Spain leads the way, Latin America not far behind

i have often said that if the latin american countries could get their shit together both internally and amongst themselves they would be a formidable power to reckon with, perhaps one day rivaling the eu... it's been very interesting to watch the "center-left," populist shifts in the governments of brazil, argentina, venezuela, and uruguay... what's been equally fascinating is what's been happening in spain since zapatero took over after the madrid train bombing...

i have observed how much influence spain still wields in latin america and, oonversely, how much, albeit less, influence latin america has in spain... i cannot help but believe that there is a larger pattern playing out... the following snippets offer a glimpse into what's happening...

Ninety one percent of Catholics in Colombia and Mexico and 79 percent of Catholics in Bolivia believe that couples should have access to contraception, including condoms and birth control pills. Of those groups, high numbers believe public hospitals and health clinics should provide reproductive services for free: 96 percent of Mexican Catholics, 91 percent of Colombian and Bolivian Catholics.

there's already been conflict between church authorities and governments in a few latin american countries and a prediction of conflict with the new pope would be a safe bet...

Bishop Antonio Baseotto suggested in March that a high Argentine government official should be subjected to the biblical punishment of being "cast into the sea" for suggesting abortion be legalized. In response, Argentina's president, Nestor Kirchner, refused to recognize the bishop, prompting the Vatican to make the odd and unexplained charge that Buenos Aires was restricting religious freedom.

now, look at what's going on in spain... and, remember, spain has hardly been a shining progressive light...

In his first year in office, Zapatero has pulled Spain’s troops out of Iraq, dismantled the obstacles to the European constitution that his predecessor, José María Aznar, erected, and led a crackdown on Islamist terrorism that has yielded hundreds of arrests. But even more striking are the social changes that his government has initiated within a remarkably brief period of time: gay marriage and adoption are now legal, domestic violence laws are tougher, and long-standing subsidies to the Catholic Church are being eradicated in an attempt to create a genuinely secular state.

pretty impressive for just a year in office... and you can bet latin america is paying attention...

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