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E L P E R I D I C O G L O B A L E N E S P A O Lwww.elpais.com WEDNESDAY, JUNE23,2010

ENGLISH EDITION WITH THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE

The Socialists on Tuesday pre-

sented the Senate withan alterna-tive to the request of the conser-

vative Popular Party (PP) for astate-wide ban on full-body cover-ings for Muslim women.

Aftera weeklongdebate onanissue that the Socialists find un-comfortable and not a priority,the ruling party is proposing thatthe discriminatory practice befought with existing laws, notnew ones. This alternative isbacked by all other politicalgroups save the PP, and will bedebated and voted on today.

Catalan politicians have re-cently been scrambling to issueburqa bans in many towns in

that region. Barcelona, Tarrago-naandLleidaaresomeof the mu-nicipalities that have banned theburqa and niqab from publicbuildings, despite the fact thatfew women wearsuch garments.

The head of the Catalan PP,Senator Alicia Snchez-Cama-cho, put forward the motion re-questing a state law prohibitingthe burqa. The governmentscounter-proposal talks about en-couraging education and aware-ness about gender equality inMuslimcommunities, and using

all the faculties of our legal sys-tem, which already contains thenecessary instruments for an ade-

quate response to the use of thefull-body veil, in order to guaran-tee equality, freedom and securi-ty, the text reads.

Senate to stopshort of callingfor burqa banSocialists emphasize role of educationagainst discriminatory practice

The birth rate in Spain for 2009fell for the first time after a de-cade of constant growth, accord-ing to a report published yester-day by the National Statistics In-stitute. The 2009 figure was10.73 newborns for every 1,000residents, meaning a drop offive percent compared to theprevious year. The statistics sug-gest that the Socialist govern-ments 2007 measure of anacross-the-board 2,500 payoutto families with newborns failedto have an effect.

The police station located in thePuerta del Sol Metro station, incentralMadrid, is the final destina-tion for many of the citys immi-grants who lack proper work orresidency papers albeit involun-tarily.

In an effort to detain these ille-gal residents, the police are focus-ing on the citys transport system,where they often pick up suspectswhoareon their wayto theirjobs.

In the Puerta del Sol, for exam-ple, these workers are often trans-ferring from the rail system to thesubway, or arriving from nearbyMetro stations such as Tirso deMolina or Antn Martn.

Yesterday in the Puerta del Solstation, the police brought in foursub-Saharan immigrants, one Indi-an and three Latin Americans, allof whom, presumably, were un-able to produce the proper docu-mentation whenchallengedby po-lice officers within the citys trans-port system.

Just a few minutes before push-ing his labor-market reformsthrough in Congress, with thesole support of his Socialist Party,Prime Minister Jos Luis Ro-drguez Zapatero continued toface stiff criticism from the mainopposition Popular Party (PP),which called hisadministration arisk to the country.

We are awaiting a proposalfrom you, Zapatero said in re-sponse to the PP. If [labor-mar-ket reform] was so urgent, why

didyou nothave the political cour-age to make any suggestions?

ThePP spokesmanin theSen-ate, Po Garca-Escudero, made adramatic description of Spainsinternational credibility andasked Zapatero to step aside inorder to restore confidence inthe country.

Despite the protests, the PPwas set to abstain in the reform

vote aswerethe Basque Nation-

alist Party, the United Left coali-tion andthe CiUCatalan national-ists thus technically paving theway for its approval in Congress

sometime after 9pm on Tuesdaynight.

Although the Socialist Party isstanding behind Zapateros re-forms, which trade unions fierce-ly oppose because they make fir-ing cheaper, there is one lone So-cialist deputy who announced hewill abstain. Ones actions haveto be coherent with onesbeliefs,said Antonio Gutirrez, theformer secretary general of trade

union CCOO, who is expected tobe sanctioned by the party if hefails to vote in favor of the re-forms. See BANK Page 7

Latin America Pages 4 & 5

Metro becomes risky ridefor illegal immigrants

PP uses labor-reform vote to callZapatero risk to country

Brazils WorkersParty discoversits Iron Lady

Birth rate fallsfor first timein decade

A. FRAGUAS, Madrid

Police in the Puerta del Sol Metro station inspect the papers of a passenger in an effort to catch illegal immigrants. / edu len

EL PASMadrid

PABLO X. DE SANDOVAL, Madrid

PABLO X. DE SANDOVAL, Madrid

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2 EL PAS, Wednesday, June 23, 2010OPINION AND EDITORIAL

AFTERA decadeof ineffectual pressures,theChinese economic authorities haveatlast agreed to proceed to a limited, andcarefully overseen, revaluation of the

yuan, or renminbi. However small thequantity of the revaluation (on Mondaythe yuan rose by 0.45 percent to 6.79units per dollar) and however modestthe Chinese intentions may be, as theircalculations allow room for an apprecia-tion of no more than five percent in a

year, the step is taken and the message isconveyed.BarackObama, days after a let-ter in which he again asked the Chineseto adjust their currency to the situationof theworldeconomy, hasscored a strate-gic point.

Chinas resistance to revaluation has apsychological foundation: the Chinese au-thorities do not like pressures, and nordo they feel comfortable when they areseen to be under pressure in the eyes ofworld public opinion. The strategy of in-sistence was doomed to failure. But eco-nomic conditions have varied, and Chinahas at last decided to admit the political

value of the gesture.For the moment at least, US political

pressure on Beijing will ease off, leavingthe Chinese authorities to manage theappreciation of their currency at the rateof speed they prefer, which is in slowmotion. The financial markets receivedthe news with a notable degree of eupho-

ria especially visible in the Asian mar-kets because they interpret the gestureas yetanother prop to shore up thetotter-ing structure of international economicgrowth.

The yuans appreciation is crucial tothe international economy, for the funda-

mental reason that the Chinese economycannot go on basing its growth on ex-ports. The time has come to boost Chi-nas internal demand, so that increasedconsumption will in turn favor importsand constitute a stimulus to the growthof other economies.

This is what is meant by the idea ofrestoring the international trade bal-ance, so dear to Obamas team of econom-ic advisors, and so oft-repeated. Theemerging countries (or those who aremost prominently emerging, such as Chi-na) have to participate more directly incommercial exchange, and the first stepin this direction is to eliminate the ob-structive trade barriers imposed by ex-change rates.

Overheating

But China may also benefit from the newexchange policy. The revaluation of theyuan will act as a mild cooling instru-ment for the economy, intensely over-heated by economic growth of nearly 12percent, which bursts the seams of pro-ductive structures, and which has raisedinflation to rates of more than three per-cent. For an economy bound to growth, arise in inflation rates has higher costs(more costly investment, or lesser avail-ability of capital) than a moderated andsustained revaluation.

While we can only wait and see justhow the Chinese authorities will handlethis slight degree of exchange flexibility,for the moment it is sufficient to observethat China has accepted the politicalrules imposed by theworldeconomic cri-sis.

Beijing beginsto see reason

The revaluation of the yuan will cool

the Chinese economy and favor world growth

EDICIONES EL PAS, SOCIEDAD LIMITADA

The saltiest town thatt he s ea w ou ld n ev ermeet,From tears and taints ofchorizo that they eat.Bake here your dreams inAugusts tenacious heat,Or drown them in win-ters puddles in the street.

Sometimes you see thepromised Sun in blindingrays,Or grin at The Bear onironic down-poured daysAs people orbit, puffingthrough their smokyways,

To see your royalty in asunset blaze.

