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107-495: The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food ( Spanish : Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación , MAPA ), is the department of the Government of Spain responsible for proposing and carrying out the government policy on agricultural , livestock and fishery resources, food industry , rural development and human food . The Ministry is responsible for assigning Veterinary Surgeons to carry out checks in regard to
214-619: A "left turn" in the PSOE political program for the General Election of October 1982. González answered advising him to abandon his conservative (traditional for PSOE [leftist]) viewpoint. In 1986, he was elected to represent the province of León in the Cortes (Parliament), becoming its youngest member after the election held on 20 June. He was number two on the PSOE list for León . In the following elections (those held in 1989, 1993, 1996 and 2000) he
321-717: A Spanish-based creole language called Chavacano developed in the southern Philippines. However, it is not mutually intelligible with Spanish. The number of Chavacano-speakers was estimated at 1.2 million in 1996. The local languages of the Philippines also retain significant Spanish influence, with many words derived from Mexican Spanish , owing to the administration of the islands by Spain through New Spain until 1821, until direct governance from Madrid afterwards to 1898. Jos%C3%A9 Luis Rodr%C3%ADguez Zapatero José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero ( Spanish: [xoseˈlwis roˈðɾiɣeθ θapaˈteɾo] ; born 4 August 1960)
428-588: A considerable number of words from Arabic , as well as a minor influence from the Germanic Gothic language through the period of Visigoth rule in Iberia. In addition, many more words were borrowed from Latin through the influence of written language and the liturgical language of the Church. The loanwords were taken from both Classical Latin and Renaissance Latin , the form of Latin in use at that time. According to
535-517: A dramatic change in the pronunciation of its sibilant consonants , known in Spanish as the reajuste de las sibilantes , which resulted in the distinctive velar [x] pronunciation of the letter ⟨j⟩ and—in a large part of Spain—the characteristic interdental [θ] ("th-sound") for the letter ⟨z⟩ (and for ⟨c⟩ before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ ). See History of Spanish (Modern development of
642-476: A first language by Spaniards and educated Filipinos ( Ilustrados ). Despite a public education system set up by the colonial government, by the end of Spanish rule in 1898, only about 10% of the population had knowledge of Spanish, mostly those of Spanish descent or elite standing. Spanish continued to be official and used in Philippine literature and press during the early years of American administration after
749-471: A long history in the territory of the current-day United States dating back to the 16th century. In the wake of the 1848 Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty , hundreds of thousands of Spanish speakers became a minoritized community in the United States. The 20th century saw further massive growth of Spanish speakers in areas where they had been hitherto scarce. According to the 2020 census, over 60 million people of
856-548: A new faction within the party called Nueva Vía (New Way) in April 2000, to serve him as a platform to become Secretary General. The name of Nueva Vía was a mix of Tony Blair 's Third Way ( tercera vía in Spanish) and Gerhard Schröder 's Neue Mitte ( new center or nuevo centro in Spanish). On 25 June 2000 Zapatero officially announced his intention to run for the federal Secretaryship General at an Extraordinary Conference of
963-498: A primarily Hassaniya Arabic -speaking territory, Spanish was officially spoken as the language of the colonial administration during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Today, Spanish is present in the partially-recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as its secondary official language, and in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf ( Algeria ), where the Spanish language is still taught as
1070-515: A real radicalization of the society took (and is taking) place . Zapatero's supporters blame his opponents for that and the People's Party blames him stating facts such as the increase in the acts of violence committed against them, especially in the months before and during the war in Iraq . As a result, a new term has become popular: guerracivilismo (made up of a combination of the Spanish for Civil War and
1177-435: A result, after being appointed Secretary General, he coined the term Calm Opposition ( Oposición Tranquila ) to refer to his opposition strategy. The Calm Opposition was supposedly based on an "open to dialogue", "soft", "constructive" attitude ( talante constructivo , coined as talante ) aimed not at damaging the government but at achieving the "best" for the people. (Zapatero has insisted on this point so many times that
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#17328807480061284-599: A second language features characteristics involving the variability of the vowel system. While far from its heyday during the Spanish protectorate in Morocco , the Spanish language has some presence in northern Morocco , stemming for example from the availability of certain Spanish-language media. According to a 2012 survey by Morocco's Royal Institute for Strategic Studies (IRES), penetration of Spanish in Morocco reaches 4.6% of
1391-518: A second language, largely by Cuban educators. The number of Spanish speakers is unknown. Spanish is also an official language of the African Union . Spanish was an official language of the Philippines from the beginning of Spanish administration in 1565 to a constitutional change in 1973. During Spanish colonization , it was the language of government, trade, and education, and was spoken as
