United States and Spain, two nations with much in common and an important alliance

Spain is a nation with more than 500 years of history and its very name dates back much further, to the times of ancient Rome.

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For decades, Spain's main ally has been the United States of America, which today celebrates the 250th anniversary of its independence. Both countries have abundant historical, cultural, social, and political ties, among which their membership in NATO stands out. Spain played a very important role in the independence of the United States, actively supporting the thirteen colonies that signed their Declaration of Independence from the British Crown on July 1776. Spain and the United States established diplomatic relations in 1783, 243 years ago, the same year in which the original thirteen states achieved victory in their War of Independence.

Our past has also had significant disagreements. The greatest of these was the war between the United States and Spain, which led to the loss of Spain's last overseas possessions, including Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. There are people who still refer to these events, which occurred 128 years ago, as if they happened yesterday and as if they were a reason to distance ourselves from the one who is, I insist, our greatest ally today. The reality is very clear.

Since the Madrid Pacts, signed between Spain and the United States on September 23, 1953, both nations have maintained a significant military alliance, which materialized in the following years with the arrival of substantial American equipment for the Spanish Armed Forces. Today, the United States maintains a significant presence at two Spanish military bases: the Rota Naval Base and the Morón Air Base. At the former, the U.S. makes a prominent contribution to Spain's defense with a missile defense shield comprised of several Arleigh Burke-class destroyers of the U.S. Navy.

The ties between the two nations are also reflected in significant cultural links. American cinema is enormously successful in Spain, and Spanish is the second most spoken language in the United States. Approximately 187,000 Spanish citizens reside in the US, and about 41,000 US citizens reside in Spain, which in many cases has created important family, business, scientific, and academic connections. There are several important American schools in Spain, such as the American School of Madrid, the American School of Barcelona, ​​the Benjamin Franklin International School of Barcelona, ​​the American School of Bilbao, the American School of Valencia, the American International School of Mallorca, and the Gresol International-American School of Terrassa (Barcelona). Today, the Cervantes Institute has five branches in the USA, in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, and Albuquerque.

The United States has the most diplomatic missions in Spain, a total of seven: the embassy in Madrid and the consulates in Barcelona, ​​Valencia, Seville, Fuengirola, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and Palma de Mallorca. Spain maintains nine diplomatic missions in the USA: the embassy in Washington, D.C., and eight consulates in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, San Francisco, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

As has happened in the past, today there are politicians and activists in both countries who seem determined to pit these two allies against each other. Their campaigns to achieve this goal are often based on fomenting hatred of our respective peoples under any pretext. Faced with this foolish activism, the citizens of Spain and the United States must remember that what unites us is far greater than what divides us. Our historical, cultural, political, military, economic, and social ties are very important, and our respective nations have far more reason to strengthen our alliance than to weaken it. On this Fourth of July, from one of the oldest nations in Europe, I wish our friends in the United States a happy Independence Day.