El Reino de España

Sometimes I forget that I am technically living in a country that combines a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy. That being said, I basically live in a "Kingdom" with a royal family in rule, but it has its own democratic government, where leaders are elected. It is a strange feeling, but I guess it is only odd when I realize that I do not actually understand or feel the difference between the government here and the United States. I used to believe that the King and/or Queen had total control of the Kingdom (as I would imagine Queen Elizabeth the II of England). Essentially, the absolute power is there but essentially nothing is done that is apparent to Spanish society.

The current King of Spain, Juan Carlos I. He was appointed by Generalissimo Franco before his death, which ended the cruel dictatorship that endured for about 40 years, if I am recalling correctly. 

I do have to say that Juan Carlos I has done an impressive job in establishing a democracy after he was appointed. Had it not been for him, there would probably be no democratic constitution in Spain, and I am sure that the political climate would be extremely different. Perhaps I would not be here today if that was the case, but this is all just speculation.

For those who do not know about the history of Spain in the last hundred years, I would definitely recommend setting aside some time to research it. Some suggestions of events or themes that I have found that can help anyone understand include: the Spanish Civil War, Spain under Franco, Basque nationalism (ETA), and the federal government under Prime Minister Luis Rodríquez Zapatero and the Spanish Socialist Worker´s Party.

Anyways, I suppose this chain of thought was started by the fact that I will be visiting the capital of Spain tomorrow. Of course, I will probably not see any of the important figures of government there, but I enjoy the fact that I will be in a place of great significance. 

On a humorous note, I cannot help but to see the similarities between Prime Minister Zapatero and Rowan Atkinson (the man who portrays the often awkward, yet hilarious character of Mr. Bean)... maybe I´m just a little bit immature, but I am sure at least someone else in the world agrees (for I would not have found this comparison picture on the Internet)