Word: madrid
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...tradition is one of the two most enduring features of the city. On account of its lively plebian past, the city has always had something of a chip on its shoulder towards any centralized authority. And during much of the past 500 years, or ever since Phillip II established Madrid as the Spanish capital, much of Barcelona's ire has been directed towards her sister city sprawling in the middle of the peninsula's arid plains...
...swear to you, who are no better than us, to accept you as our king and sovereign lord, provided that you observe all our liberties and laws -- but if not, not." Catalans have always waxed lyrical over their medieval defiance of kingship and railed against "centralism" -- rule by Madrid. Their political history is one long rebuke to the dominant ideology of Europe: that of the nation-state that subsumes and represses cultural differences within...
...business of history, not the wave of the future. National self-assertiveness in the West can be mighty ugly, especially in its more extreme Irish and Basque versions. But when Scots, Quebecois, Catalans and Bretons talk separatism, they are, in the main, actually renegotiating their ties to London, Ottawa, Madrid and Paris...
...European nations that must still contend regularly with terrorists. But the Basque extremists, who had threatened to disrupt the 1992 festivities, were severely weakened by recent arrests of their top leaders. Nevertheless, the group showed signs of life last month when it bombed a navy van in Madrid, wounding 13. Although Spain's 17 regions are gaining more autonomy, the national-identity issue remains explosive. Catalans and Basques, who control their own schools, police forces and television stations, envision an even more independent future under a Euro-umbrella. The Basque country, says Guernica Mayor Eduardo Vallejo, "should be the 13th...
Last fall, when the protests were televised, similar demonstrations flared in Barcelona, Madrid, Santander and Murcia. Embarrassed, the national police stormed Malvarrosa and attacked unarmed demonstrators with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons, injuring 35. But the assault backfired: two weeks later, 25,000 Valencians turned out to protest against the police and uphold the vigilante movement. "If necessary, we'll continue our protests forever," says bartender Jose Lopez...