Spain and the United States - Real Instituto Elcano

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SPAIN AND THE UNITED STATES
demographic, sociological, cultural, political and economic potential of the
until then less-than-defined Hispanic community, that really awakened the
government’s interest. This census also coincided with the rapid emergence in
Spain of a large community of immigrants from Latin America (1.45 million at
the beginning of 2005, compared with a total of 165,000 foreign residents of
all nationalities in Spain in 1976).
José María Aznar, Spain’s former prime minister (1996-2004), visited
several Hispanic states during his frequent visits to the United States but took
a partisan approach towards the community. For example, he offered to
campaign for the Republicans. This was a risky strategy, particularly as
Hispanics tend to vote for the Democrats (John Kerry got 53% of the Hispanic
vote in the November 2004 election), and not one that Spain’s ruling Socialists
are following, although the Democrats are the natural allies of the Socialists.
Of the 21.5 million registered Hispanic voters, only around seven million of
them voted.
There are several areas where Spain can work with the Hispanic
community, most notably establishing better institutional relations with bodies
representing Hispanics, such as the New America Alliance, the Greater Miami
Chamber of Commerce and the Hispanic Business Round Table, jointly
working on Spanish-language projects and finding ways for Spanish
companies to participate in Hispanic companies, particularly in the field of
culture (cinema, TV, music, etc). But it should always be borne in mind that,
as Emilio Cassinello, former Consul General in New York, points out,
“approaching the Hispanic community means approaching the United States.
We must always keep in mind that Hispanics and the US cannot be analysed as
two dissociable entities.” Relationships can, and indeed are, being developed
with Hispanic political leaders from both the Republican and Democratic
parties (for example, with the two Hispanic senators, Republican Mel Martinez
and Democrat Ken Salazar), but this has to be done without becoming involved
in US internal politics.
A key player on both sides of the Atlantic is the United States-Spain
Council, which was created in 1995 during the third Socialist government of
Felipe González to encourage understanding of shared interests and promote
constructive relations and cooperation between the Spanish and American
governments on a variety of issues, including trade intellectual property rights
and education. The Council, whose US president is Mel Martinez, meets once
a year, alternating between Spain and the United States. Its members include
government officials, members of the Spanish parliament and the US Senate,
businessmen and academics. It is a useful talking shop and forum for
networking and could act as a kind of lobby.