Here the retirementsanything but good,Though rest we do in thedry and dusty mudAmongst the casks ofstrewn sunflower seeds,we stoodAnd talked of staying ifonly we could.

From Po to Vergaralike Princes live

Your memories, the fortyyears that you forgive,Dignified like the Cibeles

you grew up with:Te quiero siempre, micorazn Madrid. Saman-

tha Daniels. Plaza deChueca, Madrid.

Lettersto the Editor

PRESIDENT

Ignacio PolancoCHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Juan Luis CebrinCHIEF OPERATING OFFICERS

Jess Ceberio & Jos ngel Garca Olea

EDITOR

Javier MorenoDEPUTY EDITORS

Vicente Jimnez & Llus BassetsEDITOR ENGLISH EDITION

James Badcock

Letters submitted to this sec-tion should not exceed 20typed lines. It is imperative thateach one is signed and is com-plete with an address, tele-phone number and DNI orpassport number of the au-thor. EL PAS reserves the rightto publish such pieces, eitherin shortened version or as anextract when it is consideredopportune. Unless otherwisestated, original letters will notbe returned, nor will informa-tion be made available about

them by mail or by phone.Email: iht@elpais.es

If after years of praying it still doesntrain, we can opt for one of two conclu-sions: one, that we have chosen thewrong prayer; two, that there is no caus-al relation between prayer and rain. Inthe first case, we look for a betterprayer; in the second, we quit prayingandthinkof alternatives. This is aproposof whether the EU should not change itscommon position on Cuba (establishedin 1996 at the request of Spains Aznargovernment), which makes closer EU-Cuba relations conditional upon humanrights advances in Cuba.

Has the common position worked?Must it change? For what? These aredifferent questions,calling for differen-tiated analyses. Whether the common

position has worked or not depends onwhat its objective was. The same, in-deed, might be said of 50 years of USpolicy mistakes. If the objective was tobring democracy to Cuba, it has failedand ought to change. Realistically it ishard to see how any common Europe-an position could bring democracy toCuba. In authoritarian regimes politi-cal change normally comes from with-in,and there areother actors(the Unit-ed States, Brazil, Mexico and Venezue-la) who exert great influence, in con-trary directions, much weakening theefficacy of any EU policy (all the moreso when Europeans are internally di-

vided).The fact that isolation has not

worked does not mean that dialoguewithout conditions will. It is just anoth-er form of rain prayer. Nor does itseem to be what Spanish voters want.A recent survey shows that evenamong SocialistParty voters,the reser-

voir of sympathy for Cuba has driedup, leaving behind a feeling of weari-ness with the Castros regime. In num-bers, some 67 percent of voters whocall themselves leftist are opposed tounconditional dialogue with Cuba.

The Cuban regime has made abun-dantly clear that it is not prepared toplay a game in which reforms (political

or economic) are bartered for econom-ic or commercial concessions. If after

the end of Soviet support the Cubanshad sought to liberalize the economyin imitation of the Chinese or Vietnam-ese model, they would have done it bynow. But Fidel Castro is a true, genu-ine Leninist, and a well-informed one.He knows that if youliberalize an econ-omy you soon create a middle classthat will demand that you respect itsrights of property, and then you willhave to give them political representa-tion. If you know that the sequence ofreform necessarily ends in a bourgeoisdemocracy where only 10 percent ofthe population votes, why are you go-ing to start out on that road and betraya revolution whose banner is absoluteequality? Thanks to the support of

Chvez and the solidarity of the LatinAmerican left, the Castro regime hasthe moral and economic support itneeds to survive (even at the brink ofthe abyss), so that, as long as Castrolives, the regime will always prefer torepress the population rather than lib-eralize itself. And as the current talkswith the Catholic Church show, whenthe moral support falters, the treat-ment of the opposition is so brutal thatthe slightest humanitarian gesture canlook like political progress.

The common position on Cuba is soanomalous and exceptional that, rath-er than providing an example of Euro-pean sponsorship of human rights,what it exemplifies are glaring contra-

dictions in European policy. After all,the EU maintains excellent relationswith Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Syria andUzbekistan, though year after year allthese countries get the worst ratingsin the annual 194-country list on effec-tive democracypreparedby theorgani-zation Freedom House. No doubt oneof Lady Ashtons priorities as high rep-resentative for EU foreign policy oughtto be the search for a minimum of con-sistency in this area. Perhaps the bestprayer we can offer up is for the Cu-bans of the near future to think thatour mistakes were well intentioned.

Ode to Madrid

Rain prayer

EL ROTO

JOS IGNACIO TORREBLANCA

We are floating on a sea of oil! Isnt it marvelous?

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EL PAS, Wednesday, June 23, 2010 3

NEWS

Luisma, the recovering addictfrom the hit comedy series Ada,looks straight at the camerawith a serious expression on hisface.

I was executed. I had no tri-al, no lawyer, no verdict hesays. Paco Len, 35, is the onlyone of the 15 artists who partici-pated in a recent short film

about Francos crimes who didnot haveto memorize a script.Inhis case, he was simply speakingin the name of his own great-grandfather, Joaqun Len.

He was arrested in Sevillewhile he was having coffee at abar, says his great-grandson.He could see 16- and 17-year-olds going by with rifles on theirshoulders, wearing Falangistuniforms. Two of them walkedinto the bar and one said, Wehave to arrest this one, hes a re-al Republican. It was a formerstudent of his. He recognizedhim straight away.

Joaqun was a schoolmasterin Castilleja del Campo, a villagein Seville with a population of nomore than 700. His students stillremember him because hetaught them how to tell time,says Paco Len. Joaqun was 43when he was arrested by twoteenagers and dragged to aformer cinema turned intodeath row for the reds. Hewould not live to be 44.

His eldest son, Jos, whowas then16, brought himfood ina basket until the day when itwas no longer necessary, says

the actor. The family was toldthat he had been transferredelsewhere, but they figured thathe was dead. He was executedon August 22, 1936. His deathwas not officially recorded untilMarch 1938. The cause of deathis enforcement of a war edict,and the location was left blank.

Joaqun had four siblings.Two of them, Jos and Manuel,were also teachers they wereexecuted too. Francisco, an avia-

tion engineer whojoined themil-itary, fled to the United States.Angelita became a Falangist,

and lived to be 85. Jos waskilled two months after Joaqun.

They came for himone after-noon while he was taking a nap.Hewas still in hispajamas whenthey took him away, says Paco.Antonio, Joaquns son and Pa-cos grandfather, remembers hisaunt screaming outthat day: An-other vile deed! Another viledeed!

Manuels family decided todress in mourning and pretend

that he was dead, while he actu-ally went into hiding. First hehid inside another teachershouse, then inside a hideout thathe built behind a closet in hisown home.

He spent two years lockedup in there, and the sufferingcaused by the constant fear,knowing what awaited him, gotto his stomach. He was vomitingblood A doctor friend took therisk of performing surgery at his

house, Antonio told RichardBarker, a philologist from NewYork who undertook an investi-gation into Francoist repressionin 2000.

They said they were going tomake an exchange with the RedCross. My uncle had misgivings,but in the end he came out, saidAntonio. It was a trap. He wastaken to jail in Seville. He wasexecuted on a stretcher becausehe was too weak to stand up forthe firing squad, says his neph-ew Jos Len Garca.