1498-572: A stronger left-wing ideology whereas the second was more pragmatic. The division became wider after the General Election of 1993, the last election won by the PSOE before José María Aznar 's victory in 1996, when the bad results exacerbated the internal conflicts. Zapatero never formally joined either of those two groups. In 1993, the Socialist Federation of León (FSL – Federación Socialista de León) suffered an important scandal. Some towns experienced unusually sharp increases in PSOE membership in
1605-462: A teaching assistant by the University of León and in his keeping the job until 1991. The suspicions of political favoritism were due to his having been directly appointed without a prior selection process open to other candidates. On 20 May 1994, he held a press conference where he rejected these accusations. Zapatero attributed to "ignorance" or "bad faith" the content of the articles and linked them to
1712-524: A university student and a teaching assistant, Zapatero did not fulfill the compulsory military service. As an MP he was finally exempted. Zapatero attended his first political rally, organized by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) in Gijón in 1976. Some political parties had been legal since 21 July 1976, but the PSOE was not legalized until February 1977. The speech of Felipe González ,
1819-510: A very important significance for him. He further explained that the Spanish left needed to modernize and that "we are finding it difficult to accept the need for the Socialist Party to change many of its ideological parameters and overcome our own conservatism". In 1988 he became Secretary General in León after a complex internal fight for power that ended a long period of division. In fact, before
1926-506: A very short period of time. When some of the supposed new members were questioned by the press, they stated that they were unaware of their membership and that they did not live in the places where they were being registered by the party. It seems that some opponents of Zapatero in León, perhaps with the support of powerful Guerristas at the top of the Spanish Socialist Party wanted to increase their influence within it by increasing
2033-597: A week without pay until 1991). It was subsequently found that he had been appointed by his department without the usual selection process involving interviews and competitive examinations, which if true, constitutes a case of political favouritism. He has declared that the only activity that attracts him besides politics is teaching or, at most, academic research. Rodríguez Zapatero met Sonsoles Espinosa in León in 1981. They married on 27 January 1990 and have two daughters named Laura (b. 1993) and Alba (b. 1995). Having received successive deferments because of his conditions as
2140-416: Is cognate to the root word of satisfacer ("to satisfy"), and hecho ("made") is similarly cognate to the root word of satisfecho ("satisfied"). Compare the examples in the following table: Some consonant clusters of Latin also produced characteristically different results in these languages, as shown in the examples in the following table: In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish underwent
2247-540: Is a Spanish politician and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was the Prime Minister of Spain being elected for two terms, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections. On 2 April 2011 he announced he would not stand for re-election in the 2011 general election and left office on 21 December 2011. Among the main actions taken by the Zapatero administration were the withdrawal of Spanish troops from
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#17328807480062354-475: Is an agnostic. He studied law at the University of León , graduating in 1982. His performance as a student was above average before his pre-University year. According to his brother Juan: "He didn't study much but it made no difference, he continued successfully". After graduating, Zapatero worked as a teaching assistant in constitutional law at the University of León until 1986 (he continued working some hours
2461-404: Is essential.) Bono was deeply disliked by the guerristas , who also favoured Zapatero. Zapatero finally won by a relatively small margin (he obtained 414 votes out of 995 and José Bono obtained 405) on 22 July 2000. The margin was relatively small because Bono had no likelihood of winning since the supporters of the other two candidates preferred Zapatero as their second choice. Zapatero accepted
2568-449: Is estimated that about 486 million people speak Spanish as a native language , making it the second most spoken language by number of native speakers . An additional 75 million speak Spanish as a second or foreign language , making it the fourth most spoken language in the world overall after English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi with a total number of 538 million speakers. Spanish is also
2675-740: Is heavily influenced by Venezuelan Spanish. In addition to sharing most of its borders with Spanish-speaking countries, the creation of Mercosur in the early 1990s induced a favorable situation for the promotion of Spanish language teaching in Brazil . In 2005, the National Congress of Brazil approved a bill, signed into law by the President , making it mandatory for schools to offer Spanish as an alternative foreign language course in both public and private secondary schools in Brazil. In September 2016 this law
2782-721: Is related to Castile ( Castilla or archaically Castiella ), the kingdom where the language was originally spoken. The name Castile , in turn, is usually assumed to be derived from castillo ('castle'). In the Middle Ages , the language spoken in Castile was generically referred to as Romance and later also as Lengua vulgar . Later in the period, it gained geographical specification as Romance castellano ( romanz castellano , romanz de Castiella ), lenguaje de Castiella , and ultimately simply as castellano (noun). Different etymologies have been suggested for
2889-806: Is spoken by very small communities in Angola due to Cuban influence from the Cold War and in South Sudan among South Sudanese natives that relocated to Cuba during the Sudanese wars and returned for their country's independence. Spanish is also spoken in the integral territories of Spain in Africa, namely the cities of Ceuta and Melilla and the Canary Islands , located in the Atlantic Ocean some 100 km (62 mi) off
