Yearbook 2007
Spain. A trial was initiated in February against 28
people charged with involvement in the explosion against the
commuter trains in Madrid in March 2004. Most of the
defendants were of Moroccan origin and the rest were
Spaniards; one was a woman and the rest were men. According
to CountryAAH, the
judgments were announced last October and meant that 21
prosecutors were convicted while seven were released. Three
main suspects were sentenced to thousands of years in prison
for, among other things. murder but can by law not sit for
more than 40 years. In other cases, the other convicted
persons received lower sentences than the prosecutor
demanded, which raised some protests. Many also felt that it
was still unclear who was really behind the attack.
According to the investigation, there were links to
Islamists inspired by the terror network al-Qaeda.
However, nothing was found that pointed to ties to the
Basque separatist movement ETA, as the Conservative
opposition party PP (Partido Popular) claimed. The attack
claimed 191 lives and was the worst terrorist act of modern
times in Spain. It was considered to have affected the
outcome of the parliamentary elections held three days later
and which the Socialists won. The victims were also awarded
damages.
Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero said at the
beginning of the year that the Basque separatist movement
ETA had chosen "the path of terror" through the blast attack
on Madrid's airport at the end of December. ETA claimed that
the ceasefire that the group unexpectedly announced was
still valid, but the government had quelled the teasing
peace talks that had begun. In June, ETA canceled the then
15-month ceasefire.
In March, Parliament passed a new equality law requiring
at least 40 percent of women among candidates in political
elections, as well as among the members of corporate boards.
Severe fires raged during the summer Canary Islands,
where 12,000 people were evacuated from their homes and tens
of thousands of acres of forest were destroyed. Heavy winds
and 40-degree heat helped the fires to such an extent.
In the fall, the lower house of Parliament passed a
contentious bill to establish victims of the 1930s Spanish
Civil War and the subsequent Franco dictatorship. If the law
is also approved by the Senate, among other things, that
symbols of General Franco's dictatorship are removed from
public buildings and that the state helps identify remains
in mass graves.
King Juan Carlos resurrected when, during a Latin
American summit in November, he attacked Venezuelan
President Hugo Chávez and asked him to "shut up". Chávez
then called Spain's former prime minister José María Aznar
fascist and repeatedly interrupted Aznar's successor
Zapatero when he had objections.
Madrid
Madrid, capital of Spain; 3. 2 million residents (2016), including suburbs 6.
3 million. Madrid, which is located on a fairly barren high plateau, has lacked
most natural conditions for expansionary development. The capital's growth and
growth has mainly been based on government decisions and a strong central
government policy. However, Madrid has grown into the largest city of the
Pyrenees peninsula and is in most respects the center of Spain and one of its
most important industrial areas.
Business and communications
The business community was for a long time strongly linked to Madrid's
functions as the country's capital, with administration and education as well as
scientific and cultural activities as important elements. In addition, transport
services, trade, finance and insurance were gradually developed. During the
Franco era, a large number of industries were transferred to Madrid, and the
metropolitan area emerged as Spain's, as well as Barcelona's main industrial
region. After the end of the civil war more than quadrupled, the population of
fifty years.
The region largely lacks its own raw material resources, and the industry
mainly encompasses light industry with very diverse production (aerospace,
automotive and machine manufacturing, electrical and electronic products,
plastic and rubber products and a variety of consumer goods). The former
small-scale corporate structure has been complemented by large Spanish and
international groups. The industry is located mainly to the southern and
southwest suburbs as well as to the east. Madrid is also the center for the
Spanish film and television industry as well as for extensive publishing and
graphic industry. Universidad Complutense de Madrid (founded 1508 in Alcalá de
Henares and moved to Madrid in 1836) is the premier university. Tourism is also
a significant industry.
Madrid is Spain's dominant traffic hub. Here the country's roads and railways
shine together. A ring of highways has been built around Madrid. Road
developments, however, have led to great difficulties within the city itself,
where car queues, exhaust and not least the noise problems are among the worst
in Europe. Madrid has an expanded metro system, and through fast suburban
railways, public transport is to be improved. Madrid International Airport is
located in Barajas, 13 km east of the city center.
Cityscape
Madrid's older parts, located around Plaza Puerta del Sol, contain several
buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries, including Cathedral of San Isidro el
Real, built 1626–51. The large rectangular plaza Plaza Mayor, surrounded by
buildings with balconies and arcades, was laid out in 1617. In the latter half
of the 18th century the urban area was expanded with wider streets, and several
classic administrative buildings and palaces were added, including Palacio Real,
erected in 1738-64.
The large Parque del Retiro east of the Prado Museum was a royal summer
residence. The city's largest open space, Plaza de Oriente, was added in the
19th century, as was the unfinished Cathedral Nuestra Señora de la Almudena,
begun in 1883. After 1860, a tree-planted main line was laid out as a continuous
north-south axis beginning in Paseo de la Castellana and ending in the Paseo del
Prado.
Madrid expanded greatly during the 20th century. The northern part of Paseo
de la Castellana is undergoing transformation, and in the 1970s there was a
distinct high-rise district with banks and offices. Other 1900-century works
include the Plaza de España with the Cervantes Monument from 1927, the high-rise
Edificio España from 1953 and Torres Blancas from 1968. The Atocha railway
station from 1892 was rebuilt and expanded to significant public transport hub
by José Rafael Moneo in 1992.
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