title: Santa Claus: The Movie

text: Despite the film being a flop critically and commercially, the film has earned a cult status, especially in the United Kingdom, due to frequent television showings around Christmastime.


title: Santa Claus: The Movie

text: The soundtrack score was composed and conducted by Henry Mancini, composer of the themes from "The Pink Panther" and "Peter Gunn", with veteran lyricist and screenwriter Leslie Bricusse contributing five original songs. The song "It's Christmas (All Over the World)" was written by Bill House and John Hobbs with Freddie Mercury in mind. While it is known that Mercury recorded a demo for the House/Hobbs song at Pinewood Studios, he was never to make a full commitment to the project, as he and his Queen bandmates had already committed themselves to the "Highlander" soundtrack. In the end, Mercury turned down the project, stating that he felt that Queen had become overcrowded with requests to work on film soundtracks; as a result, Sheena Easton was ultimately chosen to record the tune. As mentioned on the DVD commentary of the film by Jeannot Szwarc, Paul McCartney was asked to compose songs for the film. It is unknown why he did not do so in the end.


title: Santa Claus: The Movie

text: The soundtrack was originally released on record and cassette by EMI America Records in 1985. Soon after, it went out of print and remained unavailable until 2009 when it was released on CD as a limited run of 1000 copies which sold out immediately upon release. This production suffered from several issues, most notably a master which had been subjected to heavy noise reduction resulting in a loss of sound quality. Additionally, the left & right channels had been erroneously flipped, a superficial re-edit had been performed on "It's Christmas (All Over the World)", and the song "Shouldn't Do That" by Kaja (Kajagoogoo) had been omitted due to licensing issues. In 2012 a deluxe three-disc set, including remastered tracks, outtakes and alternate versions and a 32-page booklet, was released.


title: Santa Claus: The Movie

text: Marvel Comics published a comic book adaptation of the film by writer Sid Jacobson and artist Frank Springer in "Marvel Super Special" #39.


title: Alice Eduardo

text: Alice Eduardo is a Filipino businesswoman. She is the founder, president, and chief executive officer (CEO) of Sta. Elena Construction and Development Corporation.


title: Alice Eduardo

text: Eduardo is the eldest of four siblings to parents Eduardo and Elisa Galang, who were a dentist and certified public accountant, respectively. Her family owned a garments export business in Manila, a rice milling business in Bocaue, Bulacan and a rice trading business in Nueva Ecija. The family also owned a bowling center.


title: Alice Eduardo

text: She managed these activities until she formed her own company in 1995, the "Sta. Elena Construction and Development Corporation". This was a stepping stone to entering the construction industry. She started with four sets of cranes that she rented until she bagged a partnership with a Japanese construction firm. Her company, Sta. Elena Construction, was subcontracted to build the foundation for a power plant in Batangas.


title: Alice Eduardo

text: Before Eduardo even became a young entrepreneur, she was drawn to properties. She bought her first condominium in Ortigas while in college.


title: Alice Eduardo

text: Eduardo has drawn recognition for her business achievements, including being named one of Go Negosyo's 50 Inspiring Women of Passion.


title: Alice Eduardo

text: Alice is also one of PeopleAsia's People of the Year 2017 awardees. In December 2018, she was honored as one of Forbes Asia's Heroes of Philanthropy 2018.


title: Alice Eduardo

text: Eduardo partly funded a pediatric ward in Philippine General Hospital (PGH). The isolation ward facility was inaugurated on February 18, 2015.


title: Alice Eduardo

text: Alice Eduardo also funds building houses for the underprivileged through Habitat for Humanity, donates to the Philippine Red Cross, and supports programs of the Caritas Manila.


title: Miles Sanders

text: Miles Adam Sanders (born May 1, 1997), nicknamed "Boobie Miles", is an American football running back for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Eagles in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft after playing college football at Penn State.


title: Miles Sanders

text: Miles grew up in Swissvale, a borough 9 miles east of downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and attended local powerhouse Woodland Hills High School, where he was a three-year starter at running back. After winning Pennsylvania's Mr. Football award during his senior year and attending the Under Armour All-America Game, Sanders chose to attend Penn State over a host of other offers, including the local Pittsburgh Panthers.


title: Miles Sanders

text: Sanders saw a limited amount of playing time as a true freshman behind teammate Saquon Barkley. He received the majority of his reps on special teams this season. While returning kicks for Penn State, Sanders set the school record for kicks returned in a season (33). He is also ranked second on the program's list for kick return yards in a single season (688), averaging 20.8 yards per return.


title: Miles Sanders

text: In 2017, Sanders played in 12 games, making his first college start in one of them. He started his first game against Rutgers on November 11, 2017. Sanders was presented with the 2018 Red Worrell Award, for the offensive player who best demonstrated exemplary conduct, loyalty, interest, attitude and improvement during spring practice.


title: Miles Sanders

text: With Barkley’s departure from Penn State after the 2017 season, Sanders was named Penn State's starting running back. Sanders started 13 out of 13 games in the 2018 season. On September 1, in his junior season debut against Appalachian State, he carried the ball 19 times, rushing for 91 yards and two touchdowns. That also included the game-winning 4-yard touchdown in overtime. After this performance, he was named the coaching staff's Offensive Player of the Week. Sanders’ most notable game of the year came against Illinois on September 21. He rushed for a career-best 200 yards on 22 carries. He also ended the game with a career-high three rushing touchdowns. He was then named the Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week.


title: Miles Sanders

text: To end the season, Sanders finished No. 2 in the Big Ten and No. 15 in the nation with 1,274 rushing yards, was ranked No. 4 in the conference and No. 25 in the FBS with 98.0 rushing yards per game, and was No. 5 in the Big Ten and No. 40 in the nation with 5.79 yards per carry. Additionally, he finished seventh in the Big Ten in rushing touchdowns (9) and all-purpose yards per game (108.7). On January 3, 2019, Sanders decided to declare for the NFL Draft and forego his senior season of college football.


title: Miles Sanders

text: Sanders was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round (53rd overall pick) in the 2019 NFL Draft. He is represented by Beyond Athlete Management.


title: Miles Sanders

text: Sanders made his NFL debut in Week 1 against the Washington Redskins. In the game, Sanders rushed 11 times for 25 yards as the Eagles won 32–27. In Week 6 against the Minnesota Vikings, Sanders rushed three times for six yards and caught three passes for 86 yards and a touchdown. In a Week 15 game against the Redskins, Sanders rushed 19 times for 122 yards and a touchdown and caught six passes for 50 yards and another touchdown in a 37–27 win. During the game, Sanders passed LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson for the most rushing yards by a rookie and the most all-purpose yards by a rookie in franchise history, respectively. In Week 16 against the Dallas Cowboys, Sanders rushed 20 times for 79 yards and a touchdown and caught five passes for 77 yards. He finished his rookie season with 818 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns to go along with 50 receptions for 509 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns.


title: Miles Sanders

text: In the NFC Wild Card Round against the Seattle Seahawks, Sanders rushed 14 times for 69 yards in a 17–9 loss.


title: Miles Sanders

text: Sanders missed the first game of the 2020 regular season with a hamstring injury. He returned in Week 2 to make his season debut against the Los Angeles Rams. In the 37–19 loss, Sanders recorded 131 scrimmage yards and a rushing touchdown. In Week 5 against his hometown team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sanders rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns, including a 74-yard score, during a 38–29 loss. In Week 6 against the Baltimore Ravens, he had nine carries for 118 yards. In Week 14, against the New Orleans Saints, he had fourteen carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns, including a career-high 82-yard score, during the 24–21 win. Following the season, Sanders, along with Clyde Edwards-Helaire were selected to the playable Pro Bowl roster of the Madden 21 Video Game Numbers Challenge.


title: Miles Sanders

text: While Sanders started off as the team's feature back, the offense began to focus on passing the ball more, which led to Sanders spending more time on the bench. Through the first 6 games, Sanders had a combined total of 57 carries for 270 yards and 0 touchdowns. In the team's week 7 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders, Sanders suffered a sprained ankle. This injury forced Sanders to miss 3 weeks of action. He returned in time for the team's week 11 showdown with the New Orleans Saints. Sanders stepped back into a large role in the week 13 game against the New York Jets, as he carried the ball a season high 24 times for 120 yards. In week 15 against the Washington Football Team, Sanders recorded a season high 131 yards rushing on 18 carries. His hot streak came to an end during the Eagles' week 16 matchup against the New York Giants, Sanders broke a bone in his hand, which forced him to miss the final 2 games of the regular season. All said and done, in 2021, Sanders ended the year with 137 carries for 754 yards and 0 touchdowns. He added 26 receptions for 158 yards, as well, across 12 games.


title: Miles Sanders

text: On October 2, 2022, Sanders ran for 134 yards and two touchdowns, helping the Eagles move to 4-0 on the season during a 29-21 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.


title: Aksha Pardasany

text: Aksha Pardasany is an Indian actress. She has acted in Telugu, Malayalam films such as "Yuvatha", "Goal", "Ride" and "Kandireega".


title: Aksha Pardasany

text: Aksha hails from a Sindhi background. She attended the Bombay Scottish School, Mahim, where she completed her 12th standard.


title: Aksha Pardasany

text: During her 8th class year she began modeling and has since acted in approximately 75 commercials. She made her debut in the Malayalam film "Goal", where the director Yuvatha spotted her and signed her for one of the lead roles in his films. She finished working on "Goal" while she was in the 10th class. She appeared as a guest in a song for a Malayalam film titled "Bangles".


title: Aksha Pardasany

text: Aksha got into collaboration with a US-based fashion brand Yog The Label. They sell her photos featuring products manufactured in USA and Europe worldwide.


title: Michael Mann filmography

text: Michael Mann is an American filmmaker known for directing, producing, and writing various works of film and television.