The widows were left incharge of 16 children. My great-grandmother told me that theywould open a dresser, and eachof the drawers would serve as abed for one of the little ones,Paco recalls.

Jos Len, Joaquns eldestson, studied at the industrialschool and got a job at the facto-ry where oneof his teachers alsoworked, until one day hedropped everything for the the-ater. When his boss asked himwhy he was leaving, he replied:Because I get more applause intheater. Jos Len set up a cir-cus, and one day in the 1960s it

traveledto Castilblancode losAr-royos, in Seville. My uncle setup the big top next to the ceme-tery. A man walked up to himand said, Your father is buriedin there, says Paco Len.

Francisco, the sibling wholeftfor theUS, always helped thefamily out. He sent money untilrelatively recently. I remembermy great-grandmother givingme a medallion with the moneyshe got from the American un-

cle. Francisco had been in thesame graduating class as Francoat the military academy, and he

spent the rest of his life listeningto the radio, hoping for news ofhis death. But Francisco diedtwo years before the dictator.

They took everything fromhim. In Chicago, he framed theconfiscation document that de-scribed him as an enemy ofSpain, Paco recalls. The actorcontinues to searchfor his great-grandfather with no institution-al support. Until when? hewonders.

I was executed without trialActor from hit TV series takes on role of great-grandfather, a schoolmaster who wasmurdered during Franco-era repression, and whose body has never been found

Venezuelan prosecutors haveasked authorities in Andorrafor information concerningthe arrest of a former drugchief who was arrested in theprincipality earlier thismonth on money-launderingcharges.

Norman Puerta Valero,aged 51,had been underinves-tigation since 2007 by Andor-ras Financial Crimes Unitun-til he was detained on June 7.Puerta Valero served as Vene-zuelas top anti-drug chieffrom 2003 to 2006 before re-tiring.

According to investigators,he opened an account in dol-lars at an Andorran bank andbegan receiving a series oftransfers from an offshorecompany set up in Panamathat is believed to be a frontfor a drug-trafficking opera-tion. Thebankalerted author-ities at the Financial CrimesUnit after he received a $1 mil-lion transfer. The accountwas then frozen by a judge.

Puerta Valero is being heldin custody by police in Andor-ra where he is facing money-laundering charges, accord-ing to Bondia news portal.

Venezuelan prosecutors havealso asked Panama for infor-mation concerning the inves-tigation, the Caracas dailyElUniversal reported Tuesday.

Reforms to the existing Smok-ingLaw were unanimously ad-

mitted in Congress yesterday,where they will be debatedand, if all goes to plan, comeinto force by January 2011.Thereformtakes the 2005banfurther and prohibits tobaccofrom practically all enclosedpublic spaces, including barsand restaurants.

Currently, large establish-ments have to divide theirfloor space into smoking andnon-smoking areas, withsmaller bars and eateries hav-ing a choice between accept-ing tobacco or banning it alto-gether. In practice, many busi-nessowners ignored the parti-tion rule. Those who observedit feel that they shouldbe com-pensated for the money theyspent on renovation work.

There are restaurant andhotel owners who believed inthe 2005 law and worked torespect it [] We cannot pun-ish themnow,said ConcepciTarruella of the CiU Catalannationalist bloc.

Hotels, prisons, psychiatriccenters and smoking clubswill be exempt from the totalsmoking ban.

Venezuela asksAndorra aboutformer drugchiefs arrest

Smoking banenters Congressfor debate

M. D., Madrid

NATALIA JUNQUERAMadrid

Paco Len, with a photo of his great-grandfather, Joaqun Len. / luis sevillano

My grandfather wasarrested in Sevillewhile he was havingcoffee at a bar

Joaqun had foursiblings. Two ofthem were alsoexecuted

EL PAS, Madrid

The widows leftbehind after thekillings had to takecharge of 16 children

He framed thedocument thatdescribed him asan enemy of Spain

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4 EL PAS, Wednesday, June 23, 2010NEWS

After winning the highest num-ber of presidential votes in thecountrys history, ColombianPresident-elect JuanManuelSan-tos on Monday began preparinghis governments agenda aimedat tackling risingunemployment,combating terrorism, and repair-ing relations with his neighbors,who hold him partly responsiblefor the break-up.

Santos, a former defense min-ister who served under outgoingPresident lvaro Uribe and hadnever before run for office, wasdeclared the winner after obtain-ing 69 percent of the vote in Sun-days runoff election againstformer Bogot mayor AntanasMockus of the Green Party.

The 58-year-old Santos, whoran under the banner of UribesU conservative coalition, gar-nered over nine million votes,while Mockus received morethan 3.5million or 27.5 percent ofthe ballots. His victory is seen asan overwhelming mandate froma countrythat wants toseea con-tinuation of Uribes policies. Hetakes office in August.

For his part, Mockus says hedoes not feel defeated and haspromised to turn the Greens intoColombias second-largest politi-cal force. History is just begin-

ning, he said.Besides improving the econo-

my, Santos pledged to crush re-mainingguerrillarebels,especial-ly those of the RevolutionaryArmed Forces of Colombia(FARC) the terrorist organiza-tion that was dealt a series ofblows during his tenure as de-fense chief. Time is up for theFARC, he said Monday at hisfirst news conference as presi-dent-elect.

Analysts say continuing histough security stance will helpensure that investors remain in

Colombia, which has made aspectacular financial comebackfollowing two decades of drugwars. But with unemployment at12 percent, Santos has promisedto create some 2.4 million jobsduring his five-year term.

Santos, whose family ownsone of Colombias biggest dailies,

El Tiempo, has also pledged fiscalreform. He said he wont in-crease taxes or value-added tax.We have a projection that isbased on growth. If one of these

variables changes, if there issome surprise, or the figuresdont pan out the way we wantthemto,thentherewill bea need

for an adjustment, said Santos,whoalsoserved as finance minis-ter. But that adjustment, in noway and I want to be clear will mean a hike in utilities, taxesor VAT.

Santos appointed a 44-year-old New York University-trainedeconomist, Juan Carlos Echever-ry, as his economy minister.

His biggest international poli-cy challenge will be restoring re-lations with Quito and Caracas.Following a March 2008 attackby a Colombia commando unitona FARCbasein Ecuadorianter-

ritory, both Venezuela and Ecua-dor have chilled their relationswith Bogot. The incident is par-ticularly sour for Santos because,as defense minister, he orderedthe cross-border attack.

Venezuelan President HugoChvez had hinted that his coun-try was prepared to go to war

withColombiaif Santoswaselect-ed. Many put Chvezs vociferousobjections to Santos down as oneof the reasons for Mockus defeatbecause Colombians saw the fi-ery Venezuelan leader meddlingin their internal affairs. Chvezhas long been accused of financ-ingthe FARC,a chargehe denies.

On Monday, Santos did notmention Chvez but said that Ec-uadorianPresidentRafael Correahad called to congratulate him.We have two alternatives: tolook at thepast with bitterness oropen new roads for the future.

Colombia sticks to Uribes pathSantos wins runoff race pledging to create jobs, repair regional relations

Just two weeks before state andlocal elections, unknown gun-men on Saturday broke into thehome of a Mexican border-townmayor and shot him dead, au-thorities said.

Jess Manuel Lara, the may-or of Guadalupe Distrito Bravo,situated near the border city ofCiudad Jurez, was killed out-side his house as he walked tohis car.

He was a very good manwho was set on bringing lawand order to that town, saidCiudad Jurez Mayor JosReyesFerriz.