2996-804: Is the de facto national language of the country, Spanish is often used in public services and notices at the federal and state levels. Spanish is also used in administration in the state of New Mexico . The language has a strong influence in major metropolitan areas such as those of Los Angeles , Miami , San Antonio , New York , San Francisco , Dallas , Tucson and Phoenix of the Arizona Sun Corridor , as well as more recently, Chicago , Las Vegas , Boston , Denver , Houston , Indianapolis , Philadelphia , Cleveland , Salt Lake City , Atlanta , Nashville , Orlando , Tampa , Raleigh and Baltimore-Washington, D.C. due to 20th- and 21st-century immigration. Although Spanish has no official recognition in
3103-616: The -ismo suffix , equivalent to the English "-ism"), which would refer to the growing enmity of right and left-wing factions. Zapatero's criticisms of the government were very active from the beginning, blaming the government for its inability to control the rise in the price of fossil fuel and asking for a reduction in the corresponding taxes. In 2000, the British nuclear submarine HMS Tireless arrived at Gibraltar harbour to have its nuclear reactor repaired. Aznar affirmed that there
3210-517: The Communist Party as it was the only party really organized before Francisco Franco 's death in 1975. But, after the famous political rally in Gijón, they, and especially Zapatero, started to believe that the Socialist Party was the most probable future for the Spanish left . At that time the Socialist Party was rebuilding its infrastructure in the province of León after having been outlawed following
3317-725: The Ministry of Finance or the field of livestock, under the authority of the Council of the Mesta . The Royal Decree of 9 November 1832 created the Secretariat of State and the Dispatch of General Development of the Realm and which had among its responsibilities the promotion of agriculture, nurseries and breeding cattle, gardening and conservation of mountains and trees or hunting and fishing . For this, it
Ministry of Agriculture (Spain) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3424-608: The Spanish Civil War . In 1977, the year of the first democratic elections after Franco's death, Zapatero supported both the Communist and Socialist parties. He pasted posters of both parties. He eventually joined the PSOE on 23 February 1979. The impression Felipe González had caused on him in 1976 played a fundamental role in his decision to join the party. In 1979, during the Congreso Extraordinario del PSOE (1979) ,
3531-557: The Spanish as a First Foreign Language (SAFFL) initiative in March 2005. Spanish has historically had a significant presence on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba , Bonaire and Curaçao ( ABC Islands ) throughout the centuries and in present times. The majority of the populations of each island (especially Aruba) speaking Spanish at varying although often high degrees of fluency. The local language Papiamentu (Papiamento on Aruba)
3638-508: The Spanish–American War but was eventually replaced by English as the primary language of administration and education by the 1920s. Nevertheless, despite a significant decrease in influence and speakers, Spanish remained an official language of the Philippines upon independence in 1946, alongside English and Filipino , a standardized version of Tagalog . Spanish was briefly removed from official status in 1973 but reimplemented under
3745-455: The Supreme Being . In the sixth, Zapatero's grandfather asked his family to clear his name in the future as his creed consisted only in his "love for peace, for good and for improving the living conditions of the lower classes". According to an Israeli newspaper, Maariv , by Zapatero's own statement: "My family, named Zapatero, is of Jewish descent", probably from a family of Marranos . He
3852-670: The Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe . Today, it is a global language with about 500 million native speakers, mainly in the Americas and Spain , and about 600 million when including second language speakers. Spanish is the official language of 20 countries , as well as one of the six official languages of the United Nations . Spanish is the world's second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese ;
3959-590: The collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. The oldest Latin texts with traces of Spanish come from mid-northern Iberia in the 9th century, and the first systematic written use of the language happened in Toledo , a prominent city of the Kingdom of Castile , in the 13th century. Spanish colonialism in the early modern period spurred the introduction of the language to overseas locations, most notably to
4066-463: The reformers . Rosa Díez was a Basque politician who was a kind of intermediate option at the time. Zapatero was a dark horse who had against him his inexperience and in favour his image of reform and being the only MP among the candidates. (All the Spanish opposition leaders had been MPs before winning the elections. A very important factor in Spanish politics where electoral campaigns last for only 15 days and to be widely known long before they begin
4173-404: The 2021–2022 school year alone. The local business process outsourcing industry has also helped boost the language's economic prospects. Today, while the actual number of proficient Spanish speakers is around 400,000, or under 0.5% of the population, a new generation of Spanish speakers in the Philippines has likewise emerged, though speaker estimates vary widely. Aside from standard Spanish,
4280-574: The 20th century, Spanish was introduced to Equatorial Guinea and the Western Sahara , and to areas of the United States that had not been part of the Spanish Empire, such as Spanish Harlem in New York City . For details on borrowed words and other external influences upon Spanish, see Influences on the Spanish language . Spanish is the primary language in 20 countries worldwide. As of 2023, it