title: Calexico, California

text: Calexico () is a city in southern Imperial County, California. Situated on the Mexican border, it is linked economically with the much larger city of Mexicali, the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California. It is about east of San Diego and west of Yuma, Arizona. Calexico, along with six other incorporated Imperial County cities, forms part of the larger populated area known as the Imperial Valley.


title: Calexico, California

text: First explored by Europeans in the 18th century, Calexico began as a small tent community which was ultimately incorporated in 1908.


title: Calexico, California

text: The name of the city is a portmanteau of California and Mexico. The originally proposed names were "Santo Tomas" or "Thomasville." Mexicali is a similarly named city directly across the international border from Calexico, its name being a portmanteau of the words "Mexico" and "California".


title: Calexico, California

text: The expedition of Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza traveled through the area some time between 1775 and 1776, during Spanish rule. The trail through Calexico was designated as a historical route by the State of California.


title: Calexico, California

text: Calexico began as a tent city of the Imperial Land Company; it was founded in 1899, and incorporated in 1908. The Imperial Land Company converted desert land into a fertile setting for year-round agriculture. The first post office in Calexico opened in 1902.


title: Calexico, California

text: On April 4, 2010, the El Mayor earthquake caused moderate to heavy damage throughout Calexico and across the border in Mexicali. Measuring 7.2 , the quake was centered about south of the U.S.–Mexico border near Mexicali. A state of emergency was declared and officials cordoned off First and Second streets between Paulin and Heber Avenues. Glass and debris littered the streets of downtown Calexico and two buildings partially collapsed. The Calexico water treatment plant sustained severe damage.


title: Calexico, California

text: According to the United States Census Bureau, at the 2010 census, the city had a total area of , all land.


title: Calexico, California

text: Calexico is located southeast of Los Angeles, east of San Diego, west of Phoenix, and adjacent to Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico.


title: Calexico, California

text: Calexico's location provides easy overnight trucking access to all those transportation hubs plus the ports of Long Beach, California, and Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico.


title: Calexico, California

text: Calexico is served by State Routes 98, 7 and 111, with direct connection to Interstate 8 (5 miles north) and State Route 86. There are eighteen regular and irregular common carriers for intrastate and interstate truck service to Calexico.


title: Calexico, California

text: Rail service is provided by Union Pacific Railroad, and connects with the main line to Portland, Oregon; Rock Island, Illinois; Tucumcari, New Mexico; St. Louis, Missouri; and New Orleans, Louisiana.


title: Calexico, California

text: Within city limits is Calexico International Airport, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection check-point for private passenger and air-cargo flights entering the U.S. from Mexico. Private charter services are also available there.


title: Calexico, California

text: General aviation facilities and scheduled passenger and air-cargo service to San Diego International Airport, Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, and other points are available at Imperial County Airport (Boley Field), located north.


title: Calexico, California

text: Calexico has a subtropical hot-desert climate ("BWh"), according to the Köppen climate classification system. In December 1932, the city experienced a rare snowfall. Rainfall usually occurs in the winter months of December, January and February. Although summer is extremely dry in Calexico, there are occasional thunderstorms. In 2008, during the months of July and August there were several heavy thunderstorms that let down large amounts of rain and hail. Summer rainfall in the city is infrequent. During winter time, Calexico is sometimes affected by winter rain showers.


title: Calexico, California

text: The summer temperatures in Calexico are very hot, with most of those days having temperatures at or above . However, the hot desert climate seen in Calexico is actually not unusual for similar parallel cities such as, for example, Baghdad, Iraq.


title: Calexico, California

text: The area has a large amount of sunshine year round due to its stable descending air and high pressure.


title: Calexico, California

text: The 2010 United States Census reported that Calexico had a population of 38,572. The population density was . The racial makeup of Calexico was 23,150 (60.0%) White, 134 (0.3%) African American, 204 (0.5%) Native American, 504 (1.3%) Asian, 21 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 12,920 (33.5%) from other races, and 1,639 (4.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 37,354 persons (96.8%).


title: Calexico, California

text: The Census reported that 38,472 people (99.7% of the population) lived in households, 100 (0.3%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.


title: Calexico, California

text: There were 10,116 households, out of which 5,759 (56.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 5,767 (57.0%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2,319 (22.9%) had a female householder with no husband present, 595 (5.9%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 316 (3.1%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 61 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships, while 1,200 households (11.9%) were made up of individuals, and 675 (6.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.80. There were 8,681 families (85.8% of all households); the average family size was 4.09.


title: Calexico, California

text: The population was spread out, with 12,011 people (31.1%) under the age of 18, 4,262 people (11.0%) aged 18 to 24, 9,332 people (24.2%) aged 25 to 44, 8,559 people (22.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 4,408 people (11.4%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.2 males.


title: Calexico, California

text: There were 10,651 housing units at an average density of , of which 10,116 were occupied, of which 5,430 (53.7%) were owner-occupied, and 4,686 (46.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.1%. 22,155 people (57.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 16,317 people (42.3%) lived in rental housing units.


title: Calexico, California

text: The City of Calexico operates under a City Council/City Manager form of government. The City Council consists of five Council Members, elected to overlapping four-year term. The Mayor and Mayor Pro-Tem are chosen from among the five council members and rotate on an annual basis.


title: Calexico, California

text: The Mayor presides at council meetings, where all official policies and laws of the city are enacted. The members of the Calexico City Council set policy and appoint commissions and committees that study the present and future needs of Calexico.


title: Calexico, California

text: The other two elected officials in the City of Calexico are the City Clerk and City Treasurer. Each of them is elected directly by the voters and serves a four-year term.


title: Calexico, California

text: The Calexico branch of the Imperial County Superior Court system was officially renamed on Saturday, December 19, 1992, in honor of Legaspi family members Henry, Victor and Luis Legaspi as the Legaspi Municipal Court Complex.


title: Calexico, California

text: The current mayor is Rosie Arreola-Fernández, and the mayor pro tem is Javier Moreno. The other council members are Raul Ureña, Gloria G. Romo, and Camilo Garcia.


title: Calexico, California

text: In recent years, Calexico has overwhelmingly supported Democratic Party candidates for president. In seven of the last eight presidential elections, the Democrat has received over 70% of the vote.


title: Calexico, California

text: Post-secondary education is available at the Imperial Valley Campus of San Diego State University, and at Imperial Valley College ( to the north). In addition, there are more than 20 local agencies and programs providing vocational training which can be tailored to the specific needs of potential employers.


title: Calexico, California

text: The Calexico Unified School District serves city residents. Calexico has 7 elementary schools, 2 junior high schools and 2 high schools:


title: Calexico, California

text: Calexico Mission School, a Seventh-day Adventist Academy operated by the Southeastern California Conference in Riverside, CA provides private religious education in Calexico from kindergarten through twelfth grade.


title: Calexico, California

text: Our Lady of Guadalupe Academy (Home to the Bees), and Vincent Memorial Catholic High School (Home to the Scots), Roman Catholic schools operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego, are also in Calexico.


title: Calexico, California

text: Calexico is served by the privately owned Calexico Transit, LA Shuttle and Numero Uno Shuttle and the publicly owned Imperial Valley Transit for local transit. Calexico is also served by Greyhound Lines.


title: Calexico, California

text: Calexico generally identifies as part of the larger Imperial Valley region, which includes the El Centro metropolitan area, as do the rest of the cities in the county.


title: Calexico, California

text: Red Ribbon Week, a national observance dedicated to spreading awareness about the prevention of drugs and violence (especially in schools) originated within the city of Calexico during the mid to late 1980s as a tribute to DEA officer Enrique "Kiki" Camarena. Red Ribbon Week campaigns were pushed forward by Nancy Reagan.


title: Calexico, California

text: The city media includes national public television stations, county-wide radio stations (some of which feature nation-wide or California state-wide programing), county-wide print publications such as Imperial Valley Press as well as a few locally managed general interest publications.


title: Fairy Tail (season 9)

text: The ninth and final season of the "Fairy Tail" anime series was directed by Shinji Ishihira and produced by A-1 Pictures, CloverWorks, and Bridge. Like the rest of the series, it follows the adventures of Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia of the fictional guild Fairy Tail. This season contains two story arcs: the first seven episodes continue the , which adapts material from the final chapter of the 49th volume to the second-to-last chapter of the 51st volume of the "Fairy Tail" manga by Hiro Mashima, depicting Natsu, Lucy, and Happy's journey to reorganize their disbanded guild; the remaining 44 episodes form the , which adapts material from the last chapter of the 51st volume to the manga's conclusion, depicting the guild's war with the militaristic Alvarez Empire, and Natsu's final battle with his adversaries Zeref and Acnologia.


title: Fairy Tail (season 9)

text: On July 20, 2017, Hiro Mashima announced on Twitter that a third and "final" series of "Fairy Tail" would air in 2018. The final season premiered on October 7, 2018 on TV Tokyo, and is simultaneously released by Funimation with a broadcast dub in North America.


title: Fairy Tail (season 9)

text: The anime contains eight pieces of theme music: four opening themes and four ending themes. For episodes 278 to 290, the first opening theme is "Power of the Dream", performed by lol, and the ending theme is "Endless Harmony", performed by Beverly. For episodes 291 to 303, the second opening and ending themes are "Down by Law" by The Rampage from Exile Tribe and "Pierce" by EMPiRE, respectively. For episodes 304 to 315, the third opening and ending themes are "No-Limit" by Ōsaka ☆ Shunkashūtō and "Boku to Kimi no Lullaby" by Miyuna. The fourth opening and ending themes, used for the remainder of the season, are "More Than Like" by BiSH and "Exceed" by Miyuu. "Snow Fairy", performed by Funkist, is used in episode 328 as an insert song.