Lara had apparently taken upresidence in Ciudad Jurez toprotect his family after receivingthreats from people involved in

the drug trade, Reyes said. Henever told me he had a home inJurez nor did he ask me for anytype of special security protec-tion, he told CNN.

More than 5,500 people havebeen killed in Cuidad Jurezsince 2008 as the powerful

Jurez cartel fights the Sinaloaalliance for control of traffickingroutes. Jurez, which is located

just across the border from ElPaso, Texas, is considered themost dangerous city in theworld, surpassing Baghdad andRio de Janeiro.

Mexican President FelipeCaldern has made the fightagainst traffickers one of his big-gest domestic policy priorities.More than 8,000 troops and fed-eral police have been sent to thearea to try to defeat the cartels.

But Guadalupe Distrito Bravois rapidly becoming a no mansland. Despite an army presence,people are abandoning townswhile politicians are too scaredto campaign for the upcomingelections.

Reyes said violence had in-creased in Guadalupe DistritoBravo since 2,000 federal troopsarrived in Jurez early in the

year. Guadalupe, which bordersHudspeth County, Texas, oncehad 40 policemen but is now leftwith four, he said.

In Ciudad Jurez, two rivalcandidates for mayor HctorMurgua Lardizbal of the Revo-lutionary Institutional Party(PRI) and Csar JureguiMoreno of the National ActionParty (PAN) are engaged in a

dirty campaign with Juregui,accusing his rival of having con-nections with cartel leader Vice-nte Carrillo Fuentes.

Reyes, who is not running,said he had a long partnershipwithLara when both mayors ral-lied for more support for bordercitiesin thewar against drug car-

tels. His case is the best proofthat the fight against the flow ofdrugs into the United States isright at the border, Reyes said.

Elsewhere, in the northerntown of Los Herrera, NuevoLen, some 20 gunmen bran-dishing rifles broke into CityHall and killed three police offic-ers on Monday, authorities said.The three were gunned downwhen they fired at the assail-ants, Mexico CitydailyEl Univer-sal reported.

Brazilian officials scrambledon Tuesday to get food andmedical aid to flood victimsin the nations northeast,where at least 41 people havebeen reported dead in twostates and more than 1,000others missing.

Some 113,000 residentshave been driven from theirhomes since rains began latelast week. Civil Defense au-thorities in Alagoas state sayat least 600 people have beenreported missing there. De-creasing rains on Tuesday al-lowed the government to getfood and medical aid into thehardest-hit areas. In May2009, floodingin thesamear-ea killed at least 44 people.

Mexican border-townmayor shot dead aselections approach

The UN special rapporteur

on freedom of expressionFrank La Rue called on Vene-zuela Saturday to rescind anarrest warrant issued againstthe head of the oppositionGlobovision television net-work. Venezuelan prosecu-tors issued the warrantagainst Guillermo Zuloaga,who is charged with proper-ty ownership violations.

Critics of President HugoChvez say that the govern-ment is harassing Zuloaga,who went into hiding for hisnetworks critical coverage

EL PAS, Madrid

President-elect Juan Manuel Santos, right, greets outgoing President lvaro Uribe on Monday. / efe

Torrentialrains in Brazilleave 41 dead,1,000 missing

UN calls onVenezuelanot to arrestTV executive

A man wipes his tears after leaving the murdered mayors home. / efe

EL PASMadrid

EL PAS, Madrid

History isbeginning, saysMockus, pledgingfierce opposition

President-electSantos: There wontbe any hikes intaxes or utilities

The week in Latin America

EL PAS, Madrid

The mayor hadmoved to CiudadJurez to protecthis family

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EL PAS, Wednesday, June 23, 2010 5

NEWS

Dilma Rousseff has gained sup-port and is now tied for firstplace with Jos Serra of theBrazilian Social DemocraticParty (PSDB) in Brazils presi-dential race, with a range ofpolls giving them both 37 per-

cent of voter intentions.Support for Serra is up one

point since April, while Rouss-eff has gained eight points. Ma-rina Silva of the Green Party(PV) is a distant third withnine percent.

In a run-off scenario, thetwo main candidates are tiedat 42 percent.

Luiz Incio Lula da Silvawon the October 2002 presi-dential election with 61 per-cent of the vote in a run-off

against Serra. In October 2006,he earned a new four-yearterm, defeating another PSDBcandidate, Geraldo Alckmin,with 60.8 percent of the vote inthe second round.

In March, Rousseff steppeddown as Lulas chief of staffand Serra resigned as gover-

nor of the state of So Paulo inorder to launch their presiden-tial bids. Serra, who was con-firmed as candidate for the op-position PSDB party on Satur-day, is favored by some inves-tors for his perceived fiscal dis-cipline and reputation as acompetent administrator.

But neither he nor Rousseffis seen as straying much fromLulas largely market-friendlyeconomic policies that havenurtured years of strong eco-

nomic growth and growing glo-bal clout for a country that for

years was a sleeping giant.Lula, who is barred by the

Constitution from running fora third straight term, has saidthat a vote for Rousseff wouldbe the same as voting for him.

There will be a gap on that

ballot. To make sure it is filled,I changed myname andput Dil-mas there, he said.

Many people expect Lula tocontinue to have a stronginflu-ence on a Rousseff govern-ment, even without occupyinga formal post. Lula will helpher to govern. He wont leaveher on her own, said CristinaRocha, a Workers Party mem-ber from northeastern Piaustate whowas attendingthe re-cent party convention.

A leftist guerrilla group thathas been making headlines inParaguay through a rash ofkidnappings has offered topay$1,000to anyone who canturn over Paraguayan Presi-dent Fernando Lugo or anyother government figures.

We dont havemuchmon-ey, but we do have a lot ofdignity, reads a statementwritten by the ParaguayanPeoples Army (EPP) and giv-en to the press on Thursdayby authorities, who said theyhad found it in a rebel camp.

We are offering five mil-lion guaranes and our eter-nal gratitude to anyone whocan turn over the followingtyrants: Fernando Lugo,[Interior Minister] Rafael Fil-izzola and any lawmaker,minister or memberof theSu-preme Court, the statementsays.

The EPP burst onto thescene when it attacked a po-

lice command post in a ruralnorthern region and wasblamed for a string of robber-ies. It made headlines last

year when it kidnapped a

prominent rancher Fidel Zav-ala in October and held himuntilhis familypaid an undis-closed amount of cash.

Last month, Lugo sentabout 6,000 troops to areasbordering Brazil, where theEPP is said to be active. Thegovernment has offered$317,000 for informationlead-ingto thearrestsof anymem-bers of the group.

Investigators believe thatthe EPP are being trained bymembers of the Revolution-ary Armed Forces of Colom-bia (FARC).

In its statement, the EPP

criticized the United Statesand called Colombian Presi-dent lvaroUribetheimperi-alists lapdog.The group alsoasks police officers and sol-diersto overthrow Lugosgov-ernment.

Deputy Interior MinisterCarmelo Caballero said thatauthorities found enough evi-dence at the EPP camp tohelp them prepare for a newattack against the rebels. Hedidnt elaborate on exactlywhat had been discovered.

Tight race in prospect

Paraguayrebels offer$1,000 forpresident

Fondly referred to as the IronLady by Brazilian commenta-tors and voters alike, DilmaRousseff was chosen on Sundayas the successor of incumbentPresident LuizIncioLula da Sil-

va to run in Octobers electionson behalf of the Workers Party.