4387-460: The Americas. As a Romance language, Spanish is a descendant of Latin. Around 75% of modern Spanish vocabulary is Latin in origin, including Latin borrowings from Ancient Greek. Alongside English and French , it is also one of the most taught foreign languages throughout the world. Spanish is well represented in the humanities and social sciences . Spanish is also the third most used language on
Ministry of Agriculture (Spain) - Misplaced Pages Continue
4494-575: The Directorate-General for Livestock, from the Ministry of Development . As happened with the Ministry of Development, in 1933 the Ministry was divided into two: the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce . It was the first time that there was a Ministry dedicated exclusively to managing the agricultural affairs. The separation became final, except in the period from 25 September 1935 to 19 February 1936, when it assumed again
4601-639: The Equatoguinean education system and is the primary language used in government and business. Whereas it is not the mother tongue of virtually any of its speakers, the vast majority of the population is proficient in Spanish. The Instituto Cervantes estimates that 87.7% of the population is fluent in Spanish. The proportion of proficient Spanish speakers in Equatorial Guinea exceeds the proportion of proficient speakers in other West and Central African nations of their respective colonial languages. Spanish
4708-691: The Iberian Peninsula. These languages included Proto-Basque , Iberian , Lusitanian , Celtiberian and Gallaecian . The first documents to show traces of what is today regarded as the precursor of modern Spanish are from the 9th century. Throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era , the most important influences on the Spanish lexicon came from neighboring Romance languages — Mozarabic ( Andalusi Romance ), Navarro-Aragonese , Leonese , Catalan/Valencian , Portuguese , Galician , Occitan , and later, French and Italian . Spanish also borrowed
4815-558: The Iraq war , the increase of Spanish troops in Afghanistan ; the idea of an Alliance of Civilizations ; the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Spain ; reform of abortion law ; a peace negotiation attempt with ETA ; the end of ETA terrorism; increase of tobacco restrictions; and the reform of various autonomous statutes , particularly the Statute of Catalonia . José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
4922-529: The Old Spanish sibilants) for details. The Gramática de la lengua castellana , written in Salamanca in 1492 by Elio Antonio de Nebrija , was the first grammar written for a modern European language. According to a popular anecdote, when Nebrija presented it to Queen Isabella I , she asked him what was the use of such a work, and he answered that language is the instrument of empire. In his introduction to
5029-408: The PSOE had renounced Marxism as its ideological base. He said nothing about joining the party at home, because he was afraid his parents would discourage him, considering him too young to join a political party. In 1982, Zapatero became head of the socialist youth organization in the province of León . In July 1982, he met Felipe González at the summer school "Jaime Vera" and suggested that he make
5136-547: The PSOE leader and future Prime Minister of Spain , who took part in the rally, exerted an important influence on Zapatero. He said, among other things, that "the Socialists' goal was the seizure of power by the working class to transform the ownership of the means of production " and that "the PSOE was a revolutionary party but not revolutionarist or aventurist [...], as it defended the use of elections to come to power". Zapatero and his family had been traditionally attracted to
5243-454: The Socialist Party of León. Pasqual Maragall was the only regional leader of the Socialist Party who officially supported him before the Conference was held. Josep Borrell also decided to support him. Zapatero ran against three other opponents ( José Bono , Rosa Díez and Matilde Fernández ). Matilde Fernández was the candidate of the guerristas while José Bono was the candidate of
5350-513: The South East of Spain, one of the richest agricultural regions in the world. The scheme had received support from, among others, 80% of the affected farmers and the Socialist regional governments of regions such as Extremadura , Andalusia or Castilla-La Mancha . Some Socialist politicians also supported it when they were members of the former Socialist government back in the 90s (e.g. José Borrell ,
5457-557: The Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939. They were made equal to those of the professional military. The initiative was defended by him in the name of the Parliamentary Socialist Group, proponent of the amendment. On 12 March 2000, the PSOE had lost its second successive election to José María Aznar's People's Party . Zapatero held his seat, but the Socialist Party obtained only 125 seats, 16 fewer than in 1996. The defeat
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#17328807480065564-483: The Spanish-speaking world, Spanish is called not only español but also castellano (Castilian), the language from the Kingdom of Castile , contrasting it with other languages spoken in Spain such as Galician , Basque , Asturian , Catalan/Valencian , Aragonese , Occitan and other minor languages. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the official language of
5671-502: The U.S. population were of Hispanic or Hispanic American by origin. In turn, 41.8 million people in the United States aged five or older speak Spanish at home, or about 13% of the population. Spanish predominates in the unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico , where it is also an official language along with English. Spanish is by far the most common second language in the country, with over 50 million total speakers if non-native or second-language speakers are included. While English