title: The Witchfinder (TV series)

text: The Witchfinder is a BBC Two sitcom created, written, and directed by the Gibbons brothers. The series is executive produced by Steve Coogan, and Christine Langan, and produced by Dave Lambert for Baby Cow Productions. It stars Tim Key and Daisy May Cooper.


title: The Witchfinder (TV series)

text: Set in 1645, during the English Civil War, Cooper plays a suspected witch being escorted by Key across East Anglia for a witch trial. Key plays a failing, chauvinistic, pompous witchfinder for whom the seemingly simple journey risks becoming an ordeal.


title: The Witchfinder (TV series)

text: Commissioned for BBC Two in October 2019 by channel controller Patrick Holland and Shane Allen, Controller of Comedy Commissioning. Filming ran from June to July 2021.


title: Anjali Patil

text: Anjali Patil is an Indian actress and film director who works in multiple languages. She has earned rave reviews for her work in "Delhi in a Day", "Chakravyuh", "Newton" and Sri Lankan film "With You Without You". She received the IFFI Best Actor Award (Female) Silver Peacock Award at the 43rd International Film Festival of India her role in the Sri Lankan film "With You Without You". In 2013, she starred in the Telugu film "Na Bangaaru Talli" for which she received the National Film Award – Special Mention, and the state Nandi Award for Best Actress.


title: Anjali Patil

text: Patil was born into a Marathi family and raised in Nashik, Maharashtra, India. Patil completed her higher school in Nashik. By age 14, she had decided to pursue performance art as her career. She persuaded her parents to send her to the Center for Performing Arts at University of Pune. In June 2007, she earned a bachelor's degree in arts with a gold medal for her excellence. Later that year, Patil was chosen to pursue Masters in Theater Design at National School of Drama in New Delhi. It presented her with many opportunities to work extensively with Indian and International film and theater actors and directors.


title: Anjali Patil

text: Patil's first feature film opportunity came with Prashant Nair's Hindi-English international independent film "Delhi in a Day". She was critically acclaimed for her portrayal of Rohini. The film premiered in Asia at the Mumbai film festival on 13 October 2011 and was released theatrically in India in August 2012.


title: Anjali Patil

text: In 2010–11, Patil worked as the lead actress and a producer on an international short film "Green Bangles". It was selected as India's official entry to WIFTI (Women In Film and Television International, Los Angeles) and was eventually selected and screened at the WIFTI International Showcase 2012 in 44 cities in 15 countries.


title: Anjali Patil

text: She later on worked in Prakash Jha's film on issues related to Naxalism: "Chakravyuh". Patil received rave reviews for her fierce portrayal of Naxal leader Juhi.


title: Anjali Patil

text: "Oba Nathuwa Oba Ekka" ("With You, Without You") (2012) was her international collaboration with acclaimed Sri Lankan writer-director Prasanna Vithanage. Patil did the dubbing herself and that makes her the first Indian actress to dub in the Sinhala language. Her stellar performance won her Silver Peacock award for Best Actor Female at International Film Festival of India in Goa in November 2012. She is one of the youngest actors to receive this award. Patil also received the Presidential award Of Sri Lanka for her performance in 2017.


title: Anjali Patil

text: In 2016 Patil did her first Marathi film "The Silence" with Nagraj Manjule as a co-actor, for which she received a Filmfare award.


title: Anjali Patil

text: She played a pivotal role in "Mirzya" from Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra which was released in 2016. She went on to collaborate with him as the lead in "Mere Pyare Prime Minister" in 2018.


title: Anjali Patil

text: Patil's performance as Gondi speaking Malko- Adivasi BLO in "Newton", with Rajkumar Rao in 2017 was highly applauded across all levels.


title: Anjali Patil

text: She played a bold and fierce activist, Puyal in Pa. Ranjith's Kaala with Rajinikanth earning a major following in Tamil industry.


title: Anjali Patil

text: She recently received the prestigious "Ma TA Sanmaan- Best actress " for her performance in this series.


title: Chonburi F.C.

text: Chonburi Football Club () is a Thai professional football club based in the city of Chonburi, Chonburi province, that competes in the top division in Thai football, the Thai League 1. The team lifted the league title in 2007 which became the most successful season in their history.


title: Chonburi F.C.

text: Chonburi were founded in 1997 and their main rivals are Sriracha who are also based in Chonburi Province. The team is widely known by their nickname ""The Sharks"" which can be seen in the crest of the club.


title: Chonburi F.C.

text: In its early years, Chonburi Football Club was Assumption College Sriracha's football team. The team was managed by Annop Singtothong, Thanasak Suraprasert, Sontaya Khunpluem, and Wittaya Khunpluem. The team competed and were victorious in many youth tournaments, one of them including the Institute of Physical Education's youth football tournament.


title: Chonburi F.C.

text: In 1996, Sannibat Samut Prakan Association competed in the Khǒr Royal Cup and came in second place. The directors of the football team then negotiated for a merger which resulted in the creation of Chonburi-Sannibat Samut Prakan Football Club. The team then competed in Thai Division 1 League or Thai League 2 today.


title: Chonburi F.C.

text: Later, the Chonburi Sports Association had been given the chance to compete in the Provincial League in 2000. As a result, Chonburi's provincial football team was separated from Chonburi-Sannibat Samut Prakan Football Club which competed in Thai Division 1 League. The team that competed in the Provincial League acquired their players from Assumption College Sriracha and Chulabhon's College Chonburi. They ended their first season in the Provincial League in third place.


title: Chonburi F.C.

text: In 2005 they won the Provincial League title by beating Nakhon Ratchasima at the Nakhon Ratchasima Municipal Stadium, and gained promotion to the Thai Premier League in the 2006 season with the Provincial League runners up, Suphanburi. This title was the first major success of the club. Chonburi then finished 8th in the 2006 Thai Premier League season.


title: Chonburi F.C.

text: In 2006 they were invited to play in the Singapore Cup and reached the final, defeating local sides Home United, Albirex Niigata Singapore and Balestier Khalsa along the way. In the final they lost to Tampines Rovers 2–3 in the extra time after leading 2–0.


title: Chonburi F.C.

text: In 2007 they were again invited to participate in the Singapore Cup, but were defeated in the first round against Balestier Khalsa, in a replay of the previous season's semi-finals. Chonburi lost 3–2 in normal play. They have formed links with Manchester City. In the end of this season Chonburi become Thailand Premier League champions for 2007 Thailand Premier League, This was the first trophy in major league for the club and head coach Jadet Meelarp got Coach of the Year awards and Pipob On-Mo got Player of the year awards.


title: Chonburi F.C.

text: In July 2008 they made another important big step into the future. In addition, the previous sponsor, Hemaraj Land and Development PLC signed a major sponsorship deal which comes into force from 2009. The contract will run for three years and will amount to the sum of 18 million baht (about 350,000 Euros). This may indeed be the largest completed sponsorship of a Thai football club which was ever completed.


title: Chonburi F.C.

text: At the end of the 2008 season, there was only enough for runner-up. The main reason for this was certainly the profligacy. With two games left in the season you still on the first place in the table, but a 0–0 draw against Samut Songkhram made to naught in the penultimate round of the dream title defense. Jadet Meelarp was dismissed. His successor is officially announced in mid-December 2008. Kiatisuk Senamuang, known as "Zico", was appointed coach of Chonburi.


title: Chonburi F.C.

text: As Runner-up Champion 2008 the team is qualified for the 2009 AFC Cup and was drawn in a group with Hanoi ACB (Vietnam), Eastern AA (Hong Kong) and Kedah FA (Malaysia). Chonburi has to call to mind the Zeil set to be first in the group and win the AFC Cup in Thailand. The group stage was confident survived with only one defeat in six games. In the second round Chonburi PSMS Medan in Indonesia defeated 4–1 before retired in the quarter-finals against the Vietnam representative Bình Dương 2–4. The game against Medan was also the last game of Surat Sukha, who moved to Melbourne Victory.


title: Chonburi F.C.

text: In July 2009. End of the 2009 season the club was only the runner-up again. At the end of 2008 they had 2 points behind the champions, 2009, there were 3 points. Kiatisuk Senamuang changed at the end of the season to Hoàng Anh Gia Lai, the association in Vietnam where he was active as a player last. His successor in Chonburi was Jadet Meelarp, which had been released a year earlier. At his side, his former boss Witthaya Laohakul was provided as technical director of the club. Unlike other top clubs in the league but vorzuweisen Chonburi had hardly known commitments for the 2010 season. Only Therdsak Chaiman you can probably fit into this category. The 36-year-old was last in the Thailand national football team his comeback from Singapore and moved to Chonburi. Although the club was again runner-up, but this is not automatically eligible in the 2009 season to participate in the 2010 AFC Cup. Instead, the Cup Winners' Cup in Thailand directly qualified for the competition. Already in the second round of the Thai FA Cup retired from the Chonburi.


title: Chonburi F.C.

text: In 2008, in the first AFC Champions League, Chonburi played against the Japanese champions Gamba Osaka. On 20 March 2008 the club achieved its first victory in the AFC Champions League against Melbourne Victory. The game was clouded by controversy when Melbourne Victory scored their only goal whilst a Chonburi FC player was down injured and his teammates were calling for the ball to be played off the park. It mattered little when Cameroonian striker Baga scored a goal from 35 yards out and then followed it up with a second goal in extra time to condemn the Melbourne Victory to their first loss in the competition 3–1.


title: Chonburi F.C.

text: Chonburi is well known for producing football talent as well as using their youth players in the first team. In the 2007 Thailand Premier League in which they have been crowned champions, over 80% of their first-team players came from their youth program. However, in the past, their youth players stayed at boarding schools in Chonburi province such as Assumption College Sriracha and Chulabhon's College Chonburi.


title: Chonburi F.C.

