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Focuses on unemployment in Spain, as of December 1996. Why it is so high; The role of unions, labor mobility, growth, and minimum wage laws; Disagreement over unemployment figures; Unemployment's toll on the family; Spain's low birth rate; The need for faster growth and deregulation; Education in Spain suffering from many of the same defects as in the rest of Europe.

The article focuses on Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero. Zapatero has maintained a majority for his Socialist party through policies designed to conciliate separatist movements in Catalonia and the Basque region of the country. This has generated increased opposition from conservatives who have traditionally opposed regionalization.

Focuses on the change and continuity in Spanish society. Topics of education, media, family life, role of women, and the enduring force of the church; Statistics pertaining to the national population.

The article discusses the politics and government of Spain and presents the conditions of its region Catalonia. Particular focus is given to the political views of the president of the Government of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont regarding independent republic. Also included are the social aspects of the political inflict, views of Spain's conservative prime minister Mariano Rajoy, and the economic aspects of the European government's decisions.

The article reports the members of Spain's Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) gathering in a conference hall on May 7, 2017, to listen to Spanish politician Susana Díaz in electing the Socialists' leader. It also focuses on anti-austerity protesters called "indignados" and Spain's financial and economic crisis. Comments of the Manuel Arias Maldonado, a political scientist at the University of Málaga, are presented.

The article focuses on immigration in Spain. The country has received about 5 million immigrants since 2000, making foreign-born persons 12 percent of the population. Assimilation of this influx has been relatively successful compared to other European countries, especially for Muslim immigrants. There are fears rising unemployment could create anti-immigrant tensions.

The article focuses on a new charter of autonomy signed into law in the Andalusia region of Spain, following similar charters in Valencia and Catalonia. The charter demonstrates the growing power of the 17 autonomous regions of the country, as it grants the region an acknowledgement of their "nationality", though the region is still considered part of the nation of Spain. Details of the wording and language in the charters and the regional powers that it grants are discussed.

This article discusses how Spain's immigrants are generally well treated, but they are not integrated into society. The two most striking facts about immigration in Spain are how recent the phenomenon is and how well the Spaniards have reacted to it. In 2003 four-fifths of the immigrants lived in six of Spain's 17 regions-Andalusia, Catalonia, Madrid, Valencia and the Balearic and Canary islands. Of the 2.7m foreigners in Spain, about 22% are from the EU 15, another 13% from other (mostly east) European countries, 39% from Latin America and 20% from Africa, including the Maghreb. Several analysts, such as Rickard Sandell of the Elcano Royal Institute and Jordi Sánchez i Picanyol of the Jaume Bofill Foundation, think Canada's system has much to offer Spain, allowing a better match between supply and demand and giving government more control over the flow of immigrants. The claim is often made that the centuries of Moorish rule in pre-1492 al-Andalus-which comprised most of modern Spain and Portugal, excluding the kingdom of Asturias in the north-were a period of great religious harmony, commercial success and cultural fertility.

he pope will visit Spain in May, and he has been fiercely hostile to the war in Iraq. The curiosity is that Spanish opposition is led by the left, traditionally anti-clerical, while pro-war feeling is led by the decidedly Catholic government. The defence minister, Federico Trillo, is a member of Opus Dei, a conservative Catholic lay order, and he and two other ministers were in Rome last October when Pope John Paul canonized Josemaría Escriva, the Spanish founder of the order. The church for years claimed that 90% of Spaniards "considered themselves" Catholic. A survey of religious belief in Spain shows that this historically Catholic country may be ceasing to be so. Antonio María Rouco Varela, Madrid's cardinal-archbishop, has admitted that for most such Spaniards "Catholic" is a label--to some extent of national identity--but not a way of life.

Reports on the terrorism perpetrated by the Basque separatist group ETA in Spain as of July 1997. The kidnapping of Miguel Blanco Garrido; The demands for the return of around 500 ETA prisoners; The violent public reaction to the ETA's tactics; The attack of the offices of Herri Batasuna, ETA's political wing; The history of ETA violence; The actions of Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar.

Opinion. Focuses on political, social, and economic conditions in Spain, as of December 1996. The country in transit to a new role in Europe; How Spanish society has changed since the death of Franco; Political changes occurring under the leadership of Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar; Former Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez's achievements; His legacy of uncured ills; Challenges of unemployment and birth rate facing Spain; Its need to reform.

The article reports on the politics and government of Spain as of February 2010, focusing on immigration as a political issue. Although Spaniards tend to rate immigration law fairly low on their list of concerns, a recession and the resulting competition for jobs could alter that. Signs that the Spanish political right is beginning to focus on immigration as a potential campaign issue are discussed.

The article examines the status of businesswomen in Spain. Only 4 percent of the board members of Spain's corporations are women, one of the lowest representations in Europe. Cliquish corporate cultures and the country's long working days, difficult for mothers, are blamed. A law containing no sanctions has been passed mandating that 40 percent of board members be women by 2015. The increasing percentage of Spain's women under 30 in the work force may solve the problem naturally.

This article reports on the involvement of the Catholic Church in Spanish politics. The clergy claims that the Socialist prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, was leading the country towards moral and democratic ruin. Despite the influence of the church, Zapatero is expected to win re-election on March 9, 2008.

The article focuses on a search for lyrics to Spain's national anthem. Previous lyrics were a tribute to dictator Francisco Franco and were dropped after his death in 1975. The country's Olympic Committee is holding a contest to select new ones, submitting three nominees to Parliament in September, 2007. Spain's many regional differences make the choice one the government would rather avoid.

The article discusses illegal immigration in Spain. Spain's labour minister, Jesus Caldera, marked the end of the Socialist government's three-month amnesty, under which 700,000 illegal immigrants will be given work and residency permits. Unlike north European countries, which have been tightening up on immigration, Spain has taken a brave step. Yet the risk is that the amnesty will encourage more illegal immigrants--who may go beyond Spain. The scheme was simple enough. Annually renewable residence and work permits were granted to anybody able to prove he had lived in Spain since last August, and had a six-month work contract. The Spanish amnesty has not been popular in other European Union (EU) countries. Only this week the Spanish police intercepted five vessels carrying dozens of Africans from the Moroccan coast to the Canary Islands. The amnesty, which comes at a time when the EU is considering a single policy for immigration, is unlikely to stem the flow: the stretch of water that separates Morocco from Spain represents one of the widest income differentials in the world.

Discusses how women are treated in Spain. Number of cases of domestic violence against women reported each year; How the role of women in Spanish society has changed since the country became a democracy in 1975; Impact of Spain opening its border to tourists on the sexual liberation of women.

Describes race relations in Spain. Attacks on Moroccans in Catalonia; The burning of a mosque in Girona; The arrest of fifteen skinhead ringleaders and the shutdown of a very popular racist Internet page; The historic absence of xenophobia due to the historic absence of aliens in the country; The homogeneity of the Spanish following the expulsion of Muslims and Jews from Spain in 1492; Low levels of immigration due to Spain's relative poverty.