The 62-year-old has pledgedto continue the policies of Lulabut to govern Brazil with theheart and soul of a woman ifshe wins.

While Rousseff hasbeen gain-ing on her main opponent JosSerra in recentopinion polls, sur-

veys show she trails the formerSo Paulo state governor amongwomen voters.

Rousseff can count on Lulashuge popularity and a rebound-ing economy to give her a boostas she attempts to become theSouth American countrys firstfemale leader.

Although President Lula daSilva has pledged to lend the full

force of his unprecedentedpopu-arity to the cause of lifting her

profile, many have said that sheacksher mentors charismaand

name recognition. Last year sheunderwent surgery for lymph

node cancer, which promptedsome within her party to sug-gest that she projected an imageof frailty, something that is dis-pelled very soon after talking toher.

She took up arms against themilitary dictatorship that ranBrazil between 1964 and 1985,and was captured, tortured, andthen sent to prison for three

years. Married with a son, shebegan her political career in thestate of Rio Grande do Sul in thelate 1980s, first being appointedto the post of energy secretaryby Governor Alceu Collares, andthen going on to serve under

President Lula as energy minis-ter from 2003, before being ap-pointed his chief of staff.

Question. If you win, will youfollow Lulas approach to poli-tics?

Answer. I will continue Lu-las model, but with a womansheart and soul. Women have atremendous capacity for caring.For example, our Family Pack-ageprogram gives money to fam-ilies if their children attendschool andare vaccinated, anditis run by a woman. One of the

biggest challenges we face inBrazil is re-establishing the im-portance of the family. It is notenoughjust to improvethe econ-omy; wehaveto make thefamilythe center of things. This is the

way to improve education andto combat crime. And this is notsomething that we will achieve

in a single term. Single womenhead around a third of Brazilianfamilies. It isnt about creating amatriarchy, but addressing theimportant role that women play.Lula is very much aware of this

issue.Q. How is your health?A. My health is fine.

Q. What are the maindifferences between youand your leading rival forthe presidency, JosSerra?

A. The biggest differ-ence is that my partyknows how to laythe foun-dations for sustainablegrowth. We grow at thesame rate that we distrib-ute wealth. There is nowsome socialmobility in Bra-zil, and people know thatthings are getting better.Some 24 million Brazilianshave now left poverty be-hind, and a further 31 mil-lion have moved up the so-cial ladder. But much re-mains tobe done:there arestill 50 millionpeopleearn-ing below the minimumwage. We have to invest ineducation. This is the keyto creating a bigger formalemployment sector. Wewill create two million

jobs this year. Our tax sys-tem is chaotic. If we donthave the courage to recog-nizethis, we will never im-plement the necessary re-forms.

Q. What are yourpriori-ties in terms of foreign rela-

tions?A. Brazils foreign poli-

cy has always been fo-cused on a few countries.The big achievement in re-cent years has been interms of opening up to mul-tilateralism, as well as tak-ing on a bigger role in Lat-in America. We seek great-er cooperation betweencountries. Our relation-

ship with South Africa is impor-tant, as well as with the otherBRIC nations of Russia, India,and China. Iran has a right todevelop a nuclear program fornon-military use. I dont think

the issue will be solved by sanc-tions. We have to build doors,not walls.

Fernando Lugo battles EPP.

EL PAS, Madrid

EL PAS, Madrid

DILMA ROUSSEFF Brazilian presidential candidate

I will continue Lulas model, butwith a womans heart and soulFERNANDO GUALDONIMadrid

Dilma Rousseff, pictured during the interview. / uly martn

The week in Latin America

Improving theeconomy is not

enough; familiesmust be the focus

Our tax system ischaotic. We need tohave the courageto recognize this

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6 EL PAS, Wednesday, June 23, 2010SPORTS

Seldom has an early go-aheadgoal been celebrated less thanDavid Villas marvelous individu-al feat, in the 17th minute,against Honduras in Spains sec-ond WorldCupGroup H gameonMonday.

Villa had sliced through twodefenders from the left side andbeat a third rival with a changeof pace inside the area beforesending a fall-away shot pastkeeper Noel Valladares to giveSpain its first goal of the tourna-ment.

But instead of a wild celebra-tion, the somewhat muted clus-ter of players that converged to

gently embrace the Asturian dis-persed quickly back upfield. Theimpression was that Spain stillhad much to prove; as if a singlegoal after 107 minutes of domi-nating on possession and send-ing shots high and low at twodif-ferent rivals was far from theWorld Cup start that Fifas sec-ond-ranked team had imagined.

Neither wasit the redemptionnecessary to forget its shock 1-0lossto Switzerland in its openinggame.

On Monday, Spain would keepbombarding its rival taking 25shots to Honduras six. And Villa,Spains lead goal-scorer who had

been largely absent in the Swissupset, would score a second timebefore missing a penalty.

With more polished finishingskills, the sides 2-0 win couldhave matched Portugals 7-0thumping of North Korea earlierin the day, a fact the players rec-ognized roundly.

As against Switzerland, wegot off a lot of shots, and onceagain,we showedtoo much mer-cy, said Fernando Torres, whowas called into Vicente delBosques starting 11 on Mondayas the coach switched to a moreaggressive 4-4-2 line-up.

For Del Bosque, who was

largely forgiving after the Swiss

loss, notching up the groups onlymulti-goal victory through tworoundswas notenough of an elix-ir ahead of the must-win gameagainst Chile on Friday.

It wasnt a good game, saidthe coach. I didnt like how weplayed. We missed a lot of oppor-tunities, and we opened up togive too much space. I am notleaving here satisfied. He de-scribed Mondays team as lessharmonious than his previousline-up against Switzerland. Ithink we were more vulnerabletoday, he said.

Part of the coachs critiquewassurelymeantto keep hisside

honest in the days between the victory and Fridays last groupgame, which Spain must win togo through to the next round.Since winning the EuropeanChampionship in 2008 in themidst of what would become a35-game unbeatenstreak, Spainsplayers have struggled to shedthe role of favorite to lift the Cup

on July 11.Try as they might, there are

still few disbelievers. Yesterday,Chiles Mark Gonzlez called hisnext opponent the most danger-ous side in the World Cup, say-inghe expected Fridays match tobe an exciting clash.

The fact that weve all beensurprised by their results inthese first two matches doesntmean that theyre not the sameSpain as before, said Gonzlez,who scored the decisive goal inChiles 1-0 defeat of Switzerlandon Monday.

Del Bosques words suggesthe may be rethinking pairing

Torres with Villa in a double-pronged attack, especially if An-drs Iniesta is recovered for Fri-day. If the Barcelona playmakeris healthy, Torres could be sent tostart off the bench, as replacingthe speedy Jess Navas, whoracked up an assist and a drawnpenalty on Monday, is looking in-creasingly unlikely.

But Spains bane through twogames has not been a lack ofskilled players to fill positions,but rather an inability to finishits skillfully crafted attacks nearthe goal. In its third and decisivegroup fixture, Spain will look fora few less near misses againstthe South American leader to setup a probable last-16 clashagainst Brazil or Portugal. ButChile, with two wins from twomatches, no longer looks like asideto take lightly.Ifwe playtheway we played the last twogames, we can definitely winagainst Spain, said midfielderGonzalo Fierro.