text: Today Chonburi has a football academy where academy players train and live every day at. The idea of creating a football academy was spearheaded by former Chonburi head coach and current technical director Witthaya Laohakul, who stressed the importance of creating and producing quality football players for the first-team. In 2009, Chonburi decided to remodel its academy and youth program by building an actual football academy in Ban Bueng District. The new academy is located far away from Chonburi surrounded by paddy fields and was once rented out to JMG Academy. In addition, this new football academy includes a dormitory and football training facilities for the academy players.


title: Chonburi F.C.

text: Chonburi recruits academy players by scouting them from tournaments as well as offering trials. Worachit Kanitsribampen is one of the first successful players to come out of Chonburi's newly restructured academy.


title: Chonburi F.C.

text: At the start of the 2008 season, Chonburi used the Chonburi Municipality Stadium plays in the 5,000-seater in Chonburi. Due to disagreements with the local authorities, the club wore its home games from 2008 of the Princess Sirindhorn Stadium. For the games of the 2008 AFC Champions League you had to dodge into the National Stadium, which was also used for matches in the 2009 AFC Cup Bangkok. For the 2010 season, the club will return to Chonburi and will host its home games at the renovated Chonburi Sports College Stadium.


title: Chonburi F.C.

text: In 2011 season they move to Chonburi Stadium after renovate the stadium for played in the AFC Cup, and Thai League.


title: Chonburi F.C.

text: For the future, a new stadium is designed with modern training facilities. The new stadium will have 15,000 spectators and meet modern demands. It would be next to the new buildings in Pattaya and one of the most modern stadiums in Si Racha in Chonburi province. Arise should the stadium with club grounds near Bang Saen on a ten-rai area. This is about 1.5 hectares. The site was donated by the President of the Association, Wittaya Khunpluem.


title: Zambo

text: Zambo ( ) or Sambu is a racial term historically used in the Spanish Empire to refer to people of mixed Indigenous and African ancestry. Occasionally in the 21st century, the term is used in the Americas to refer to persons who are of mixed African and Indigenous American ancestry. Historically, the racial cross between enslaved Africans and Amerindians was referred to as a "zambayga", then "zambo", then "sambo".


title: Zambo

text: The equivalent term in Brazil is (). However, in Portugal and Portuguese-speaking Africa, "cafuzo" is used to refer to someone born of an African person and a person of mixed African and European ancestry.


title: Zambo

text: The meaning of the term "sambo", however, is contested in North America, where other etymologies have been proposed. The word is believed to have originated from one of the Romance languages or Latin and its direct descendants. The feminine word is (not to be confused with the Argentine Zamba folk dance.)


title: Zambo

text: In some parts of colonial Spanish America, the term applied to the children of one African and one Amerindian parent, or the children of two zambo parents. In New Spain (colonial Mexico), the term for those of mixed African and indigenous ancestry was ("wolf"). This term of classification appears in official marriage registers and other official documentation.


title: Zambo

text: During this period, many other terms denoted individuals of African-Amerindian ancestry in ratios smaller or greater than the 50:50 of zambos: (zambo-Amerindian mixture) for example. Today in parts of Spanish America, refers to all people with significant or visible amounts of both African and Amerindian ancestry.


title: Zambo

text: The term "zambo" was not formally used in Spanish territories. Competing terms, such as "mulato", were also used. From the beginning the early sixteenth century, when African slaves were first imported to Hispaniola, unions between them and indigenous peoples, and Spanish colonists, began to take place. The two non-European groups sometimes worked together in the mines or on the plantations of Hispaniola, and on other Spanish Caribbean islands following the introduction of sugar cane production in the 1520s. In other cases, Africans took refuge in indigenous communities after escaping slavery.


title: Zambo

text: The term "zambos" was generally used to refer to persons who did not have European ancestry, but all sorts of unions took place through the centuries, of course. In the eighteenth century, the Spanish began making formal racial classifications, and defined "zambo" in what became its final, official meaning.


title: Zambo

text: Some "zambo" groups became well known after being created by runaway or rebel Africans who mixed with or took over indigenous communities. In the unconquered regions of Esmeraldes, in what would become Ecuador, for example, a small group of shipwrecked former slaves gained control of some indigenous communities, eventually representing them before Spanish authorities in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.


title: Zambo

text: The Misquito Zambos developed as the descendants of a group of African slaves who revolted in 1640 on a slave ship. They wrecked it at Cape Gracias a Dios on the border between Honduras and Nicaragua, to escape into the interior. There they united with the indigenous Miskito people. By the early eighteenth century, Afro-Miskito people came to dominate the kingdom. They led warriors on many extensive slave raids to capture slaves for sale to Europeans. Their alliance and protection of English-speaking merchants and settlers in the area helped Great Britain found the colony of British Honduras (present day Belize).


title: Zambo

text: Officially, zambos represent sizeable minorities in the northwestern South American countries Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Guyana, and Ecuador, as well as in the Central American country of Panama. A small but noticeable number of zambos, resulting from recent unions of Amerindian men to Afro-Ecuadorian women, and they are common in major coastal cities of Ecuador ans in Imbabura aprovince. Prior to rural-to-urban migration in Ecuador, Amerindians and Afro-Ecuadorians were ethnicities that were mostly confined to the Andes region and Esmeraldas Province and the Chota Valley in Imbabura Province, respectively.


title: Zambo

text: In Central America, two indigenous-African mixed groups have developed: the Miskito and the Garifuna. The Garifuna originated from the combination of Africans who were shipwrecked or fled from neighboring islands to St. Vincent during the 17th and the 19l8th centuries. In 1797, they were deported by the British for supporting France during the French Revolutionary Wars to the island of Roatan, off the coast of Honduras. From there, they reached the mainland and developed communities along the coast of Central America from Nicaragua to Belize.


title: Zambo

text: In Mexico, where zambos were sometimes known as "lobos" (literally meaning wolves), they form a sizelable minority. According to the 2015 Intercensus Estimate, 896,829 people identified as both Afro-Mexican and Indigenous Mexican. The vadt majority of the country's Afro-descended population has been absorbed into the wider mestizo population. Greater concentrations can be found only in communities scattered around the southern coastal states, including Michoacán, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Campeche, Quintana Roo, Yucatán, and Veracruz, where many of the country's Afro-Mexicans reside.


title: Zambo

text: Culturally, Mexican "lobos" followed Amerindian traditions, rather than African influences, as they often had Amerindian mothers and were brought up in her culture. Such acculturation also took place in Bolivia, where the Afro-Bolivian community absorbed and retained many aspects of Amerindian cultural influences, such as dress and the use of the Aymara language. Those communities of Afro-Bolivians reside in the "Yungas" region of the Bolivian department of La Paz.


title: Zambo

text: The populations of African and Amerindian ancestry have generally been marginalized and discriminated against.


title: Zambo

text: In March 2008, the then US Senator Barack Obama reflected in a speech the difficult situation faced by the populations of African and Amerindian ancestors, thereby demonstrating his concern for the Zamba population of his country.


title: The Babysitter (1995 film)

text: The Babysitter is a 1995 American psychological thriller film directed by Guy Ferland and starring Alicia Silverstone, based on the short story of the same name by Robert Coover in his collection "Pricksongs and Descants" (1969). The film was released direct-to-video in October 1995.


title: The Babysitter (1995 film)

text: Jennifer is a beautiful teenager who is hired to babysit the children of Harry Tucker and his wife, Dolly Tucker, while they attend a party hosted by their friends, Bill Holsten and his wife, Bernice Holsten. Harry often fantasizes about Jennifer, while Dolly misinterprets Bill's compliments as a sign of attraction and fantasizes about him. Meanwhile, Jennifer's ex-boyfriend Jack, with whom she broke up when he started pressuring Jennifer for sex, runs into his estranged troublemaking friend Mark, Bill and Bernice's son, who once had a fling with Jennifer and still harbors feelings for her. Throughout the night, Harry, Jack and Mark have increasingly racy fantasies about Jennifer.


title: The Babysitter (1995 film)

text: Jack calls Jennifer and asks to visit her at the Tuckers' residence, but she refuses. Mark later steals beer from Bill's party, where they run into Harry, who becomes fixated on the notion Jack might go to his house to have sex with Jennifer. Jack and Mark get increasingly drunk and show up uninvited to see Jennifer, but she refuses to let them in. They then spend the rest of the night stalking around the house and spying on her through the window. Meanwhile, Harry gets drunk and falls asleep in his car, where he has a nightmare of Jennifer and Jack having sex, which drives him to rush home and confront them. In his absence, Dolly makes a pass at Bill, who rejects her, but agrees to keep her secret and offers to drive her home.


title: The Babysitter (1995 film)

text: At the Tuckers' residence, Jack and Mark force their way in while Jennifer is taking a bath and, after a tense argument, Mark knocks Jack unconscious and attempts to rape Jennifer, who runs out of the house. Mark pursues her and ends up being fatally run over by Harry, who is arrested for drunk driving just as Bill and Dolly arrive and hear about the accident. Before being escorted home, Jennifer confronts Jack, who is being questioned by the police, and asks him, "What were you thinking?" before leaving an ashamed and guilt-stricken Jack behind.


title: The Babysitter (1995 film)

text: "The Babysitter" received negative reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 17% based on reviews from 6 critics. Leonard Maltin gave the film two stars.


title: The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs

text: The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs is an American variety streaming television series created by Joe Bob Briggs, Austin Jennings, and Matt Manjourides for Shudder.


title: The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs

text: Briggs was known for hosting "Joe Bob's Drive-in Theater" and "MonsterVision," and so Shudder decided to have him host a standalone marathon of horror movies of his choosing. The positive reception exceeded their expectations, resulting in a continued partnership. The series has four seasons and thirteen specials, with more on the way.


