseof 2.7 percent. The greatesthourly labor cost rise was reg-istered in Bulgaria, at 7.8 per-cent, while Greece and Irelandrecorded negative growth of-6.8 percent and -2.2 percent.

The Algerian state energy com-pany Sonatrach has offeredGas Natural Fenosa the optionof acquiring up to 10 percentof the gas pipe Medgaz, saidenergy sector sources. TheSpanish firm said there is nofirm offer as yet to participatein Medgaz, which joins thecoast of Algeria with Almeríain Andalusia. Last week, GasNatural said Sonatrach wouldacquire a 3.85-percent stake inthe Spanish gas firm, the lateststep in solving a long-runningdispute over gas prices.

Riding high on internationalpressure for reforms inSpain, the employers’ associa-tion, the CEOE, said it wouldagain propose a job contractthat reduces compensationto 20 days per year worked,which caused a breakdownof negotiations with theunions. The CEOE will resur-rect the offer at a new roundof negotiations on June 27. Aspokesman for the CCOOunion said the proposalsounded like a “provocation”and would “not even be con-sidered.”

Banking

First-quarterprofits for sectordown 4.5 percent

Wages

Hourly laborcosts moderatelyincrease

Gas Natural Fenosa

Algeria’s Sonatrachoffers Spanish firmstake in gas pipe

EL PAÍSSource: Bank of Spain and Economy Ministry.

Debt burden of Spanish regions and town hallsIn millions of euros

In % of GDP

Town halls, provincial govtand regions

By region

1st quarter, 2011

121,42011.4

37,3523.5

CATALONIANAVARREASTURIAS CANTABRIA BASQUE COUNTRY LA RIOJA

34,32317.2

1,6617.1

1,92510.3

4,9187.3

87011.0

1,0817.9

GALICIA

6,17611.0

CASTILLA Y LEÓN

4,4227.7

MADRID

14,1117.4

EXTREMADURA

1,8219.9

CASTILLA -LA MANCHA

6,10616.9

ANDALUSIA

12,8558,9

CANARIES

3,2347.8

17,89517.4

3,30710.1

4,36816.3

2,3488.5

VALENCIAREGION

ARAGON

BALEARICS

MURCIA

Barcelona

1,102

Madrid

7,008

Madrid

(millions of euros)

Málaga

728

Zaragoza

790

Valencia

885

Seville

471

CEOE

Employers’ groupto re-proposecontroversial offer

AMANDA MARS

The PP’s Cospedalhas talked about the“excesses” of Spain’sdecentralized system

EL PAÍS, Tuesday, June 21, 2011 7

SPORTS

“Last year will be, in my opin-ion, impossible to repeat,” saiddefending Wimbledon champi-on Rafa Nadal ahead of his open-ing match at this year’s tourna-ment. Others may disagree, ofcourse, but Nadal beat twothings on Monday to ease intothe second round in SW19:Michael Russell, the Americanworld number 90 (6-4, 6-2, 6-2),and the inglorious British weath-er, which halted play at around5pm — although Nadal’s matchwould have gone ahead anyway,courtesy of the Centre Court re-tractable roof.

His rivals, and the watchingworld, will take any pronounce-ment from the Spanish double-champion with a large pinch ofsalt. “At the start of my careereverybody said my style of playwould make it difficult for me toplay here. But I have workedhard and given everything in ev-ery training session. I don’t haveRoger [Federer]’s volley, that’sfor sure, but I think I’m quickand my movement is goodenough to go to the net. I think Ihave enough experience and de-cent enough volleys to do so.”

Not that there is much callfor serve-and-volley tennis atWimbledon these days, as theAll England Club has taken mea-sures to slow down the surfaceof its courts. That can only bene-fit Nadal, who stated that the pri-mary obstacle of playing ongrass is “a great, great server,because the rhythm is too fast.”Of those there are many — AndyRoddick has been a runner-upat Wimbledon three times andFederer has one of the finestserves in the history of thesport.

That aside, if facing a “nor-mal” player, against whom it ispossible to return, Nadal de-scribes the game as “fantastic towatch and to play in. Dropshots, players going to the net

and aggressive matches. If youplay too defensively here, it isimpossible. There are many dif-ferent ways to play, and I loveit.”

