Chapter Nineteen: Why is Spain a Catholic Country Pt. II o Caudillo por la Gracia de Dios

After centuries of monarchy interspersed with years of dictatorship, the Spanish people tried to create a democratic government. They would join other western countries and enjoy elections, defined human rights, and a secular government. But, of course, by Spanish people I'm talking about just part of the society. This leftist agenda didn't sit so well with the conservative land owners, army, fascists, and the Church.

So, after just a few years of the Second Republic, the conservative Nationalist forces went to take back the country. The war lasted until 1939, with atrocities committed by both sides (although, while recognizing that neither side was perfect, I'd have to say I'm anti-fascist and don't think the "order" they imposed justified the bloody civil war or a coup against a legitimate government but that's a subject for another chapter). The Nationalists won and "Caudillo" or "Generalissimo" Franco gained power. Of course, once in power he faced the challenge of holding together all these groups. The military and conservatives benefited from Franco's regime, but the Catholics were a different matter. The Catholic Church gained a large amount of control over the education system and Spain backed away from the secular stance of the Republic.

While the Church distanced itself from Franco in the later years of his rule, they provided him with strong support during his first years and maintained the Catholic status of Spain through his rule. Today, everyone recognizes Franco's human rights violations and I think (although this is still a taboo topic among Spain's older generations) accepts that the Republic was - for all its disorder - a better alternative. Well, I guess not everyone.

The Pope made a recent visit to Spain and noted "In Spain, a strong, aggressive laicity, an anti-clericalism, a secularization has been born as we experienced in the 1930s. For the future of the faith, it is this meeting - not a confrontation but a meeting - between faith and laicity which has a central point in Spanish culture."

Unfortunately, these meetings usually turn into confrontations and I'm not sure the Church has the moral legitimacy to imply that the Republic was a terrible time in Spanish history. I'm all for the Pope calling for a renewal of individual faith, but his comments appear to be supporting the imposition of religion onto the state and people. And homie don't play that.

Chapter Eighteen: Strike Out o La Huelga General

"Batten down the hatches," countless emails and news reports said. "The strike's a-coming."

Given the effectiveness of previous strikes, the quantity of signs, and the society's (partially misdirected) rage at Socialist Prime Minister Zapatero, I was getting ready to endure the storm. Checking the supplies of peanut butter and sending out a few emails just in case, I headed out.

As I stepped into the hall, I noticed it was dark, darker than a burnt squid ink paella. But that didn't matter, because the hall lights are usually off. They love conserving energy here like Santiago pilgrims love their rapidly decaying clothes. I pushed a button on the wall and the elevator responded, saving me from a rather rigorous run down eleven flights of stairs.

I headed into the Metro, feeling optimistic upon seeing Metro workers, but still fretting about the reports that the Metro would probably just be running at 50%. And running at 50% in Spain usually means 10%.

The electronic sign stated the usual "train arriving in 5 minutes," but I didn't take it for granted until I stepped on the train five minutes later. The Metro ride and walk to class went surprisingly smoothly as I walked up the escalator free from the usual crowds that block my path. While I did see a few shops closed later, I decided that all in all, things were actually working better the day of the strike.

Que productividad. There was no difference between regular efficiency and strike day efficiency.