5778-399: The administration of Ferdinand Marcos two months later. It remained an official language until the ratification of the present constitution in 1987, in which it was re-designated as a voluntary and optional auxiliary language. Additionally, the constitution, in its Article XIV, stipulates that the Government shall provide the people of the Philippines with a Spanish-language translation of
5885-495: The affected parties (the proponents of the scheme answered back that there was no risk of a serious environmental damage and that in 2003, 14 times more water reached the sea than what was needed annually). The scheme, finally approved by the Government, was canceled by Zapatero soon after becoming prime minister. Zapatero was the main proponent of the "Pacto de las Libertades contra el Terrorismo" ("Anti Terrorist Freedom pact) which
5992-497: The association of Cattle Ranchers and the services of Hygiene and Livestock Health. By Decree of 16 December 1931, the President of the Republic Niceto Alcalá Zamora re-created the Ministry, incorporating the Directorate-General for Agriculture, Industry and Commerce, from the Ministry of National Economy, and the Directorate-General for Mines and Fuels, the Directorate-General for Forestry, Fishing and Hunting and
6099-641: The cancellation of a run-off between himself and Bono because he was sure of his victory after only one ballot and he apparently did not want to humiliate his adversary. After becoming Secretary General, he was congratulated by the French PM Lionel Jospin , by the German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and by José María Aznar. He moved to Madrid with his family that year. As a Congressman he had lived from Monday to Thursday in Madrid and
6206-672: The classic hispanus or hispanicus took the suffix -one from Vulgar Latin , as happened with other words such as bretón (Breton) or sajón (Saxon). Like the other Romance languages , the Spanish language evolved from Vulgar Latin , which was brought to the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans during the Second Punic War , beginning in 210 BC. Several pre-Roman languages (also called Paleohispanic languages )—some distantly related to Latin as Indo-European languages , and some that are not related at all—were previously spoken in
6313-446: The consonant written b (a bilabial with plosive and fricative allophones). In modern Spanish, there is no difference between the pronunciation of orthographic b and v . Typical of Spanish (as also of neighboring Gascon extending as far north as the Gironde estuary , and found in a small area of Calabria ), attributed by some scholars to a Basque substratum was the mutation of Latin initial f into h- whenever it
6420-404: The country's constitution. In recent years changing attitudes among non-Spanish speaking Filipinos have helped spur a revival of the language, and starting in 2009 Spanish was reintroduced as part of the basic education curriculum in a number of public high schools, becoming the largest foreign language program offered by the public school system, with over 7,000 students studying the language in
6527-433: The current leader of the European Spanish Socialist Group and former president of the European Parliament. The scheme was mainly opposed by Zapatero, environmentalist groups, the Socialist regional government of Aragon and some of the citizens of the areas from which water was to be transferred. The main criticisms of the scheme were the supposed damage to the environment and an argued real lack of sufficient water for all of
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#17328807480066634-413: The department in 2011 as Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment and since 2016 as Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment. In 2018, new prime minister Pedro Sánchez created again the Ministry of Environment and this ministry recovered the 1981-2008 denomination. In 2020, the ministry lost its powers on forestry . The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is organised in
6741-401: The electrical protocol proposed by the government (initially negative for the important coal sector of León), being the PSOE spokesman in the Commission of Public Administration and probably his most important success as an MP: the passing of an amendment to the national budget of 2000 in November 1999 that increased the pensions of the non-professional soldiers who fought for the Republic during
6848-440: The following bodies: In addition, the department has four autonomous agencies: This are the ministers since 1931, to see the ministers between 1900 and 1905 see Ministry of Development (Spain)#List of ministers . Office name: Office name: Office name: Spanish language Spanish ( español ) or Castilian ( castellano ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from
6955-450: The following table: Spanish is marked by palatalization of the Latin double consonants ( geminates ) nn and ll (thus Latin annum > Spanish año , and Latin anellum > Spanish anillo ). The consonant written u or v in Latin and pronounced [w] in Classical Latin had probably " fortified " to a bilabial fricative /β/ in Vulgar Latin. In early Spanish (but not in Catalan or Portuguese) it merged with
7062-466: The former British colony of Belize (known until 1973 as British Honduras ) where English is the sole official language, according to the 2022 census, 54% of the total population are able to speak the language. Due to its proximity to Spanish-speaking countries and small existing native Spanish speaking minority, Trinidad and Tobago has implemented Spanish language teaching into its education system. The Trinidadian and Tobagonian government launched
7169-416: The government and the opposition were the proposed reforms affecting the education system. The People's Party first introduced the so-called LOU, a law to change the university system, and later the LOCE ( Organic Act for Education Quality ), which affected secondary education. Zapatero strongly opposed both. The People's Party used its absolute majority in the Cortes to pass its reforms. A regional election
