An Overlooked Monarchy

The time of the monarchs as ruling bodies in Spain has passed. Western history has been forever altered by the actions of past Spanish kings and queens and their development of the Americas, but it seems that their era has all but faded.

The current Spanish king, Juan Carlos I, abides by the norms of the modern Spanish monarchy – Reinar, pero no gobernar. To reign, but not to govern.

This is the norm, but it is not always followed.

In a recent incident of international fame, Juan Carlos gave the world a glimpse of the steel grit that built the Spanish monarchy and kingdom. During a 2007 Ibero-American summit, an argument broke out between Spanish President Jose Luis Zapatero and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. While discussing the war in Afghanistan, Chavez claimed that the past president of Spain was a fascist for cooperating with Bush and Blair in the war. The Venezuelan dictator went so far as to claim that the past Spanish president was responsible for the Al-Qaeda terrorist attacks in Madrid on May 11, 2004.

Zapatero, who was sitting next to King Juan Carlos, reprimanded Chavez for disrespecting an official elected by the will of the Spanish people. As he is given to do, Chavez continued in his degrading diatribe. At which point the Spanish king leaned forward and said:

“Porqúe no te calles?” “Why don’t you shut up?”

As if Juan Carlos’ indication was not direct enough, it takes on special importance for the Spanish speaker – Juan Carlos neglected to use the formal usted form and thus ignored the status of Chavez’ rank.

Juan Carlos’ words for Chavez are celebrated and immortalized by many a Spaniard. The story made every newscast in Spain and remains a moment of pride. Not only were we able to glimpse the audacity of monarchies past, but we were also able to witness the monarchical will in the face of a dictator reminiscent of the Spanish Franco.

Date Change for Spain's Presidential Elections

On Friday last, Spanish President Zapatero shocked Spanish voters by announcing that he will be moving the date for the presidential elections in Spain from March 2012 to November 20, 2011. Besides superstitions surrounding the date’s numerical significance (20-11-2011), the 20th of November is a date of singular importance for Spain. November 20, 1975 is the day that Francisco Franco died. A day that ended a 40 year dictatorship in Spain.


The Spanish people are stunned.No political analysis has thus far been able to comprehend the reason for the unexpected change of date. Nonetheless, political analysts have endeavored to understand Zapatero’s motivations. Some believe that Zapatero, who is part of the reigning socialist party in Spain PSOE, is using the death of ultra-conservative Franco as a reminder to voters of the dangers of conservatism. By associating Franco with conservatism, Zapatero would succeed in discouraging votes for PSOE’s conservative counterpart Partido Popular (PP).

Following the 15th of May protests in Spain, PP has been gaining momentum throughout the country and is more or less a shoe-in for the presidency. Zapatero’s assumed intention is to curb PP’s popularity. Whether the change of date hinders or helps either side is yet to be seen.

However, regardless of the outcome, Zapatero’s change of date strikes at the heart of Spain’s history and the heart of the careful culture that has emerged from the Franquista era.