Nadal’s second-round oppo-nent will be Ryan Sweeting, alsoAmerican and ranked 69, whodefeated Pablo Andújar, ranked50, in five sets having lost thefirst two. Sweeting won his first

ATP Tour-level tournament inHouston in April but has neverpreviously been past the firstround at Wimbledon. “You don’tget hugely better in six months,”noted Nadal of Sweeting, whomthe Spaniard crushed in the sec-ond round of the AustralianOpen this year 6-2, 6-1, 6-1.

“Miracles don’t exist, but I’msure he’s more dangerous nowthan he was in Australia, maybebecause there he wasn’t at hisbest or he was nervous or some-thing. He will be a different play-er this time around,” said Nadal.

Other results: M Fish d M Granollers7-6, 7-6, 6-4; F López d M Berrer 6-4,7-5, 6-3.

Nadal keeps powder dryWimbledon champion sees off Michael Russell in three sets

Sunshine and showersGalicia will be overcast today with lightshowers, which will likely extend into As-turias and Cantabria. The rest of the coun-try will be largely sunny, with some cloudrolling into the eastern half of the peninsu-la, bringing showers and storms to thePyrenees, the central belt and the north-east, especially over high ground. Highs:Madrid 34ºC, Barcelona 27ºC, Valencia28ºC, Seville 39ºC, Lisbon 31ºC.

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

The major tournament inwhich the least was expectedfrom Sergio García turned outto be the one in which heplayed at his best for quite sometime. The golfer from Castellónwas forced to qualify for the USOpen, at a pre-tournament play-off in Memphis. There, he suf-fered more than ever to winthrough, finally prevailing in atie-break between seven play-ers, most of them unknowns.

It was the first time in over adecade, and 47 major tourna-ments, that García had been re-quired to take this route, andfrom the mire he has emergedas a new and hungrier player.

García’s seventh-placed fin-ish on Sunday was his bestsince he came second at theBritish Open in 2007 and thePGA Championship in 2008,where on both occasions Pad-raig Harrington was victorious.Since then, García has played in10 majors and on two occasionsfailed even to make the cut. Atthe Congressional CountryClub, García was consistent onthe greens and scored 69, 71, 69and 70, throwing in some glori-ous strokes, such as one heclawed out of the rough to thefoot of the flag.

“I felt better, calmer,” saidGarcía. “On the final day I hadproblems with certain shotsand I lacked a little confidence,but I played well and I shouldlook ahead and keep improving.In general, I stood up well.When I played the qualificationin Memphis I took it little bylittle, first trying to qualify andnot looking too far ahead. Iwould have liked to have fin-ished better here to get into theBritish Open. I still have nextweek. But if I continue on thispath, I should be back in the top50 before too long and that willfix a lot of things.”

García’s seventh place gives

him direct access into the Au-gusta Masters and the next USOpen, as well as driving him upthe ranking, a boon to his confi-dence ahead of the BritishOpen, for which he must stillqualify.

Putting plightIf the US Open provided confir-mation of the genius of winnerRory McIlroy, it could also havebeen the starting point for anew, more consistent, versionof García, who has not won aprofessional tournament since2008. That said, he is the onlygolfer to have participated in ev-ery major in the 21st century,without missing one, even if hehas had to earn his placethrough a qualifying tourna-ment. And his placing at theCongressional could have beeneven better had he holed a bird-ie at the 17th hole and sunk asaveable par putt at the 18th.

García was accompanied bybad luck in the final stages, asthough he suffered from a lackof concentration or the nerve toseal a good score card. But hisseventh place should give himthe impetus to return to the top.

“I don’t have Roger’svolley, but I thinkI’m quick enoughto go to the net”

The rebirth ofSergio García

Useful information

J. MORENILLA

Sergio García: hungry

ROB TRAIN, Madrid

Rafa Nadal salutes the crowd after his win. / toby melville (reuters)

MADRID: Miguel Yuste, 40. 28037 Madrid. 91 337 82 00.Fax: 91 327 08 18. Legal deposit: M-14951-1976.© Ediciones EL PAÍS, 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 PAÍS, SL.”

