España dice no: Historia, cultura y política exterior

No es solo política, es la opinión real de la gente.

It's not just politics, it's the genuine opinion of the people.

Here's what gets me though.

Spain is still a NATO member.

US bases at Rota and Morón are still open.

So this is a very selective kind of non-participation.

You're not leaving the alliance, you're just saying, not this one, not through our skies.

Bueno, es que España tiene una tradición de decir que participa en la alianza pero que no participa en todos los conflictos.

Spain has a tradition of saying it participates in the alliance but not in every conflict.

Es una posición que muchos españoles consideran más honesta, más pacífica.

It's a position that many Spaniards consider more honest, more peaceful.

The thing is, I've seen this debate before, in other countries.

It's the eternal tension between being a reliable ally and having an independent foreign policy.

And the Americans, I can tell you, don't love it when allies start drawing their own lines.

Claro, pero para muchos españoles, tener una política exterior independiente es parte de ser un país soberano, un país adulto.

But for many Spaniards, having an independent foreign policy is part of being a sovereign, mature country.

No quieren ser solo seguidores de los Estados Unidos.

They don't want to just follow the United States.

Okay, let's go deeper on something.

Because Spain's relationship with the Arab and Muslim world is not the same as, say, Germany's or Poland's.

There's a thousand years of history there that most Americans don't even think about.

Mira, durante casi ocho siglos, los musulmanes vivieron en España.

For nearly eight centuries, Muslims lived in Spain.

Al-Ándalus fue una civilización muy importante.

Al-Andalus was a very important civilization.

La arquitectura, la ciencia, la filosofía, la lengua española tiene muchas palabras del árabe.

The architecture, science, philosophy, and the Spanish language itself has many words from Arabic.

Aceite, almohada, algebra.

I mean, the list is long.

And that history, that shared civilization, does it translate into something real in how ordinary Spaniards today think about the Middle East?

Es una pregunta interesante.

That's an interesting question.

La verdad es que no es simple.

Honestly, it's not simple.

Pero sí, muchos españoles sienten que tienen una relación especial con el mundo árabe, que entienden algo que otros europeos no entienden.

But yes, many Spaniards feel they have a special relationship with the Arab world, that they understand something other Europeans don't.

And Spain has significant Moroccan and North African communities now, too.

So this isn't only ancient history.

It's the neighbor's family at the next table, it's the kids in the same school.

Exacto.

There are almost a million Moroccans in Spain.

Hay casi un millón de marroquíes en España.

It's the largest foreign community.

Es la comunidad extranjera más grande.

So when there is conflict in the Middle East, many Spaniards know someone who comes from that region.

Entonces cuando hay un conflicto en Oriente Medio, muchos españoles conocen a alguien que viene de esa región.

It's something very personal.

Es algo muy personal.

So the decision to close the airspace, when you layer all of that on top, it's not just a government statement.

It's tapping into something older and more complicated.

That's what I find genuinely fascinating here.

Sí, es exactamente eso.

Yes, exactly.

Y también hay que entender que España tiene miedo del terrorismo.

And you also have to understand that Spain fears terrorism.

Después del once de marzo, muchos españoles piensan que participar en guerras en Oriente Medio crea más peligro para España.

After March 11th, many Spaniards believe that participating in Middle Eastern wars creates more danger for Spain.

That's a real argument.

And it's not a cowardly one, either.

It's a strategic calculation, not just an emotional reaction.

Though I imagine Washington doesn't see it that way.

A ver, Washington está muy enojado.

Washington is very angry.

Pero España no es el único país europeo que tiene dudas sobre esta guerra.

But Spain is not the only European country with doubts about this war.

Muchos europeos piensan que este conflicto con Irán es muy peligroso y que los Estados Unidos actuaron demasiado rápido.

Many Europeans think the conflict with Iran is very dangerous and that the United States acted too quickly.

Right, so what does this mean for the bases.

Rota in particular is strategically critical.

It's a key logistics hub.

If Washington decides to play hardball here, the pressure on Spain could get very uncomfortable very fast.

Mira, las bases son muy importantes para los dos países.

The bases are very important for both countries.