title: The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs

text: The show follows Briggs as he hosts two or more films alongside Darcy the Mail Girl (Diana Prince), with cameos by production designer Yuki Nakamura, music supervisor John Brennan, and the occasional guest. The hosted segments include Briggs' "Drive-in Totals," as well as fun facts, rants, singing, comedy, interviews, awards, and performances.


title: The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs

text: Over 17 years after the cancellation of "MonsterVision", Joe Bob Briggs tweeted that Shudder had shown interest in reviving the series. An official announcement was made on June 25, 2018, that Briggs would be returning in a 24-hour marathon for the Shudder TV live feed. On July 13, Shudder aired "The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs" ("July 2018 Marathon"), featuring "Tourist Trap", "Sleepaway Camp", "Rabid" (1977), "The Prowler", "Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama", "Daughters of Darkness", "Blood Feast", "Basket Case", "Re-Animator", "Demons" (1985), "The Legend of Boggy Creek", "Hellraiser," and "Pieces". The movies contained several interruptions for Briggs's "Drive-in Totals," insider stories, and rants. These segments also included Darcy the Mail Girl (Diana Prince), who showed up in movie-themed outfits to banter with Briggs and brought messages from fans, as well as live-tweeted with viewers. The show's guests were Felissa Rose from "Sleepaway Camp" and Lyle Blackburn for "The Legend of Boggy Creek".


title: The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs

text: Following the success of the "July 2018 Marathon," on September 5, 2018, Shudder announced the decision to greenlight two more specials for 2018 and a regular series beginning in 2019. For Thanksgiving, Briggs hosted "Joe Bob's Dinners of Death" on November 22, 2018, cementing the shows format. Featured movies included "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" (1974), "The Hills Have Eyes" (1977), "Dead or Alive" (1999), and "Blood Rage", with special guest Michael Berryman, who played Pluto in the second film, and a phone call with "mangled dick expert" Felissa Rose. Next, Briggs hosted "A Very Joe Bob Christmas" on December 21, 2018, which was centered around "Phantasm", "", "", and "". Guests included franchise hero Reggie Bannister and "Phantasm: Ravager" special effects makeup coordinator Gigi Bannister. On February 28, 2019, Shudder announced that "The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs" series would formally premiere on March 29, 2019, consisting of nine weekly double features live every Friday night. The first episode premiered with "C.H.U.D." and "Castle Freak" (1995), alongside guests Barbara Crampton, who played Susan Reilly in "Castle Freak", and Felissa Rose, the returning "mangled dick expert." On April 16, 2019, Darcy began holding weekly contests to see who could guess both films being hosted.


title: The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs

text: Ahead of the "Season 1" finale, on May 22, 2019, Shudder announced their decision to renew the series for a second season. On October 7, it was announced that Briggs would return with a special titled "Joe Bob's Halloween Hootenanny" on October 25. Briggs hosted "Halloween" (1978), "", and "", with a phone call from Tom Atkins. On the day of the Halloween special, Briggs announced that on December 13, he would be hosting his next Shudder special, "Joe Bob's Red Christmas." Briggs hosted the movies "Black Christmas" (1974), "Jack Frost" (1997), and "Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2". Darcy and Briggs honored Dinosaur Dracula with the first "Silver Bolo Award."


title: The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs

text: On March 24, 2020, Briggs announced that the second season of "The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs" would premiere on April 24. From this point onward, seasons would consist of ten weekly double features every Friday. The premiere of "Season 2" aired "Chopping Mall", with guest Kelli Maroney who played Alison Parks, and "Bloodsucking Freaks", with co-host Chris Jericho. Later in the second season, Darcy reinstated the "MonsterVision" weekly caption contest for this series. "Week 8" saw the world premiere of "Hogzilla", starring Briggs, and featured Darcy listing the "Drive-in Totals."


title: The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs

text: On July 14, 2020, Shudder announced that the series would return for a third season in 2021, along with a "Summer Sleepover" double feature on August 14. Briggs and Darcy hosted "Slumber Party Massacre II" and "Victor Crowley" in their pajamas. Felissa Rose, Adam Green, Kane Hodder, Brian Quinn, and Tiffany Shepis joined them as guests for the second film. On August 20, Briggs confirmed that the next special would be held on October 23. The team hosted "Joe Bob's Halloween Hideaway," where they showed "Haunt" and "Hack-O-Lantern" from a new cabin set. On November 10, Briggs announced that there would be another special premiering on December 11, titled "Joe Bob Saves Christmas." During this special, Briggs and Darcy auctioned items for The Trevor Project, The National Women's Law Center, The Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue, and the Organization for Autism Research on eBay, while hosting "Dial Code Santa Claus" and "Christmas Evil".


title: The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs

text: On January 19, 2021, Briggs announced that he would be hosting a Valentine's Day special with Darcy titled "Joe Bob Put a Spell on You" on February 12. Briggs and Darcy hosted "Tammy and the T-Rex" followed by "The Love Witch", featuring an interview with director Anna Biller. On February 23, Briggs tweeted that the third season of "The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs" would premiere on April 16, and would be hosted at the cabin set. Eli Roth served as the co-host for both films during the "Season 3" premiere, which featured "Mother's Day" (1980) and "The House by the Cemetery". On April 19, Shudder premiered "Just Joe Bob" on their streaming service, which features a permanent archive of Briggs' segments and commentary without the films.


title: The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs

text: On June 24, 2021, Shudder announced that "The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs" had been renewed for a fourth season, along with additional holiday specials. On September 1, Briggs tweeted that he would be hosting a Halloween special with Darcy titled "Joe Bob's Halloween Hoedown" on October 8. On September 8, Darcy revealed that the Silver Bolo Award was discontinued by Shudder going forward due to controversy following Ghastly Grinning turning it down during the previous season. On October 8, Briggs and Darcy hosted "Angel" (1984) and "Terror Train" for this year's October special, alongside guests David Gordon Green and Jason Blum. On October 22, Briggs and Darcy revealed that they would be hosting "The Last Drive-In: The Walking Dead" on October 29, where they would watch the first two episodes of "The Walking Dead" Season 1 with guests Greg Nicotero and Carey Jones. On November 17, Briggs tweeted that his team would be hosting a Christmas special titled "Joe Bob Ruins Christmas" on December 17. That night, Briggs and Darcy auctioned items for First Book, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the National Greyhound Foundation, and the Appalachia Service Project, while hosting "Ice Cream Man" and "'Gator Bait".


title: The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs

text: On January 19, 2022, Shudder announced that Briggs and Darcy would be returning to celebrate Valentine's Day with a special titled "Joe Bob's Heartbreak Trailer Park" premiering on February 11. During the special, Briggs and Darcy hosted "Black Roses" (1988) alongside The Boulet Brothers, and "Frakenhooker" with guests Frank Henenlotter and James Lorinz. Then, on March 16, Shudder reported that the fourth season of "The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs" would premiere on April 29, celebrating their 100th movie on the platform. This season premiere featured Briggs and Darcy hosting their 100th film, "Night of the Living Dead" (1968), with guest host Svengoolie, as well as the first movie that Briggs ever reviewed on his column, "Antropophagus", with guest mail girl Honey Michelle Gregory. Later, on June 30, Shudder green-lit a fifth season of the series along with additional holiday themed specials. This was followed by an announcement on August 12 that the next holiday special, "Joe Bob’s Haunted Halloween Hangout," would be held on October 21. That night, Briggs and Darcy were joined by Cassandra Peterson for "Elvira's Haunted Hills", as well as Jill Schoelen for "Popcorn" (1991). On November 17, it was revealed the Briggs and Darcy would be returning for a Christmas special titled "Joe Bob's Ghoultide Get-Together" on December 16.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (; born 4 August 1960) is a Spanish politician and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was the Prime Minister of Spain being elected for two terms, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections. On 2 April 2011 he announced he would not stand for re-election in the 2011 general election and left office on 21 December 2011.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: Among the main actions taken by the Zapatero administration were the withdrawal of Spanish troops from the Iraq war, the increase of Spanish troops in Afghanistan; the idea of an Alliance of Civilizations; the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Spain; reform of abortion law; a peace negotiation attempt with ETA; the end of ETA terrorism; increase of tobacco restrictions; and the reform of various autonomous statutes, particularly the Statute of Catalonia.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was born in Valladolid, Castile and León, to Juan Rodríguez y García-Lozano (born 1928), a lawyer, and María de la Purificación Zapatero Valero (Tordehumos, Valladolid, 1927 – Madrid, 30 October 2000). He grew up in León, where his family originated.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: His paternal grandfather, Juan Rodríguez y Lozano (28 July 1893 – Puente Castro, León, 18 August 1936), was a Republican captain, executed by Francisco Franco's National army a month into the Spanish Civil War, for refusing to fight with them. His whereabouts were revealed by fascists in Valladolid.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: His maternal grandfather, Faustino Valentín Zapatero Ballesteros (Valladolid, 14 February 1899 – 1978), was a paediatrician and middle class liberal. His maternal grandmother María de la Natividad Valero y Asensio (Zamora, 9 December 1902 – Valladolid, 28 June 2006) was a conservative and died at age 103. Zapatero was born in Valladolid not only because of his mother's attachment to her family, who lived there, but also because of the medical profession of her father.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: Zapatero has said that, as a youngster, "as I remember it, I used to participate in late night conversations with my father and brother about politics, law or literature". However, he did not get along very well with his father at times. Sources say that his father refused to let him work or take any part in his law firm, and this scarred him for life. He says that his family taught him to be tolerant, thoughtful, prudent and austere.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: The memory of Zapatero's grandfather was also kept alive by a last will, handwritten 24 hours before facing the firing squad, and which can be considered a final declaration of principles. The will comprised six parts, the first three bestowing his possessions on his heirs; the fourth, in which he asked for a civil burial and, the fifth, in which he requested his family to forgive those who had tried and executed him and proclaiming his belief in the Supreme Being. In the sixth, Zapatero's grandfather asked his family to clear his name in the future as his creed consisted only in his "love for peace, for good and for improving the living conditions of the lower classes".