Villa returns to give Spain lifelineDel Bosques side still seeking finishing power ahead of must-win Chile clash

Some rain in northwest

The peninsula and the Balearic Islands willsee mostly clear skies today, with somescattered cloud in the northwest and achance of storms. The Canary Islands willbe very cloudy in the north with a chanceof showers, while other areas will remainclear. Temperatures will rise slightlythroughout. Highs: Madrid 32C, Barcelo-na 25C, Valencia 27C, Mlaga 27C, Bil-bao 25C, Lisbon 27C.

All emergencies ........................... 112Ambulance .............................. 061Fire Brigade ........................... 080Municipal police .................... 092National police ...................... 091Civil Guard .............................. 062Catalan police ......................... 088Traffic ...................... 900 123 505Consumeri nformat ion ................ 900 775 757Forest fires ............. 900 850 500Domesticabuse ............................ 900 100 009Coast Guard ........... 900 202 202Immigration

information ............. 900 150 000Powersupplies ................... 900 248 248Directory .......................... 11818Internationaldirectory inq ........................... 11825

TOURIST POLICE

Madrid ......................... 91 548 85 37Barcelona .................. 93 290 33 27Gran Canar ia .......... 928 30 46 64

AIRPORTS

AENA (flights, customer servic-es) ................................... 902 404 704

Barcelona ................... 93 298 38 38Madrid ........................ 902 35 35 70Valencia ....................... 96 159 85 00Mlaga ......................... 95 204 88 04Palma ........................... 97 178 90 99

TRAINS

RENFE ......................... 902 240 202International ............... 902 243 402

EMBASSIES

Australia ...................... 91 353 66 00Canada ......................... 91 423 32 50Ireland .......................... 91 436 40 93New Zealand ............. 91 523 02 26

UK. ................................. 91 700 82 00US ................................. 91 587 22 00

CITY WEBSITES

www.munimadrid.eswww.bcn.eswww.sevilla.org

PORTUGAL

All emergencies .......................... 112Breakdowns ................... 219425095

MOROCCO

Police ................................................ 190Fire Brigade ................................... 150

Del Bosque: Wemissed too manychances. We gaveup too much space

Rafa Nadal continued hisFrench Open form on theWimbledon grass on Tues-day with a ruthless 6-2, 6-4,6-4 win over Japanese wild-card Kei Nishikori.

A single break to tie thethird set at 3-3 was as far asNadal allowed the 20-year-old to dream, despite the factthat Nadal had once de-scribed his rival as a futuretop-10 player.

Back on the sun-drenchedcenter court for the first timein twoyears, Nadal describedthe experience as a home-

coming.It was a very special mo-

ment going back to centercourt, said Nadal, who last

year missed out on defendingthe title he wrested off RogerFederer in an epic five-setmatch in 2008 due to kneeinjury. It is incredible to beableto behere, inmy favoritetournament. The public is al-ways great with me, and theymake me feel at home, saidthe world number one.

Nadals next rival will beDutch player Robin Haase,who beat the AmericanJames Blake yesterday.

Almagro upset

Ninth seed David Ferrer fol-lowed suit with a three-set

victory yesterday. The Span-iard beat Germanys NicolasKiefer 6-4, 6-2, 6-3, whileNicols Almagro was upsetby Italys Andreas Seppi. The19th seedlet sliptwo consecu-tive tie-breakers before los-ing steam in the third set(7-6, 7-6, 6-2).

Fernando Verdasco andJuan Carlos Ferrero werestill playing first-roundmatches at press time.

Useful information

Nadal cruisesto three-setWimbledondebut victory

EL PAS, Madrid

KELLY RAMUNDOMadrid

David Villa returned to form on Monday scoring both goals in Spains 2-0 win over Honduras. / efe

South Africa 2010

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EL PAS, Wednesday, June 23, 2010 7

BUSINESS

IBEX35

EquityLatestprice

Daily variation Y es terday Annual Variation %

Euros % Min. Mx. Previous Current

Abengoa 16,830 - 0, 47 0 -2 ,7 2 1 6, 430 17 ,2 00 4 4, 2 -25,5

Abertis 12,475 - 0, 03 5 -0 ,2 8 1 2, 35 0 1 2, 580 1 6, 8 -14,7

Acciona 67,660 0 ,41 0 0, 61 66 ,6 00 67 ,9 40 - 20, 4 -25,7

Acerinox 13,555 - 0, 08 5 -0 ,6 2 1 3, 30 0 1 3, 685 2 3, 9 -6,7

ACS 32,065 0,055 0,17 3 1,700 3 2,375 6,7 -5,6

Arcelor Mittal 25,750 - 0, 48 0 -1 ,8 3 2 5, 19 0 2 5, 930 5 3, 6 -19,8

Banco Popular 4,728 -0,077 -1,60 4,650 4,825 -14,7 -6,6

Banco Sabadell 3,763 0,001 0,03 3,702 3,799 -16,0 -1,1

Banco Santander 9,360 -0,060 -0,64 9,132 9,385 51,9 -18,0

Banesto 6,936 -0,062 -0,89 6,855 7,030 -6,8 -16,5

Bankinter 5,290 -0,142 -2,61 5,220 5,400 -7,4 -26,0

BBVA 9,247 -0,163 -1,73 9,100 9,352 14,5 -26,4

BME 19,250 - 0, 04 0 -0 ,2 1 1 9, 015 19 ,3 05 2 6, 1 -10,3

Criteria 3,512 0,004 0,11 3,450 3,559 37,7 10,8

Ebro Puleva 14,105 0,040 0,28 14,030 14,250 59, 2 -2,2

Enags 14,295 0,085 0,60 1 4,065 1 4,330 -2,2 -7,3

Endesa 19,240 0,055 0,29 1 8,865 1 9,280 -3,5 -17,9

FCC 18,685 0,155 0,84 1 8,285 1 8,710 -9,6 -32,6

Ferrovial 5,735 -0,054 -0,93 5,680 5,909 10,0 -30,3Gamesa 8,258 -0,051 -0,61 8,100 8,410 -34,2 -29,9

Gas Natural 13,010 - 0, 04 5 -0 ,3 4 12 ,90 0 13 ,1 40 - 16, 5 -11,8

Grifols 9,238 0,315 3,53 8,898 9,238 -22,6 -24,3

Iberdrola 5,382 -0,038 -0,70 5,276 5,438 -11,3 -19,3

Iberdrola Renov. 2,740 0,011 0,40 2,691 2,764 -9,6 -17,5

Iberia 2,528 0,032 1,28 2,471 2,534 27,7 33,1

Inditex 49,520 0,570 1,16 48,640 49,900 64, 9 15,6

Indra 14,190 0,100 0,71 1 3,950 1 4,225 -8,9 -13,8

Mapfre 2,376 0,028 1,19 2,341 2,399 11,2 -15,7

OHL 19,945 - 0, 36 5 -1 ,8 0 19 ,6 50 20 ,6 75 12 5, 1 7,8

Red Elctrica 34,405 -0,420 -1,21 34,150 35,175 0, 7 -10,2

Repsol 17,905 - 0, 16 0 -0 ,8 9 1 7, 770 18 ,1 70 2 9, 9 -4,4

Sacyr 4,618 0,062 1,36 4,461 4,618 -27,5 -42,3

Tcnicas Reunidas 40,670 0 ,14 0 0, 35 40 ,20 0 4 0, 800 13 6, 5 2,9

Telecinco 8,258 -0,239 -2,81 8,210 8,600 25,1 -17,2

Telefnica 16,360 - 0, 07 0 -0 ,4 3 1 6, 185 16 ,4 95 1 3, 9 -12,9

BIGGEST LOWS

% Euros

Reno de Mdici -5,42 -0,011Antena 3 TV -5,05 -0,270NH Hoteles -4,36 -0,120Nyesa -4,14 -0,060Fergo Aisa -3,92 -0,030Renta C or po ra ci n -3, 36 -0, 07 5Prisa -3,15 -0,070Inypsa -3,06 -0,060Telecinco -2,81 -0,239Abengoa -2,72 -0,470

The governor of the Bank ofSpain, Miguel ngel FernndezOrdez, on Tuesday criticized

the governments labor reform,saying it lacked ambition.