7276-454: The grammar, dated 18 August 1492, Nebrija wrote that "... language was always the companion of empire." From the 16th century onwards, the language was taken to the Spanish-discovered America and the Spanish East Indies via Spanish colonization of America . Miguel de Cervantes , author of Don Quixote , is such a well-known reference in the world that Spanish is often called la lengua de Cervantes ("the language of Cervantes"). In
7383-415: The ideas of republican political philosopher Philip Pettit . In an interview with El Mundo , Zapatero linked civic republicanism's focus on civic virtue to tolerance of individual autonomy and expanding political participation. During Zapatero's years as an opposition leader (and later as prime minister), the tension between left-wing and right-wing supporters increased and, according to some opinions,
7490-401: The internal fight for the job of Secretary General of the Regional Chapter. In 1994, three regional conferences were held: All of them were finally won by Zapatero or his supporters. The National Conference (held after most of the representatives elected in the first León Conference were Zapatero's supporters) was won by the reformers , at that time strongly opposed to the Guerristas . That
7597-480: The international organizations corresponding to these matters; as well as the coordination of actions, cooperation and agreement in the design and application of all policies that affect the scope of competences of the autonomous communities and the other public administrations , encouraging their participation through the cooperation bodies and instruments adequate. Unlike most ministries, this one has not any Secretariat of State and it works through three bodies with
7704-501: The internet by number of users after English and Chinese and the second most used language by number of websites after English. Spanish is used as an official language by many international organizations , including the United Nations , European Union , Organization of American States , Union of South American Nations , Community of Latin American and Caribbean States , African Union , among others. In Spain and some other parts of
7811-456: The issuing of REGA Licences ( Registro de Explotación ) a requirement for the ownership of horses on Spanish property and small holdings. Specifically, it corresponds to the MAPA the preparation of State legislation on agriculture , fisheries and food; the proposal and carrying out of the general guidelines of the Government on agricultural, fisheries and food policies; the representation of Spain in
7918-535: The language's hegemony in an intensely centralising Spanish state were established from the 18th century onward. Other European territories in which it is also widely spoken include Gibraltar and Andorra . Spanish is also spoken by immigrant communities in other European countries, such as the United Kingdom , France , Italy , and Germany . Spanish is an official language of the European Union . Today,
8025-686: The majority of the Spanish speakers live in Hispanic America . Nationally, Spanish is the official language—either de facto or de jure —of Argentina , Bolivia (co-official with 36 indigenous languages), Chile , Colombia , Costa Rica , Cuba , Dominican Republic , Ecuador , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , Mexico (co-official with 63 indigenous languages), Nicaragua , Panama , Paraguay (co-official with Guaraní ), Peru (co-official with Quechua , Aymara , and "the other indigenous languages"), Puerto Rico (co-official with English), Uruguay , and Venezuela . Spanish language has
8132-470: The mayoralty of León and two seats in the regional parliament of Castilla-León. The results were influenced by the bad economic situation and the cases of corruption assailing the party. Zapatero had personally directed the electoral campaign. In 1996, after the General Election, Zapatero kept his seat at the Congress of Deputies. The following year, Zapatero was again elected Secretary General of León and after
8239-603: The national conference held by the party that year he entered the National Executive (the party's governing body). The Association of Parliamentary Journalists awarded to Zapatero the "Diputado Revelación" prize (something like Most promising MP of the year ) in December 1999 for his activities as a member of the Congress of Deputies . From 1996 until 2000, his most conspicuous contributions as an MP were his vigorous opposition to
8346-711: The northwest of the African mainland. The Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands traces its origins back to the Castilian conquest in the 15th century , and, in addition to a resemblance to Western Andalusian speech patterns, it also features strong influence from the Spanish varieties spoken in the Americas, which in turn have also been influenced historically by Canarian Spanish. The Spanish spoken in North Africa by native bilingual speakers of Arabic or Berber who also speak Spanish as
8453-702: The number of members in the towns of León favorable to them. Their main aim would have been to take control of the Regional Socialist Section of Castilla y León in the conference to be held in 1994. Zapatero's support for the then Regional Secretary General, Jesús Quijano transformed him into the enemy of the Guerristas in the region as the FSL is the most important Provincial Section. In May 1994 two papers, El País and Diario de León , published several articles that suggested irregularities in his appointment as
8560-636: The other hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. However, from 1713 to 1923, it called the language castellano . The Diccionario panhispánico de dudas (a language guide published by the Royal Spanish Academy) states that, although the Royal Spanish Academy prefers to use the term español in its publications when referring to the Spanish language, both terms— español and castellano —are regarded as synonymous and equally valid. The term castellano