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: According to an Israeli newspaper, Maariv, by Zapatero's own statement: "My family, named Zapatero, is of Jewish descent", probably from a family of Marranos. He is an agnostic.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: He studied law at the University of León, graduating in 1982. His performance as a student was above average before his pre-University year. According to his brother Juan: "He didn't study much but it made no difference, he continued successfully".


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: After graduating, Zapatero worked as a teaching assistant in constitutional law at the University of León until 1986 (he continued working some hours a week without pay until 1991). It was subsequently found that he had been appointed by his department without the usual selection process involving interviews and competitive examinations, which if true, constitutes a case of political favouritism. He has declared that the only activity that attracts him besides politics is teaching or, at most, academic research.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: Rodríguez Zapatero met Sonsoles Espinosa in León in 1981. They married on 27 January 1990 and have two daughters named Laura (b. 1993) and Alba (b. 1995).


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: Having received successive deferments because of his conditions as a university student and a teaching assistant, Zapatero did not fulfill the compulsory military service. As an MP he was finally exempted.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: Zapatero attended his first political rally, organized by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) in Gijón in 1976. Some political parties had been legal since 21 July 1976, but the PSOE was not legalized until February 1977. The speech of Felipe González, the PSOE leader and future Prime Minister of Spain, who took part in the rally, exerted an important influence on Zapatero. He said, among other things, that "the Socialists' goal was the seizure of power by the working class to transform the ownership of the means of production" and that "the PSOE was a revolutionary party but not "revolutionarist" or "aventurist" [...], as it defended the use of elections to come to power".


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: Zapatero and his family had been traditionally attracted to the Communist Party as it was the only party really organized before Francisco Franco's death in 1975. But, after the famous political rally in Gijón, they, and especially Zapatero, started to believe that the Socialist Party was the most probable future for the Spanish left. At that time the Socialist Party was rebuilding its infrastructure in the province of León after having been outlawed following the Spanish Civil War.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: In 1977, the year of the first democratic elections after Franco's death, Zapatero supported both the Communist and Socialist parties. He pasted posters of both parties.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: He eventually joined the PSOE on 23 February 1979. The impression Felipe González had caused on him in 1976 played a fundamental role in his decision to join the party. In 1979, during the Congreso Extraordinario del PSOE (1979), the PSOE had renounced Marxism as its ideological base. He said nothing about joining the party at home, because he was afraid his parents would discourage him, considering him too young to join a political party.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: In 1982, Zapatero became head of the socialist youth organization in the province of León. In July 1982, he met Felipe González at the summer school "Jaime Vera" and suggested that he make a "left turn" in the PSOE political program for the General Election of October 1982. González answered advising him to abandon his conservative (traditional for PSOE [leftist]) viewpoint.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: In 1986, he was elected to represent the province of León in the Cortes (Parliament), becoming its youngest member after the election held on 20 June. He was number two on the PSOE list for León. In the following elections (those held in 1989, 1993, 1996 and 2000) he was number one on the list. In the elections of 2004 he ran for Madrid as number one.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: Zapatero defined himself as a "left-wing conservative" at the time. He explained that he meant that, for sentimental reasons linked to his family, he came from the left that lost the Spanish Civil War and that what had happened between 1936 and 1939 (the duration of the war) and 1939–1975 (Franco's regime) had a very important significance for him. He further explained that the Spanish left needed to modernize and that "we are finding it difficult to accept the need for the Socialist Party to change many of its ideological parameters and overcome our own conservatism".


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: In 1988 he became Secretary General in León after a complex internal fight for power that ended a long period of division. In fact, before the provincial conference held that year, Ramón Rubial, then national president of the PSOE, had asked the party in León to foster unity. Zapatero was elected as Secretary General at that conference, leading to a period of stability.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: In the 1980s and 1990s, the PSOE consisted of two factions: the "Guerristas" (supporters of Alfonso Guerra, former vice-president under Felipe González) and the reformers (led by Felipe González). The first group had a stronger left-wing ideology whereas the second was more pragmatic. The division became wider after the General Election of 1993, the last election won by the PSOE before José María Aznar's victory in 1996, when the bad results exacerbated the internal conflicts. Zapatero never formally joined either of those two groups.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: In 1993, the Socialist Federation of León (FSL – Federación Socialista de León) suffered an important scandal. Some towns experienced unusually sharp increases in PSOE membership in a very short period of time. When some of the supposed new members were questioned by the press, they stated that they were unaware of their membership and that they did not live in the places where they were being registered by the party. It seems that some opponents of Zapatero in León, perhaps with the support of powerful "Guerristas" at the top of the Spanish Socialist Party wanted to increase their influence within it by increasing the number of members in the towns of León favorable to them. Their main aim would have been to take control of the Regional Socialist Section of Castilla y León in the conference to be held in 1994. Zapatero's support for the then Regional Secretary General, Jesús Quijano transformed him into the enemy of the "Guerristas" in the region as the FSL is the most important Provincial Section.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: In May 1994 two papers, "El País" and "Diario de León", published several articles that suggested irregularities in his appointment as a teaching assistant by the University of León and in his keeping the job until 1991. The suspicions of political favoritism were due to his having been directly appointed without a prior selection process open to other candidates. On 20 May 1994, he held a press conference where he rejected these accusations. Zapatero attributed to "ignorance" or "bad faith" the content of the articles and linked them to the internal fight for the job of Secretary General of the Regional Chapter.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: In 1994, three regional conferences were held: All of them were finally won by Zapatero or his supporters.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: The National Conference (held after most of the representatives elected in the first León Conference were Zapatero's supporters) was won by the "reformers", at that time strongly opposed to the "Guerristas". That was positive for Zapatero as the list of bogus party members was revised again. Their number grew from 577 to almost 900.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: Zapatero was finally reelected secretary general with 68% of the ballots in the 7th Regional Conference held in July 1994, following the removal of the false memberships.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: In 1995, new regional and local elections were held. The results were bad for the PSOE in León as they lost four seats in the mayoralty of León and two seats in the regional parliament of Castilla-León. The results were influenced by the bad economic situation and the cases of corruption assailing the party. Zapatero had personally directed the electoral campaign.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: In 1996, after the General Election, Zapatero kept his seat at the Congress of Deputies. The following year, Zapatero was again elected Secretary General of León and after the national conference held by the party that year he entered the National Executive (the party's governing body).


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: The Association of Parliamentary Journalists awarded to Zapatero the "Diputado Revelación" prize (something like "Most promising MP of the year") in December 1999 for his activities as a member of the Congress of Deputies. From 1996 until 2000, his most conspicuous contributions as an MP were his vigorous opposition to the electrical protocol proposed by the government (initially negative for the important coal sector of León), being the PSOE spokesman in the Commission of Public Administration and probably his most important success as an MP: the passing of an amendment to the national budget of 2000 in November 1999 that increased the pensions of the non-professional soldiers who fought for the Republic during the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939. They were made equal to those of the professional military. The initiative was defended by him in the name of the Parliamentary Socialist Group, proponent of the amendment.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: On 12 March 2000, the PSOE had lost its second successive election to José María Aznar's People's Party. Zapatero held his seat, but the Socialist Party obtained only 125 seats, 16 fewer than in 1996. The defeat was especially bitter as the People's Party unexpectedly obtained an absolute majority for the first time and the socialist result was worse than in the previous election. Almunia announced his resignation on the very day the General Election took place.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: Zapatero decided to run for the leadership of the Socialist Party in its 35th Conference to be held in June that year. Together with other socialist members, he founded a new faction within the party called "Nueva Vía" (New Way) in April 2000, to serve him as a platform to become Secretary General. The name of "Nueva Vía" was a mix of Tony Blair's "Third Way" ("tercera vía" in Spanish) and Gerhard Schröder's "Neue Mitte" ("new center" or "nuevo centro" in Spanish).


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: On 25 June 2000 Zapatero officially announced his intention to run for the federal Secretaryship General at an Extraordinary Conference of the Socialist Party of León.</ref>


