Spain Political Analysis :: essays research papers

The kingdom of Spain is roughly about 504,750 sq. km., including the Balearic and Canary islands (CIA). This land mass is roughly double the size of our state of Oregon. The country is located in Western Europe and borders the countries of; Andorra, France, Gibraltar, Portugal and Morocco (Ceuta and Melilla) (CIA). The country has roughly about 30% arable land and exports much of its agricultural products. The Spanish population is about 40.1 million people with about 1% growth rate (CIA). The population mix is mainly that of Mediterranean and Nordic heritage. The Kingdom of Spain is less populated than most of its European counterparts with the majority of the population living in main cities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The government of the Kingdom of Spain is a Parliamentary Monarch. The Chief of State is Juan Carlos I was coordinated in November of 1975. Juan Carlos was the immediate successor of the dictator Gen. Franco (NTDB). The head of the government is President Jose Maria Aznar Lopez. Aznar is a member of the Popular Party, and won both the popular vote and the designated votes. The ruling body of Spain is a bicameral legislation with a National Assembly, Senate, and Congress. In addition the government also supports a standing military to include; Army, Marines, Air Force, Navy, Cost Guard, National Police, and Civil Guard (NTDB). The military currently has 300,000 active duty men and woman. The current political outlook on Spain is stable. However, Spain is the only country in the EU that has a recognized separatist group known as the ETA. The ETA stands for Euzkadi Ta Askatasuna meaning Basque Fatherland and Freedom. This movement was started in 1959, and aim was to gain sovereignty for a small area in northern Spain near France. The ETA has accepted responsibility for over 800 deaths and an estimated 1,600 terrorist attacks (CNN) However, in the ETA’s defense these attacks were strategically aimed at government officials, and were never intended for innocent bystanders. The ETA have been involved in peace negotiations and resulted in a 14 Month cease-fire in 1998 (BBC). However that ceasefire ended when peace negotiations did not end in the favor of the ETA’s Plan in Zurich Switzerland. It was not until the September 11 attacks that the United States recognized the need for a global effort against terrorism and all its allies. In February of this year, t he United States in cooperation with the Spanish government ceased several millions of dollars in ETA and ETA supporters’ assets in the US and protectorates.