8667-529: The population. Many northern Moroccans have rudimentary knowledge of Spanish, with Spanish being particularly significant in areas adjacent to Ceuta and Melilla. Spanish also has a presence in the education system of the country (through either selected education centers implementing Spain's education system, primarily located in the North, or the availability of Spanish as foreign language subject in secondary education). In Western Sahara , formerly Spanish Sahara ,
8774-457: The provincial conference held that year, Ramón Rubial , then national president of the PSOE, had asked the party in León to foster unity. Zapatero was elected as Secretary General at that conference, leading to a period of stability. In the 1980s and 1990s, the PSOE consisted of two factions: the Guerristas (supporters of Alfonso Guerra , former vice-president under Felipe González) and the reformers (led by Felipe González). The first group had
8881-632: The rank of Undersecretariat: the General Secretariat for Agriculture and Food, the General Secretariat for Fisheries and the Undersecretariat of the Ministry. The head of the Department is the Minister of Agriculture, currently Mr. Luis Planas . From the beginning of the 19th century, it is worth mentioning that under the reign of Ferdinand VII , the work of promoting agriculture were carried out by
8988-545: The responsibilities of industry and trade. The next big change would be made in 1981, when the ministry assumed the competencies on fisheries and was called Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food until 2008 when prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero merged it with the Environment Ministry and was renamed Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs. The new government of Mariano Rajoy renamed
9095-463: The rest of the time in León. This was the period when Zapatero was appointed as Secretary General of the PSOE in 2000 until he became Prime Minister of Spain on 14 April 2004. Zapatero has always claimed to base his political activity on his love of dialogue. When he was an opposition leader, he liked to contrast his behaviour with the "arrogant", "authoritarian" approach of the People's Party and, especially, that of its leader José María Aznar. As
9202-528: The term español (Spanish). According to the Royal Spanish Academy, español derives from the Occitan word espaignol and that, in turn, derives from the Vulgar Latin * hispaniolus ('of Hispania'). Hispania was the Roman name for the entire Iberian Peninsula . There are other hypotheses apart from the one suggested by the Royal Spanish Academy. Spanish philologist Ramón Menéndez Pidal suggested that
9309-521: The term talante has become very popular in Spain.) Because of this supposed tactic, Zapatero received nicknames like Bambi or Sosoman (where Soso , meaning "dull, insipid, bore", replaces Super in Superman ), especially in the first months after being appointed General Secretary. After his election to the leadership of the PSOE, Zapatero spoke about the influence of the political philosophy of civic republicanism on him in general, and in particular
9416-444: The theories of Ramón Menéndez Pidal , local sociolects of Vulgar Latin evolved into Spanish, in the north of Iberia, in an area centered in the city of Burgos , and this dialect was later brought to the city of Toledo , where the written standard of Spanish was first developed, in the 13th century. In this formative stage, Spanish developed a strongly differing variant from its close cousin, Leonese , and, according to some authors,
9523-623: The third most used language on the Internet , after English and Chinese. Spanish is the official language of Spain . Upon the emergence of the Castilian Crown as the dominant power in the Iberian Peninsula by the end of the Middle Ages, the Romance vernacular associated with this polity became increasingly used in instances of prestige and influence, and the distinction between "Castilian" and "Spanish" started to become blurred. Hard policies imposing
9630-581: The whole of Spain, in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas (lit. "the other Spanish languages "). Article III reads as follows: El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado. ... Las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas... Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State. ... The other Spanish languages shall also be official in their respective Autonomous Communities... The Royal Spanish Academy ( Real Academia Española ), on
9737-499: The world's fourth-most spoken language overall after English , Mandarin Chinese, and Hindustani ( Hindi - Urdu ); and the world's most widely spoken Romance language. The country with the largest population of native speakers is Mexico . Spanish is part of the Ibero-Romance language group , in which the language is also known as Castilian ( castellano ). The group evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after
9844-742: Was a conservative and died at age 103. Zapatero was born in Valladolid not only because of his mother's attachment to her family, who lived there, but also because of the medical profession of her father. Zapatero has said that, as a youngster, "as I remember it, I used to participate in late night conversations with my father and brother about politics, law or literature". However, he did not get along very well with his father at times. Sources say that his father refused to let him work or take any part in his law firm, and this scarred him for life. He says that his family taught him to be tolerant, thoughtful, prudent and austere. The memory of Zapatero's grandfather
9951-415: Was also kept alive by a last will , handwritten 24 hours before facing the firing squad, and which can be considered a final declaration of principles. The will comprised six parts, the first three bestowing his possessions on his heirs; the fourth, in which he asked for a civil burial and, the fifth, in which he requested his family to forgive those who had tried and executed him and proclaiming his belief in
10058-592: Was born in Valladolid , Castile and León, to Juan Rodríguez y García-Lozano (born 1928), a lawyer, and María de la Purificación Zapatero Valero ( Tordehumos , Valladolid , 1927 – Madrid , 30 October 2000). He grew up in León , where his family originated. His paternal grandfather, Juan Rodríguez y Lozano (28 July 1893 – Puente Castro , León , 18 August 1936), had been a captain in the Spanish Republican Army ; he