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: Pasqual Maragall was the only regional leader of the Socialist Party who officially supported him before the Conference was held. Josep Borrell also decided to support him.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: Zapatero ran against three other opponents (José Bono, Rosa Díez and Matilde Fernández). Matilde Fernández was the candidate of the "guerristas" while José Bono was the candidate of the "reformers". Rosa Díez was a Basque politician who was a kind of intermediate option at the time.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: Zapatero was a "dark horse" who had against him his inexperience and in favour his image of reform and being the only MP among the candidates. (All the Spanish opposition leaders had been MPs before winning the elections. A very important factor in Spanish politics where electoral campaigns last for only 15 days and to be widely known long before they begin is essential.) Bono was deeply disliked by the "guerristas", who also favoured Zapatero.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: Zapatero finally won by a relatively small margin (he obtained 414 votes out of 995 and José Bono obtained 405) on 22 July 2000. The margin was relatively small because Bono had no likelihood of winning since the supporters of the other two candidates preferred Zapatero as their second choice. Zapatero accepted the cancellation of a run-off between himself and Bono because he was sure of his victory after only one ballot and he apparently did not want to humiliate his adversary.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: After becoming Secretary General, he was congratulated by the French PM Lionel Jospin, by the German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and by José María Aznar.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: He moved to Madrid with his family that year. As a Congressman he had lived from Monday to Thursday in Madrid and the rest of the time in León.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: This was the period when Zapatero was appointed as Secretary General of the PSOE in 2000 until he became Prime Minister of Spain on 14 March 2004.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: Zapatero has always claimed to base his political activity on his love of dialogue. When he was an opposition leader, he liked to contrast his behaviour with the "arrogant", "authoritarian" approach of the People's Party and, especially, that of its leader José María Aznar.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: As a result, after being appointed Secretary General, he coined the term "Calm Opposition" () to refer to his opposition strategy. The "Calm Opposition" was supposedly based on an "open to dialogue", "soft", "constructive" attitude ("talante constructivo", coined as "talante") aimed not at damaging the government but at achieving the "best" for the people. (Zapatero has insisted on this point so many times that the term "talante" has become very popular in Spain.) Because of this supposed tactic, Zapatero received nicknames like "Bambi" or "Sosoman" (where "Soso", meaning "dull, insipid, bore", replaces "Super" in "Superman"), especially in the first months after being appointed General Secretary.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: After his election to the leadership of the PSOE, Zapatero spoke about the influence of the political philosophy of civic republicanism on him in general, and in particular the ideas of republican political philosopher Philip Pettit. In an interview with "El Mundo", Zapatero linked civic republicanism's focus on civic virtue to tolerance of individual autonomy and expanding political participation.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: During Zapatero's years as an opposition leader (and later as Prime Minister), the tension between left-wing and right-wing supporters increased and, according to some opinions, a real radicalization of the society took (and is taking) place . Zapatero's supporters blame his opponents for that and the People's Party blames him stating facts such as the increase in the acts of violence committed against them, especially in the months before and during the war in Iraq. As a result, a new term has become popular: "guerracivilismo" (made up of a combination of the Spanish for Civil War and the "-ismo" suffix, equivalent to the English "-ism"), which would refer to the growing enmity of right and left-wing factions.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: Zapatero's criticisms of the government were very active from the beginning, blaming the government for its inability to control the rise in the price of fossil fuel and asking for a reduction in the corresponding taxes.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: In 2000, the British nuclear submarine arrived at Gibraltar harbour to have its nuclear reactor repaired. Aznar affirmed that there was no risk for the population but Zapatero criticized him for his inability to force the British government to take the submarine to another harbour. After almost one year, the "Tireless" was repaired and left Gibraltar without having caused any known problems.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: Another point of friction came from the scheme to transfer water from the River Ebro to other areas, especially the irrigated areas in the South East of Spain, one of the richest agricultural regions in the world. The scheme had received support from, among others, 80% of the affected farmers and the Socialist regional governments of regions such as Extremadura, Andalusia or Castilla-La Mancha. Some Socialist politicians also supported it when they were members of the former Socialist government back in the 90s (e.g. José Borrell, the current leader of the European Spanish Socialist Group and former president of the European Parliament. The scheme was mainly opposed by Zapatero, environmentalist groups, the Socialist regional government of Aragon and some of the citizens of the areas from which water was to be transferred. The main criticisms of the scheme were the supposed damage to the environment and an argued real lack of sufficient water for all of the affected parties (the proponents of the scheme answered back that there was no risk of a serious environmental damage and that in 2003, 14 times more water reached the sea than what was needed annually). The scheme, finally approved by the Government, was canceled by Zapatero soon after becoming Prime Minister.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: Zapatero was the main proponent of the "Pacto de las Libertades contra el Terrorismo" ("Anti Terrorist Freedom pact) which was signed on 8 December 2000.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: At the end of the year, the Mad Cow disease came back into the spotlight after its outbreak in 1996. Zapatero repeatedly criticized the Government's management of the crisis arguing that it was out of control. As of March 2005, the disease had caused dozens of deaths all over Europe, though none in Spain.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: In 2001 one of the biggest points of friction between the government and the opposition were the proposed reforms affecting the education system. The People's Party first introduced the so-called LOU, a law to change the university system, and later the LOCE ("Organic Act for Education Quality"), which affected secondary education. Zapatero strongly opposed both. The People's Party used its absolute majority in the Cortes to pass its reforms.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: A regional election was held in the Basque Country on 13 May 2001. The socialists received 17.8% of the vote (against 17.6% in the previous 1998 elections) but lost one seat. Both, the Socialist Party and the People's Party had formed an alliance against the then ruling nationalist Basque political movements but the latter won again. The results were considered a failure. Nicolás Redondo Terreros, the Basque Socialist leader during the election who was strongly opposed to Basque nationalism and to ETA, resigned after some internal clashes, resigning his seat in the Basque parliament and in the Federal Executive. He was replaced by Patxi López, elected on 24 March 2002. López had actively supported Zapatero during his campaign to become Secretary General.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: On 21 October 2001 a new regional election took place, this time in Galicia. The People's Party, led in Galicia by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, obtained a new absolute majority. The Socialist party increased its number of seats from 15 to 17, but, after several years of opposition the results were also considered bad. These two negative results seemed to confirm that Zapatero's approach was not working.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: On 19 December 2001 Zapatero travelled to Morocco, after the Moroccan government expelled the Spanish ambassador sine die. Javier Arenas, then secretary general of the People's Party, accused him of not being loyal to Spanish interests. Zapatero denied it and claimed that one of his purposes was to help solve the crisis.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: In 2002, the People's Party Government decided to reform the system of unemployment benefits, as it thought that there were too many workers who being able to find a job preferred to continue receiving public money. This led to a redefinition of those who were eligible for unemployment benefits. Left-wing parties and trade unions considered that redefinition an unacceptable reduction of rights. Zapatero became the political leader of the opposition against the reform (dubbed the "Decretazo", because it was passed using a decree-law), which served him as his first important clash with Aznar's government.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: A General Strike was announced for 20 June 2002 (the first since Aznar won the election in 1996). Although, according to official data (including the electrical power consumption and the number of working days calculated by the Social Security), the turnout was lower than 15%, the lowest since the restoration of democracy, neither the unions nor Zapatero believed the data and considered the strike a resounding success, with more than "10 million" workers having followed the strike. Whatever the result, both the People's Party government and the trade unions signed an agreement that satisfied both parties in November.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: In May 2002, Felipe González declared in reference to the change in the Socialist Party that "My state of mind tells me that a change has taken place, that perhaps a second Suresnes has happened, but it has yet to be proved that a new project with content and ideas really exists", thus doubting Zapatero's leadership. That declaration was expressed in a public event also attended by Zapatero, who calmly expressed his disagreement. González ended his intervention by remembering that his candidate for Secretary General was José Bono, not Zapatero. González backtracked the next day, declaring that either his words had been incorrectly construed or he had expressed his ideas erroneously. José Bono himself confirmed his total support for Zapatero. The incident seemed to confirm that Zapatero's strategy was not working.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: On 22 October 2002 Zapatero spoke in the name of the Socialist Party during the debate about the National Budget. Initially, Jordi Sevilla was to have been the Socialist spokesman but, at the last moment, he was replaced in a surprise move. When Jordi Sevilla, after being called by the speaker, had already descended to the floor of the Congress of Deputies, Zapatero said to him "let me do it" and climbed to the orator platform. José María Aznar and other members of the People's Party had previously criticized him for not representing his party in the debate, suggesting a lack of the necessary political skills. Although the People's Party considered his action too theatrical, it seems it had quite a positive effect on his supporters.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: In November 2002, the oil tanker "Prestige" suffered an accident in international waters off the coast of Galicia causing a grave oil slick which mainly affected Galicia, but also, to a lesser degree all the northern coast of Spain, and even the coast of France. The "Prestige" finally split and sank.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: The main point of friction between Aznar and Zapatero, however, was the war in Iraq. Opinion polls showed that a clear majority of Spanish voters (around 90%) were against the U.S.-led attack against Saddam Hussein's regime. Among them, Zapatero who considered any action against Saddam's regime to be illegal and was opposed to the very concept of preemptive war.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: On 26 May 2003 a Yakovlev Yak-42 plane carrying Spanish soldiers home from Afghanistan crashed in Turkey. The plane had been hired by an agency of NATO. Zapatero blamed Aznar and his government for neglecting aspects like the plane insurance or safety. Further, Aznar had rejected calls for a full inquiry into the crash. After the 2004 March elections it was proven that there had been serious irregularities in the identification of the corpses resulting in a high number of mistakes.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: Concerning the European Constitution, Zapatero criticized the People's Party Government for fighting to preserve the distribution of power agreed by the 2001 Treaty of Nice in the new Constitution. Zapatero thought that Spain should accept a lesser share of power.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: On 25 May 2003, the first local and regional elections since Zapatero's appointment as leader of the Socialist party were held. The Socialist Party received a larger popular vote (which prompted Zapatero to claim his party had been the winner) but the People's Party obtained more posts in councils and regional governments. In general, there were not many changes in the results compared to those of the previous Elections held in 1999. The Socialists lost the Balearic Islands but got enough votes in Madrid to govern through a coalition with the communists of the United Left. The "victory" was welcomed by Zapatero, as the winner in Madrid had always won the next general election. However, an unexpected scandal, the so-called Madrid Assembly Scandal, negatively affected the socialist expectations of a victory in 2004.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: After the Madrid election, the People's Party lacked two seats to obtain an absolute majority. This seemed to allow an alliance of Socialists and the United Left to seize power. But an unexpected event happened. Eduardo Tamayo and María Teresa Sáez, two Socialist Assembly Members (AMs) angry at the distribution of power in the future regional government between the United Left and the Socialist Party, started a crisis that led to a re-run of the Election in Madrid in October 2003 with the subsequent victory of the People's Party.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: Zapatero did not accept the account of the Socialist AMs and tried to explain it as a conspiratorial plot caused by speculative interests of the house building industry that would have bribed the AMs to prevent a left-wing government. The People's Party, on the other hand, defended the theory that the anger of the two Socialist AMs was caused by Zapatero's broken promise about the referred distribution of power within the Madrid section of the Socialist Party. That promise would have been made some months before the crisis in exchange of support for one of his more immediate collaborators (Trinidad Jiménez), who wanted to become the Socialist candidate for mayor of Madrid (the Spanish capital).