Para los Estados Unidos porque tienen una posición estratégica en el Mediterráneo.

For the US because they provide a strategic position in the Mediterranean.

Para España porque generan empleos y dinero en regiones como Cádiz y Sevilla.

For Spain because they generate jobs and money in regions like Cádiz and Seville.

Ninguno de los dos quiere perder eso.

Neither side wants to lose that.

So the bases stay, but the airspace closes.

It's a message.

A very carefully calibrated one.

Sánchez is essentially saying: we are your ally, but we are not your instrument.

Sí, y esa distinción es muy importante para muchos españoles.

Yes, and that distinction is very important for many Spaniards.

Ser aliado no significa estar de acuerdo con todo.

Being an ally does not mean agreeing with everything.

España quiere ser un socio, no un satélite.

Spain wants to be a partner, not a satellite.

Now I have to ask, because this is a culture show as much as a current events show.

How is this landing inside Spain?

Is there a serious political debate, or is public opinion pretty unified on this one?

Es que hay un debate real.

There is a real debate.

La derecha, el Partido Popular, dijo que la decisión fue un error, que daña las relaciones con los aliados.

The right-wing Partido Popular said the decision was a mistake, that it damages relations with allies.

Pero las encuestas muestran que la mayoría de los españoles apoyan la decisión del gobierno.

But polls show that the majority of Spaniards support the government's decision.

Which, look, that tells you something important.

When a centrist socialist government does something and even some of the people who didn't vote for them grudgingly agree, that's not just politics.

That's a cultural consensus forming.

Bueno, la verdad es que el pacifismo en España tiene raíces muy profundas.

Honestly, pacifism in Spain has very deep roots.

Después de la Guerra Civil y cuarenta años de dictadura, los españoles valoraron mucho la paz.

After the Civil War and forty years of dictatorship, Spaniards valued peace enormously.

La palabra 'guerra' tiene un significado muy serio en España.

The word 'war' has a very serious meaning in Spain.

That's the thing.

Spain had its own catastrophic civil war.

A million dead.

And then forty years of authoritarian rule.

The generation that built Spanish democracy, they knew exactly what violence could do to a society.

Y esa memoria histórica es muy viva todavía.

And that historical memory is still very much alive.

Los abuelos de muchos españoles vivieron la guerra civil.

The grandparents of many Spaniards lived through the civil war.

No es algo del pasado lejano.

It is not distant history.

Es algo que las familias recuerdan, que la cultura recuerda.

It is something families remember, something the culture remembers.

You know, I spent time in countries that had been through that kind of collective trauma, and it does something to a national culture that outsiders, particularly Americans, often completely fail to read.

Exacto.

Exactly.

Y creo que eso explica mucho.

And I think that explains a lot.

España no es un país cobarde.

Spain is not a cowardly country.

Tiene un ejército, participa en misiones internacionales.

It has an army, it participates in international missions.

Pero los españoles preguntan siempre: ¿por qué?

But Spaniards always ask: why?

¿Para qué sirve esta guerra?

What is this war for?

And that's maybe the bigger question this episode keeps circling back to.

Not just what Spain did, but what it says about how European democracies are starting to define their own relationship with American military power in this new era.

La verdad es que Europa está cambiando.

Europe is changing.

Muchos europeos piensan que necesitan una política exterior más independiente, más europea.

Many Europeans think they need a more independent, more European foreign policy.

España no está sola en esto.

Spain is not alone in this.

Es parte de un cambio cultural y político más grande.

It is part of a bigger cultural and political shift.

So what do you take from all of this?

You're Spanish, you covered foreign policy for years at El País.

When you look at this decision, what does it feel like from the inside?

Mira, a mí me parece que España está buscando su identidad en el mundo.

To me, Spain is searching for its identity in the world.

No quiere ser solo un seguidor.

It doesn't want to just be a follower.

Quiere hablar con voz propia.

It wants to speak with its own voice.

Y creo que esa decisión sobre el espacio aéreo es una expresión de eso, de quiénes somos y cómo queremos estar en el mundo.

And I think that decision about the airspace is an expression of that, of who we are and how we want to exist in the world.