Publication

This paper addresses the state of Spanish-Latin American relations in light of the November 2004 Ibero-American Summit held at San José, Costa Rica. Identifying a complex historical relationship between the two partners, the author draws particular attention to the difficulties encountered during the rule of Jose Maria Aznar, who was criticized for his perceived closeness with Washington, and his successor Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who has placed renewed emphasis on European, and specifically EU, affairs. Citing a growing lack of interest in the annual summit on the part of Latin American countries, the paper concludes by speaking positively of the proposed creation of an Ibero-American General Secretariat and of renewed relations resulting from the San José summit. He also proposes a number of policy recommendations for the Salamanca summit of October 2005.