Could anyone talk to me about Spanish Politics?

I was talking with this boy and he was telling me about how the President is a douchebag who is only listening to people who want to break off from the country and homosexuals (he's catholic so listening to homosexuals would be bad). And his english isn't so good, but I'm very interested in the lack of patriotism and what seems to be the foreshadowing of civil war or at least schism of the country. Could anyone fill me in?

 

Hi Josh,

I'm new here but I do know a little about Spain and what you are asking about.

Homosexuality has, as in other countries been at times seriously frowned upon, in Spain. It was was an illegal offence under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, with laws against homosexual activity enforced and gays being imprisoned in large numbers.

Things changed somewhat in the 1960s when gay scenes began to emerge in Barcelona (probably the most socially tolerant city in Spain at the time) and in Ibiza and Sitges (a town in the province of Barcelona, that remains a highly popular gay tourist spot).

Attitudes in Spain began to change further with the return to democracy after Franco's death in 1975 through a cultural movement known as La movida (of which the celebrated director Pedro Almodóvar was a part). This movement, along with growth of the gay rights movement in the rest of Europe and the Western world was a large factor in making Spain today one of Europe's most socially permissive societies.

The feelings of the boy you describe are I guess "the old catholic view" as the socialist prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's administration legalised same-gender marriage and adoption in 2005.

Largley, homosexuality and bisexuality today are fairly widely accepted, especially in the bigger cities.

Anyway, if you want some further info about the political system of Spain, try these links:

Spanish Politics
Spanish History
Spanish Church and Politics

 

Since 1975 spain has changed a lot, and devoloped itself amanzigly, both economically and culturally, I personally think Spain in the last years gained much more influence in the world economicy as well as in the european tourism,
I believe the power of Spain is that they withdraw old people leaving space to he young's action..and Zapatero is their major political expression

..my country, italy, is doing the exact oppsite..