ENGLISH EDITION WITH THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE

TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 2011

Lost in the nooks and cranniesthat lead into the Arab baths ofthe Comares Palace where thestar-shaped skylights that pepperthe stone vaults let in the sun’srays like golden rain and, aboveall, the silence of the centuries isencrusted among the myrtles andwaterways, you find the most in-toxicating part of the Alhambra.

It is also the least conventional,off limits to the majority of the mil-lions of mortals (three million ayear, to be exact) who ascend theSabika hill to contemplate Spain’smost-visited monument. Theseare mysterious places that lie inthe underbelly of the Nasrid palac-es, forbidden or tightly restrictedowing to the problems of preserva-tion or of access that now, thanksto a thousand-and-one new tech-nologies, can be visited by touristsfrom all over the world.

Sorry, that should really be ‘vis-ited,’ in inverted commas, as weare not talking flesh-and-blood vis-its here. Access to the Alhambra’sforbidden areas will arrive in theform of a project that will allowpeople to enter its hidden paradis-es in a virtual way. Set to be readyin around a year, La Alhambra oc-ulta (The hidden Alhambra) willuse latest-generation interactiveguides (the models are yet to bedefined but it’s possible they couldlook like an iPod that visitors willwear around their necks) to situ-ate you in front of the doors orwindows of those large, shut-uprooms and virtually recreate

them. It will also allow you to playwith them: to reconstruct, for ex-ample, the multicolored cofferedceilings rubbed out by the passingof the centuries and modify themas you fancy, or change the fasci-nating geometric shapes of thetiles made by the sultan’s crafts-men.

An agreement between theboard of the Alhambra and Gener-alife, the non-profit World Monu-ments Fund (WMF) and the Amer-ican Express Foundation formsthe backdrop to this sustainabletourism project that aims not justto reinforce and improve the possi-bilities of enjoying the monu-ment, but also to release the pres-

sure put on by around 9,000 dailyvisits. Other ways of visiting, oth-er ways of seeing and other waysof understanding history: andabove all, the ambition, as Alham-bra board director María del MarVillafranca recognizes, “to cap-ture young audiences with a nov-el project that will let them enjoycurrently unvisited areas, makingthem more accessible throughnew technology.”

The American Express Founda-tion is investing $200,000 in LaAlhambra oculta, while the NewYork-based WMF will bring anoth-

er $300,000, to be matched by theAlhambra board, for the restora-tion of one of those jewels thatuntil now could not be visited be-

cause of its bad state of repair: thePartal Oratory.

But back to the Alhambra andits mysteries. Today, when the

sun overwhelms the hill on whichthe old red castle of the Nasridmonarchs rises, you’re thankfulfor the cool offered by hiddenshady spots. Spots such as thosethat surround the Torre de lasDamas, a wonder built by the high-ly gifted 14th-century masonsalong the wall that surrounds theAlhambra complex — and closedto visitors.

As soon as you go through thegate, it is easy to notice how theair passes through and the suffo-cating heat is turned into condi-tioned air in a natural way: it isclear that, as well as being in lovewith esthetics, the sultans andtheir architects were also highlypragmatic.

“This is where you find theonly purple-colored tiles in thewhole of the Alhambra,” Villafran-ca explains proudly. She has heldthe reins on the board for the pastseven years, generating headlineswith the way she has preservedthe splendor of the monument:the complex restoration of the Pa-tio de los Leones and the recentdiscovery of painted anthropo-morphic figures in the Mirador deLindaraja.

One in the afternoon. The verti-go-inducing balcony of the Peina-dor de la Reina is another of themost captivating corners of thewhole complex. However, it is al-so closed to the public because theaccess is so narrow. It is one moreof those forbidden places of thehidden Alhambra. Passages, tow-ers, dungeons, patios, stairways...A secret world set to stop being sothanks to technology.

Opening up the Alhambra’s secret spacesPassages, towers, dungeons, stairways... the hidden “underbelly” of Spain’s most-visitedmonument is set to be revealed with the help of new interactive technology

The royal baths in the Comares Palace. / pepe marín zarza

BORJA HERMOSOGranada

“It will let youmodify the coloredceilings rubbed outby the centuries”

Views over Granada’s Albaicín neighborhood from the Peinador de la Reina, one of the areas of the Alhambra that is closed to the public. / pepe marín zarza