10165-399: Was created to assume the rest of the responsibilities. However, five years later the Ministry of Agriculture is suppressed and the Ministry of Development recovered. With the approval of Royal Decree of 3 November 1928, the Ministry of National Economy was created, to which the Directorate-General for Agriculture was transferred along with the agricultural chambers, the agronomic council and
10272-680: Was developed in the cities of Toledo , in the 13th to 16th centuries, and Madrid , from the 1570s. The development of the Spanish sound system from that of Vulgar Latin exhibits most of the changes that are typical of Western Romance languages , including lenition of intervocalic consonants (thus Latin vīta > Spanish vida ). The diphthongization of Latin stressed short e and o —which occurred in open syllables in French and Italian, but not at all in Catalan or Portuguese—is found in both open and closed syllables in Spanish, as shown in
10379-604: Was distinguished by a heavy Basque influence (see Iberian Romance languages ). This distinctive dialect spread to southern Spain with the advance of the Reconquista , and meanwhile gathered a sizable lexical influence from the Arabic of Al-Andalus , much of it indirectly, through the Romance Mozarabic dialects (some 4,000 Arabic -derived words, make up around 8% of the language today). The written standard for this new language
10486-472: Was especially bitter as the People's Party unexpectedly obtained an absolute majority for the first time and the socialist result was worse than in the previous election. Almunia announced his resignation on the very day the General Election took place. Zapatero decided to run for the leadership of the Socialist Party in its 35th Conference to be held in June that year. Together with other socialist members, he founded
10593-462: Was executed by Francisco Franco 's Nationalist forces a month into the Spanish Civil War , for refusing to fight with them. His whereabouts were revealed by fascists in Valladolid. His maternal grandfather, Faustino Valentín Zapatero Ballesteros ( Valladolid , 14 February 1899 – 1978), was a paediatrician and middle class liberal. His maternal grandmother María de la Natividad Valero y Asensio ( Zamora , 9 December 1902 – Valladolid, 28 June 2006)
10700-713: Was followed by a vowel that did not diphthongize. The h- , still preserved in spelling, is now silent in most varieties of the language, although in some Andalusian and Caribbean dialects, it is still aspirated in some words. Because of borrowings from Latin and neighboring Romance languages, there are many f -/ h - doublets in modern Spanish: Fernando and Hernando (both Spanish for "Ferdinand"), ferrero and herrero (both Spanish for "smith"), fierro and hierro (both Spanish for "iron"), and fondo and hondo (both words pertaining to depth in Spanish, though fondo means "bottom", while hondo means "deep"); additionally, hacer ("to make")
10807-535: Was held in the Basque Country on 13 May 2001. The socialists received 17.8% of the vote (against 17.6% in the previous 1998 elections) but lost one seat. Both, the Socialist Party and the People's Party had formed an alliance against the then ruling nationalist Basque political movements but the latter won again. The results were considered a failure. Nicolás Redondo Terreros , the Basque Socialist leader during
10914-586: Was made dependent on the Ministry the Department for Forestry Conservation and the Honorable Council of the Mesta. The agriculture responsibilities remained in the Ministry of Development for nearly one hundred years. In 1870 there was already a Directorate-General for Public Works and Agriculture. Finally, in 1900, after the split of Education , the Development Ministry was suppressed and the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry, Commerce and Public Works
11021-504: Was no risk for the population but Zapatero criticized him for his inability to force the British government to take the submarine to another harbour. After almost one year, the Tireless was repaired and left Gibraltar without having caused any known problems. Another point of friction came from the scheme to transfer water from the River Ebro to other areas, especially the irrigated areas in
11128-403: Was number one on the list. In the elections of 2004 he ran for Madrid as number one. Zapatero defined himself as a "left-wing conservative" at the time. He explained that he meant that, for sentimental reasons linked to his family, he came from the left that lost the Spanish Civil War and that what had happened between 1936 and 1939 (the duration of the war) and 1939–1975 ( Franco 's regime) had
11235-467: Was positive for Zapatero as the list of bogus party members was revised again. Their number grew from 577 to almost 900. Zapatero was finally reelected secretary general with 68% of the ballots in the 7th Regional Conference held in July 1994, following the removal of the false memberships. In 1995, new regional and local elections were held. The results were bad for the PSOE in León as they lost four seats in
11342-462: Was revoked by Michel Temer after the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff . In many border towns and villages along Paraguay and Uruguay, a mixed language known as Portuñol is spoken. Equatorial Guinea is the only Spanish-speaking country located entirely in Africa, with the language introduced during the Spanish colonial period . Enshrined in the constitution as an official language (alongside French and Portuguese), Spanish features prominently in
11449-448: Was signed on 8 December 2000. At the end of the year, the Mad Cow disease came back into the spotlight after its outbreak in 1996. Zapatero repeatedly criticized the Government's management of the crisis arguing that it was out of control. As of March 2005, the disease had caused dozens of deaths all over Europe, though none in Spain. In 2001 one of the biggest points of friction between
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