Ordez said he hoped the billwould be improved upon duringparliamentary proceedings, be-cause as the reforms stand nowthey modify some of the ele-ments in the system, but withoutchangingthe mostsubstantial as-pects of the same.

Despite the criticism, the gov-ernor also praised the Socialistgovernments initiative, whichhas met with severe oppositionfrom the trade unions because of

its relaxation of firing conditions.Iam very happy that labor re-

form has been put forward, be-cause it includesa veryimportantpoint: whenever businesses are

ready to change conditions inagreement with the workers,they will be able to.

Ordezs complaints are ontwo fronts: collective bargainingand limits on temporary con-tracts. In particular, the collec-tive-bargaining system has beenleft outside the scope of the re-forms, which restrict their reachand efficiency, he said.

What is more questionable,he added, is the imposition ofnew limits on temporary hiring,especially as long as stable con-

tracts are not sufficiently im-proved. In current conditions,with more than four-and-a-halfmillion Spaniardsout of a job, it isessentialto keep all opportunities

for job creation open.The governor of Spains cen-

tral bank also expressed opposi-tionto the ideaof creatinga banktax, a decisionthat will be consid-ered at the G20 summit sched-uledfor this weekendin Toronto.Idontseewhyithastobeatax.Ithink its fine to take money awayfrom banks, but it is more intelli-gent for that money to be used toreducethe possibilitiesof a futurecrisis. It could take the form ofprovisions, capital or liquidity re-quirements.

FOREIGN CURRENCIES

Buy Sell

US dollar 1,2302 1,2300Jap anese yen 1 11 ,4 90 0 1 11 ,4 70 0Sterling pound 0,8287 0,8285Austr al ia n d ol la r 1 ,4 00 2 1 ,3 99 5H ong K ong d ol la r 9 ,5 70 9 9 ,5 66 8

Swiss franc 1,3597 1,3595Nor we gi an k ro ne r 7 ,9 29 2 7 ,9 24 9

Units per euro at 18:00

After healthy gains the previousweek and a half, the Spanishstock market on Tuesday tooksomething of a breather in linewith the rest of Europe.

Market operators said someprofit-taking was to be expectedafter nine consecutive winningsessions. The local market start-ed the day in negative territory,but as the session wore on, thepositive opening on Wall Streetminimized losses, keeping the

Ibex 35 above the 10,000-pointbenchmark.This, in spite of the fact that

the US stock markets went on tooscillate between losses andgains waiting for indicationsfrom the Fed that low interestrates would remain intact, andupon discovering that second-hand home sales unexpectedlyfell in May.

The Spanish blue-chip Ibex35 fell 55.80 points, or the equiv-alent of 0.55 percent, to10,016.10 points after trading in

a range of 9.872-10.071. The Me-dium Cap shed 0.30 percent,while the Ibex Small Cap gained1.52 percent. The Madrid gener-al index fell 0.55 percent to1,035.87 points.

The other European boursesalso trended lower. Paris CAC40 lost 0.83 percent, while inFrankfurt the DAX was down0.38 percent. In London, the FT-SE 100gaveup 0.98 percent,andthe PSI-20 fell 0.38 percent inthe Lisbon Euronext exchange.

Open-market deals in the

Spanish continuous marketamounted to 2.1 billion. Losersoutnumbered gainers in theIbex 35 by 19 to 16.

The big banks were lower,with Santander down 0.64 per-cent, and BBVA shedding 1.73percent. Telecoms giantTelefnicalost 0.43percent. Thebiggest blue-chip loser on theday was TVs Telecinco, whichgave up 2.81 percent.

Pharmaceutical multination-al Grifols was the big winner,with a 3.53-percent gain.

Spain must take better aimand drastically change itstourism model if it wants toturn thesectorintoan engineof economic growth, said Ser-gio Arzendi, director of theOECDs tourism department.

Speaking yesterday at atourism symposium atSantanders Menndez Pel-ayo International University,Arzendi said that the Spanishtourism sector must reinventand reposition its services, fo-cusing not just on promotionand innovation but also onhuman capital, beginningwith the tourism entrepre-neurs themselves.

TheOECD expert said thatthe current situation of Span-ish tourism cannot just beblamed on the crisis, but alsoonthe fact that sectorgrowthwas heavily dependent on re-al estate construction, to thepoint thatboth sectors togeth-er accounted for 25 percentofGDP at one point. To Arzen-di, this interdependenceshowed a clear lack of eco-nomic intelligence on Spainspart.

Spain has not yet under-stood that tourism is a sector

that creates economic ex-ports across Spain, and there-fore is an importantengine ofgrowth for the country, headded.

The sector was fueled byconstruction rather than onthe development of humancapital and quality of service,he said, explaining that themain thing now is to focus onprofessionalizing this humancapital and finding innova-tive organizational and man-agement systems.

Bank of Spain chief sayslabor reform lacks ambitionOrdez speaks out against creation of a bank tax

CONTINUOUS MARKET

BIGGEST HIGHS

% Euros

Afirma 7,98 0,017Ence 5,45 0,140Vocento 5,26 0,200Colonial 4,92 0,006Fluidra 4,10 0,100Grifols 3,53 0,315Banco Pastor 2,99 0,115Campofro 2,64 0,180Ca ta la na Occ iden te 2, 01 0 ,26 0Prim 2,01 0,130

Tourism sectorneeds drasticshake-up, OECDexpert warns

The Social Security systemregistered a surplus of 9.7billion in May, a 12.92-per-centdrop from thesameperi-od in 2009, but a 30-percentrise from the first fourmonths of this year, the La-bor and Immigration Minis-try announced.

The ministry also under-scored the fact that the year-on-year drop for the monthsof April 2009 and 2010 was29 percent, compared withjust 13 percent for themonths of May.

According to the secretaryof state forSocialSecurity,Oc-tavio Granado, this improve-ment could be explained by aconsolidation of revenues,coupled with extraordinaryausteritymeasures and great-er control over revenue ex-penditure. Granado said hehoped to end the year with agreater surplus than expect-ed.

The 9.7-billion surplusrepresents 0.89 percent ofSpains Gross Domestic Prod-uct (GDP). Revenues werearound 51 billion, comparedwith expenses of around41.6 billion.

Meanwhile, there were33,169 new non-Spanish con-tributors to Social Security inMay, bringing the total num-ber of foreigners who feedtheir monthly dues into thesystem to 1.88 million, accord-ing to the ministry release.

AlthoughoverallSocial Se-curity membership is down1.76 percent compared withMay of last year, there is anupward trend, as new con-tributors joined in all catego-ries except for coal workers.