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: Zapatero's team had entered into contact with José Luis Balbás through Enrique Martínez and Jesús Caldera (then Minister of Labor) In April 2000, Zapatero, Caldera and José Blanco had had lunch with Eduardo Tamayo in a restaurant in Madrid. Tamayo would later become a representative of Zapatero in the 35th party national conference. At the end of the month "Renovadores de la Base" (the faction of Tamayo and Balbás) decided to support Zapatero and the later agreed to be part of Zapatero's team. He played an important role during Zapatero's promotion. For example, Balbás together with José Blanco controlled the list of delegates.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: During the Debate over the State of the Nation, an annual debate that takes place in the Spanish Congress of Deputies, Zapatero was harshly criticised by José María Aznar on account of the scandal. For the first time, the opinion polls showed that most Spaniards believed that the then Spanish Prime Minister had been the winner (Zapatero had always been considered the winner since his first debate in 2001).


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: Later, in October, a regional election took place in Catalonia, whose results were worse than expected for the Socialist Party. As most of the Autonomous communities of Spain hold the elections to their assemblies the same day, with the exception of Andalusia, Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque Country, coinciding with the municipal elections all over Spain, the results are hugely significant.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: On 16 November 2003, the regional election for the Assembly of Catalonia was held. Two days before, Zapatero had predicted a historic victory for the Socialists' Party of Catalonia and the beginning of the People's Party defeat. The Socialist Party won the election in popular vote but CiU obtained more MPs due to the electoral law. The final results were 46 seats for Convergence and Union (CiU) (ten fewer than in 1999, the year of the previous election), 42 for the Socialist Party (ten fewer), 15 for the People's Party (three more), 9 for Iniciativa per Catalunya-Verds and 23 (nine more) for the Republican Left of Catalonia. Zapatero attributed the bad results to the consequences of the crisis of Madrid. However, Maragall became the President of the Regional Government after a Pact with Republican Left of Catalonia and Iniciativa per Catalunya-Verds.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: That alliance resulted in another setback for the Socialist Party when the Spanish newspaper "ABC" published an article stating that Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira, leader of Republican Left of Catalonia, had met some ETA members secretly in January 2004. According to "ABC", Carod-Rovira had promised to provide ETA with political support if the group did not act in Catalonia, which seemed to have been confirmed by the ETA announcement of a truce affecting only that region some months later, before the general election of 2004. Carod-Rovira resigned as vice president of the Catalan government, but continued to be the leader of his party. The scandal damaged Zapatero's image, as ETA and political violence are controversial issues in Spain and Carod-Rovira's party was seen as a possible ally if Zapatero won the election.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: At end of 2003 and the beginning of 2004 the Spanish political parties started to prepare themselves for the general election of 2004. All of the opinion polls elaborated at the time foreseen a defeat for Zapatero, as they always predicted a new victory for the People's Party.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: The campaign for the General Election started a fortnight before 14 March 2004. Polls favoured the People's Party, with some polls predicting a possible repeat of their absolute majority.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: Previously, on 8 January 2004, Zapatero had created a Committee of Notables composed of 10 highly qualified experts with considerable political weight. Its mission was to help him to become prime minister. Among its members: José Bono (his ex-rival for the Secretaryship of the party and later appointed Minister of Defence), Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ibarra (president of the regional government of Extremadura and one of the most important socialist leaders), Miguel Ángel Moratinos (his minister of foreign affairs 2004–2010), Gregorio Peces-Barba (later appointed by him High Commissioner for the Victims of Terrorism, although he has already made public his resignation), Carmen Calvo (later appointed minister of culture), etc.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: Ten days later, on 18 January 2004, Zapatero announced that he would only become prime minister if the Spanish Socialist Workers Party received a plurality, renouncing possible parliamentary alliances in advance if that situation did not happen after the election. Minority parties (especially United Left, a communist party) criticized the decision, for they considered it an attempt to attract their own voters, who would rather ensure a defeat of the People's Party even at the expense of voting for an unfavorable party.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: Zapatero's slogan became "we deserve a better Spain", which was coupled with "Zapatero Presidente", or "(ZP)", which became a popular nickname of the then Spanish Prime Minister.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: During the campaign, Zapatero harshly criticized the People's Party for its management of the "Prestige" crisis, its attitude towards the invasion of Iraq and the high cost of housing. Mariano Rajoy, the new leader of the People's Party after Aznar's voluntary retirement, on his part, attacked Zapatero's foreseeable future alliances with parties like United Left or Republican Left of Catalonia (a pro-Independence Catalan party).


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: One of the most important points of friction was the absence of televised debates between the candidates. Zapatero was the first to propose a debate to Mariano Rajoy. Rajoy accepted on the condition that Zapatero could not be alone but accompanied at least by two of his potential allies after the election: Gaspar Llamazares (the leader of United Left) and Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira (leader of Republican Left of Catalonia). Rajoy justified his decision on the grounds that, in his opinion, he was not running against the Socialist Party but against a "coalition" of forces opposed to the People's Party's policies. Zapatero never formally responded to this proposal and throughout the campaign he continued criticizing what he always defined as Rajoy's reluctance to defend his political program face-to-face. (Zapatero has promised to change electoral law to make televised debates compulsory.)


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: On 11 March 2004 the most deadly peacetime attacks in Spanish history took place. Several commuter trains were bombed, causing 191 deaths and outrage all over Spain. The attacks took place three days before the General Election and all electoral activities were suspended. The common sorrow, instead of promoting unity among Spaniards, increased the already bitter tone of the campaign.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: The People's Party government and Zapatero (who accused ETA in a radio statement broadcast at 8:50 am), initially claimed the attacks to be the work of ETA, an armed Basque nationalist separatist organization. Later, after an audiotape in Arabic was found in a van near a railway station where the perpetrators boarded one of the trains, Aznar declared that all of the possibilities were being investigated. The government was accused of manipulating information about who was responsible for the attacks to avoid the consequences of public anger at a bombing motivated by its foreign policy – Aznar personally phoned the editors of the four national daily newspapers to tell them that ETA were responsible, whilst Minister of the Interior Ángel Acebes attacked those who believed that responsibility lay elsewhere, despite not offering any evidence for ETA's culpability, and the state broadcaster TVE initially failed to report the protest outside the Popular Party's headquarters which ran through the night before the day of the election.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: Zapatero himself has repeatedly accused the Popular Party of lying about those who were responsible for the attacks. On the other hand, the book "11-M. La venganza" by Casimiro Abadillo, a Spanish journalist who works for the newspaper "El Mundo", claims that, before the General Election, Zapatero had told that newspaper's director, Pedro J. Ramirez, that two suicide bombers had been found among the victims (although the specialists that examined the bodies said they found no such evidence). When he was asked in December 2004 about the issue by the Parliamentary Investigative Committee created to find the truth about the attacks, he declared that he did not remember what he had said.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: The campaign had ended abruptly two days before it was expected to convene as a result of the bombings. The day before the elections – in this case 13 March 2004 – is considered to be a "Day of Reflection" under Spanish electoral law, with candidates and their parties legally barred from political campaigning. Despite this prohibition, numerous demonstrations took place against the government of José María Aznar in front of the premises of the People's Party all over Spain. There were some claims that most of these demonstrations were instigated or orchestrated by the Socialist Party, through the use of SMS text messaging from mobile phones belonging to the Socialist Party. The Socialist Party publicly denied these accusations.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: As the demonstrations escalated, Mariano Rajoy himself appeared on national TV to denounce the illegal demonstrations. In reply, both José Blanco and Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba broke the silence from the Socialist Party's side, in separate appearances. In the end both sides accused each other of breaking the electoral law on reflection day.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: In this climate of social unrest and post-attack shock, the elections were held on 14 March 2004. Zapatero's Socialist Party won the elections, with 164 seats in the Cortes, while the People's Party obtained 148. It seems likely that the election result was influenced to a greater or lesser extent by the Spanish public's response to the attacks and the informative coverage by the different media and political parties. He took office on 17 April.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: An important point of controversy is if the purpose of the Madrid attacks were to force a Socialist victory; at issue as well was that, if that was the case, whether they succeeded in altering the final result. This has been called the "4 March theory" (that is, if the election had been scheduled for 7 March, the attacks would have taken place on 4 March) by Aznar, among others. No definitive data exists in favour of that possibility but some facts have been used to support it. Thus, the first question Jamal Zougam (one of the first arrested suspects) made when he arrived at the Courthouse on 15 March 2004 was: 'Who won the election?'.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: The theory that the bombing affected the result is a counterfactual that cannot be verified. As elections in European states hinge on social and economic policies mainly, it is equally possible the terrorist events had no notable effect. In this regard, a majority of 74% of the Spanish people were against Spanish involvement in the war.


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: On 13 June 2004 (three months after the General Election) the Election for the European Parliament took place. The Socialist Party tied with 25 seats vs 25 for the People's Party (out of 54), but narrowly won in popular vote. Although José Borrell was the official candidate, Zapatero played an important role in that campaign (as is usual in Spain).


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: His style's defining word is "(buen) talante", roughly "pleasantness", "niceness" or "good disposition", which is in brisk and carefully chosen contrast with the more confrontational and brusque premiership style of previous Prime Minister José María Aznar. Similarly, Zapatero has been quoted to shy away from adopting unpopular measures, having a "habit of showering public money on any problem" and, in all, being "averse to tough decisions".


title: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

text: One of the first measures he carried out as soon as he took office was to withdraw every Spanish soldier fighting in Iraq, calling the invasion of that country "an error based on lies". In less than a month, his nation's 1,300 troops were withdrawn from Iraq. This drew criticism from the right, who held the view that he was ceding to the pressure of the terrorists who attacked Spain. However, it was a measure announced by him before the general elections and supported by the majority of Spanish population.