A U.S. Cultural Center in Spain

With a population of 114 million people, Mexico is the largest country in the Spanish-speaking world. It is closely followed by Colombia and Spain with more than 45 million people. A similar number of people in the United States, according to the Census Bureau, speak Spanish as their first language. But this ranking will shift to favor the superpower in the future. It is Hispanics who are driving the United States’ population growth, and they will be increasingly more prominent in its politics and economy. The Cervantes Institute calculates that around the year 2050, the Spanish-speaking population of the United States may surpass that of Mexico.

This is a good reason to deepen relations between Spain and the United States, but not the only one. In spite of its problems with debt (and all wealthy countries are encountering the same problem), the United States remains the foremost world power and its political leadership remains necessary.

In history, ever since the decisive intervention of Spanish troops and treasure in the independence of the North American colonies, the two countries have been through more times of disagreement than sympathy. The Spanish-American War left its mark on an entire era, Spain’s tepidness in World War II troubled Americans, and relations with Franco’s regime were ambiguous, varying from isolation to friendship, as Charles Powell explains in his book, El amigo americano (Galaxia Gutenberg, 2011).

In democratic Spain, the problem of relations with the United States has been rooted in an excessive dependence on the personal attitudes of leaders. Felipe González, who was a sincere admirer of the American nation, managed to change the traditional discourse of the Spanish left. José María Aznar clearly staked himself in favor of an alliance without fissures, but he did so at the worst time, when President George W. Bush made the mistake of going to war with Iraq, provoking the worst downturn in his country’s worldwide reputation. With evident lapses in foreign policy, Rodríguez Zapatero never understood the United States, and his position has always been filled with archaic prejudices. For this reason, he couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity that came with the change in administration at the White House in January of 2009. When he asked for a chance to meet with Obama, Rodríguez Zapatero was scheduled to attend the breakfast celebrating the National Day of Prayer in the United States.

On the other side of the Atlantic, Spain is poorly known. One must bear in mind that the presence of other European countries (Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom) is well established. Furthermore, for a great power like the United States, the game is now global, which is why in addition to its traditional projection in Latin America and the Euro-Atlantic region, it has an increasing interest in Asia. Emerging powers on any continent lay claim to considerable attention from Washington.

But Spain has arguments for finding its own space in American hearts and minds. Aside from a history with intersecting spaces, Spanish political and economic realities have made it into an important partner and ally. Even though it has recently been located on Europe’s “periphery,” the performance of businesses on the Ibex 35 is cited as an example in U.S. business schools. Our strategic position at the entrance to the Mediterranean and bordering Africa continues to be fundamental for the United States. Spain’s relationship with Latin American countries offers the potential for triangulation, since the United States has renounced its former interventionist policies in the Western Hemisphere. Last, but not least, Spanish culture is an object of admiration in the United States, from its success in sports to fashion to cuisine.

Spain should work more thoroughly to exploit all these opportunities there. At the same time, inside our own country, we should make an effort to end the public opinion’s simplistic image of the United States: In reality, it is a multifaceted society, where the most interesting scientific and technical innovations are born, where the most thought-provoking art is produced, which also suggests a critical mindset. The very figure of Barack Obama occupying the White House, unimaginable a few years ago as much for the extreme right as for anti-American Europeans, is an example of the richness and openness of that country.

To foster better relations between Spain and the United States, we should reinforce institutional channels. Since 1997, the U.S.-Spain Council has existed as a forum for civil society with public support, as well as a series of academic initiatives such as the prestigious Fulbright Scholarships or the Instituto Franklin at the University of Alacalá de Henares. But this is not enough. Spain should intensify its initiatives in order to have a better projection in the United States and, in a parallel effort, we should establish a local platform to strengthen these relationships in diverse fields. A very useful instrument in this sense would be the creation of a Casa de Estados Unidos (United States House) in Spain.

As a tool of public diplomacy, these Casas have been a success as a two-way street. The Casa América (for South America), oldest of the group, has seen numerous politicians, writers, and artists pass through its halls, and it has permitted a rich dialogue with that enormous continent. The Casa Asia, based in Barcelona, has become a reputable “think tank,” which conducts studies and hosts activities centered on issues that were little known in Spain until very recently. The Casa Árabe also carries out commendable work, bringing us closer to a culture and society that are more dynamic than many think. Based in Las Palmas in Gran Canaria, Casa África feeds a new relationship with an important future. The most recent is the Casa Sefarad-Israel, which permits us to better know our Sephardic past and the importance of present-day Israel.

It’s time to found a Casa de Estados Unidos in Spain, which would serve as much as a place of welcome and exchange for the political, economic, business and cultural realities of that country, as it would to stimulate the study and understanding of the United States in Spain. This institution would also be a notable place to freely and fearlessly debate many global questions, such as the challenges of financial regulation, energy and the environment, about which the two countries should share their views and act. This institution would help to establish a more solid foundation for a relationship that should look more to the future than to the past.