From: naval@physics.att.com
Newsgroups: soc.culture.spain
Subject: Un Borbon en Barcelona
Date: 13 Aug 1992 08:02:27 -0700
Organization: ESPANA-L - soc.culture.spain Gateway
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Ahi va una rese#a servida por Associated Press (ayer lei un articulo
en unos terminos muy similares a este en el NY Times):



r i PM-Spain-King     08-13 0429
^PM-Spain-King,0504<
^King's Olympic Success Brings Unity, Optimism to Bickering Regions<
^By CIARAN GILES=
^Associated Press Writer=
	   BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - King Juan Carlos has emerged from the
Olympics as one of Catalonia's most popular figures, and in two
weeks appears to have eased decades of political tension between
the region and the rest of Spain.
	   If the standing ovation for the constitutional monarch at
Sunday's closing ceremonies was not evidence enough, a subsequent
poll in the Barcelona daily La Vanguardia appeared to seal the
issue.
	   It showed Juan Carlos and Barcelona Mayor Pascal Maragall to be
the most popular public figures during the games.
	   ``The Olympics have served to reassert us as Barcelonians,
Catalans and Spaniards,'' Maragall, who chaired the city's Olympic
Committee, said Wednesday. ``A new Spain is born.''
	   That Juan Carlos - who has made few appearances in Barcelona
during his reign - would bring the Catalans happily and firmly into
the national fold was a result few would have ever predicted.
	   For decades Catalonia and its capital, Barcelona, have had a
thorny relationship with the central government in Madrid, having
never fully gotten over the distrust generated during the 1939-1975
rule of dictator Gen. Francisco Franco.
	   Before the Olympics, Juan Carlos' trips to the city generally
were low-key affairs to avoid antagonizing Catalan nationalists.
	   In recent years, the regional government has clamored for
greater autonomy. It even began making not-so-veiled references to
independence.
	   The Olympics, and the king's attendance at the games, looked set
to bring things to a head. The nationalist-led regional government
emphasized that the games were being held in Catalonia - as
distinct from Spain - and took out full-page ads in newspapers
around the world to make its point.
	   But from the moment Spanish athletes began to win medals as
never before, nationalists lost the limelight. Spain won 22 medals
- including 13 gold - by far its best showing in any Olympics.
	   ``There have been winners on the track but outside the stadium
too,'' La Vanguardia said. ``The monarchy has shown once again,
despite the dissatisfied rumblings, its ability to know just when
to play strong.''
	   The Catalans were won over by the sight of the king cheering and
congratulating Spanish athletes and by the opening address that he
began in the Catalan language, rather than Castillian Spanish.
	   The country's media and political circles have drawn positive
conclusions, predicting the Olympics, and particularly the warm
reception accorded the monarchy, will signal a new unified era for
Spain.
	   The king's graceful manner sparked memories of his decision to
rally behind Spain's nascent democracy and order the army back to
barracks during a 1981 attempted coup.
	   The optimism has also spread further afield.
	   Politicians are saying the moment is now ripe for a peace
agreement with the Basque separatist group ETA, which has been in
revolt for 23 years in Spain's north. ETA threats to attack the
Olympics were never realized.

	AP-NY-08-13-92 0135EDT<+