Lower on profit-taking

Four monthsof falls inSocial Securitysurplus halted

LUIS DONCEL

Miguel ngel Fernndez Ordez (l) and Socialist deputy Antonio Gutirrez pictured yesterday. / uly martn

LUCA ABELLN, Madrid

K. R., Madrid

EL PAS, Madrid

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MADRID: Miguel Yuste, 40. 28037 Madrid. 91 337 82 00.Fax: 91 327 08 18. Legal deposit: M-14951-1976. Ediciones EL PAS, SL. Madrid, 2009. All rights reserved.

According to articles 8 and 32.1, second paragraph, of theintellectual Property Law, it is expressly prohibited toreproduce, distribute or communicate in public, including

making available, the entirety or segments of this publication forcommercial ends, in any shape or form, without the authorization ofEdiciones EL PAS, SL.

ENGLISH EDITION WITH THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE

WEDNESDAY,JUNE 23, 2010

Pedro Larumbe has felt loneli-ness in his bones. Literally. The56-year-old Navarran chef andbusinessman is responsible forthe dishes that are served in theSpanish pavilion at the ShanghaiExpo. Or, to give him the some-what pompous name much ofthe media has labeled him with,he is the Spanish gastronomicambassador in China.

An ambassador needs thesupport of the public powers, hesays. I have not had that, andIve felt very alone. Larumbe is

in Madrid for a few days to at-tend to some personal business,before he is due to head back toShanghai.

The objectives of the National

Gastronomy prize winner, whois also the owner of an epony-mous restaurant located in oneof the most exclusive areas ofMadrid, are Herculean. Betweennow and October, he will be incharge of bringing to China 15tons of Iberian pork, 1,000 hams,300,000 liters of beer and 20,000of olive oil, 3,000 boxes of wine,500,000 bottles of water, and asystemthatcan turn out60 Span-ish omelets every five minutes.

All this so that the offerings inthe Spanish pavilion are Spanish,and only Spanish. You wouldntbelieve what it costs to get a bot-tle of mineral water from Spainonto a table in Shanghai, saysLarumbe.

The well-known chef beganhis career aged 16 as a kitchenassistant in a hotel in his nativeLern, Navarre. It was, he ex-plains, the only way to avoidending up plowing the land.Since then, he has traveled allaround the world soaking up dif-ferent dishes, techniques and fla-

vors. These days his classic cui-

sine is recognized throughoutthe world. Making the tradition-al up to date is his maxim.

Larumbe took on the Shang-hai project to do something dif-ferent, as well as to celebratehis40 years in a trade where feel-ings are fundamental. Anyonecan follow a recipe, he explains.But the timing, the optimal tem-perature of the oil... You have tofeel that kind of thing.

Larumbe says that he has notreceived any kind of supportwhen it comes to spreading theword about Spanish cuisine in acountry with more than one bil-lion inhabitants. One example of

the difficulty he is facing is thepoorlocation of therestaurantar-ea within the pavilion. Breakinginto the Chinese market is incred-iblydifficult, and Spain is missingout on a golden opportunity withthe Expo, he says. Larumbe andhis team are having to deal withhundreds of obstacles in order toget the job done from the con-fusing and arcane rules that theChinese authorities impose withthe aim of levying charges, to themyriad health regulations.

One time we organized ademonstration of how to cutham,says Larumbe. The health

inspectors arrived and forced usto do the cutting in the kitchen.They thought it was deviant be-havior.

That attitude is one that Span-ish ham exporters will be keentoeradicate as soon as possible,however, given that many arelooking to the Eastern marketsas the next growth area for theirbusinesses. The sale of Iberianham has already been a successin Japan, with companies suchas Iberselec putting a lot of effortinto finding new customers inthe country, thanks to ham-cut-ting courses and other such initi-

atives to boost interest. Chinaand South Korea are next on thelist in terms of new markets.

But Larumbe has not beenput off by the setbacks he has en-

countered so far. In fact, hesmore committed than ever to hismission. The Chinese love ourpaella, our garlic prawns, ourp ork dishes, fish in g reensauce... he says, before crackinga smile. But what I find mostencouragingis to seethe enthusi-asm with which Chinese dinersmop up the olive oil from theirplate with hunks of bread.Thats something of an achieve-ment in itself...

Spain is missing a golden opportunityChef Pedro Larumbe laments the lack of support he is getting at the Shanghai Expo

Her father is the type of personwho likes to have a glass of winewith every meal, and she tasted itfor the first time when she waseight or nine years old. It tastedgross and my mother really toldme off, recalls Andrea Alonso, anative of Uruguay who has justwonthe 2010 GoldenNose award,Spains top prize for sommeliers.

Alonso, 34, is radiant. She isconstantly taking calls from jour-nalists and accepting messages ofcongratulation. Up until now, shewas an anonymous employee atanAlicantebranch of Makro,a hy-permarket for wholesalers, whereshe has worked for the last fouryears as the store sommelier.

It is the perfect vantage point:I aman advisor to restaurant own-ers and I have a wine cellar withmore varieties than even the best

restaurant could have,she says ofher workplace, where she has ac-cess to over 1,500 different wines.

Alonso, who is keen to stressthegreatjob that the34 othersom-meliers employed at other Makrostores do, adds that the job allowsher to spend more time with her10-year-old son. The cateringbusiness requires a lot of sacri-fice, she says.

Fascination for enology

She was born in Montevideo, andat age 12 moved to Buenos Aireswith her parents, eventually get-ting jobs at various cocktail barsand restaurants, and even theSheraton Hotel. One day a friendtook her to a wine tasting.

First I said no,but eventually Irelented. When I saw the enolo-gist andall thework that goes intoeachbottle of wine, I wasfascinat-

ed, says Alonso, who went on tostudy enology in Argentina andSpain, before starting work at theage of 18.

Thesecret to beinga good som-melier is to be able to retain eacharoma in your memory; thatswhy blind people would have itreally easy, she explains. In or-

derto concentrate,I close my eyesand remember.

The best nose of the year wasselected last weekend in Madridin a very close competition. In thelast test, the jury gave the finalistsblack glasses whose contents theyhad to guess by smell alone, pro-

viding wheneverpossibleaddition-

al information about itschief traits. Alonsoguessed correctly in ev-ery case: a Viognierwhite from Castilla LaMancha, a Shiraz redfrom New Zealand, aTempranillo fromCastilla La Mancha, a

vodka from Poland anda white rum from San-ta Luca.

The prize, whichhas in the past gone toDavidSeijas fromelBul-li (Ferran Adrisworld-famousrestaurant) andMara Jos Vzquez ofthe GuggenheimBilbaomuseum, is a goldencup designed by theSpanish artist AntonioLpez. There is no

prize money, but Alonso says thatthe main reward is going frombeing an anonymous sommelierto being an industry referencepoint.

The new Golden Nose admitsthat she enjoys wine. If there isany left in my glass after dinner,thats my dessert.

Hypermarket employeewins Golden Nose awardEZEQUIEL MOLT, Alicante

Andrea Alonso, the 2010 Golden Nose winner, at her place of work. / joaqun de haro

LUIS MEYER

Chef and businessman Pedro Larumbe, photographed in Madrid. / l. s.

Eastern markets areseen as the nextgrowth area forexporting ham

The Chinese loveour paella, our garlic

prawns and ourpork dishes

Ive not had publicsupport, and Ive feltvery alone, says the56-year-old chef

Chinese healthinspectors frown

upon cutting hamoutside the kitchen