Spain Engulfed in Vast Social Change

Said Rojo: "Because of our history, the Catholic Church is important, but the Catholic Church cannot decide over the will of the Spanish people."

The government seems to have widespread backing for its reforms. A June 7 poll in the Madrid newspaper El Mundo showed 80.3 percent of respondents supported withdrawal of the Spanish troops from Iraq. Some 55.3 percent backed the decision to remove compulsory religious education from schools, and 60 percent rated Zapatero's performance as good or very good.

A separate Gallup poll showed more than half of Spaniards support gay marriage, and 54.1 percent think gays should be allowed to adopt children.

Under the 1939-1975 rule of Franco, homosexuality was illegal and homosexuals were sometimes placed in mental institutions. Democratic governments have since repealed the ban, and gay lifestyles are widely tolerated, But Aznar's government ruled out gay marriage. Many gay people feel the change is long overdue.

"There was discrimination before, because I was living with someone for years and could never take advantage of marriage," said a 54-year-old man who gave his name as Ramon, seated at the bar in the Black & White, a gay hangout in Madrid.

Yet some of Zapatero's critics say the concentration on social issues is a relatively easy way for the government to engender popularity, because most of the practices were tolerated anyway. For example, while abortion laws are restrictive, many women have gotten around them by signing a statement saying they would suffer psychological distress if they gave birth. About 80,000 abortions are performed in Spain each year.

The critics say the rapid movement on social reforms belies the government's far slower pace in making good on many of its more difficult campaign pledges, such as resolving conflict between the central government in Madrid and the Basque region and other regions demanding greater self-rule.

Following his election victory in March, one of Zapatero's first telephone calls was to the president of the Basque regional government, Juan Jose Ibarretxe. Aznar had not spoken to Ibarretxe since 2001 and had threatened to jail him for pushing a new autonomy plan. So Zapatero's phone call and the promise of an early meeting were heralded as the beginning of a new era of dialogue.

Basque leaders and others now say they are disappointed. "We are still waiting for the meeting between Ibarretxe and Zapatero to take place," said Miren Azkarate, a minister and spokeswoman for the Basque government in Vitoria. "For the time being, the new government in Madrid did not follow up on its good intentions with real facts." Among other things, she said, Zapatero has not dropped a lawsuit that the Aznar government filed against the Basque government, and members of the banned Batasuna party are still prevented from running for office under a new party.

"I feel very critical," said Edurne Uriarte, a Basque political scientist interviewed by telephone from Bilbao. "In relation to the Basque country, I think we are in a period of waiting."

Uriarte was critical on the gender-parity issue as well. Although half of the 16 cabinet members are women, she said, the second-tier level -- the deputies and agency heads -- are still mostly male.

Also, the key portfolios -- defense, foreign affairs and finance -- are still held by men. She also said the new domestic violence legislation is similar to what the Aznar government proposed.

"In terms of public image, this has been important," Uriarte said. Zapatero "has been successful in showing a new style of someone close to the people."

Zapatero has had to backtrack on other announced changes. For example, a plan to allow Spain's provinces to field sports teams under their own flags in international competition was quickly shelved after an uproar from Spanish national teams.

Other costly campaign promises have been indefinitely delayed, while the new finance minister, Pedro Solbes, stresses fiscal discipline. A pledge to provide direct government subsidies to renters has been shelved for now. A plan to replace the 15 percent capital gains tax with a sliding tax has been delayed. And a promise to increase the minimum wage has been put on hold because of the potential cost.

Rojo, the Senate president, conceded that the government has been slow to move in some areas, reflecting the reality that running the show is much harder than being in the opposition. Increasing the minimum wage, he said, "is not impossible" but not until the next budget. Resolving the housing problem, he said, "is very complicated. It's not something we can fix in the short term."

On the Basque situation, he credits the new government for creating "a different climate to do things differently."

"Governing is complex," he said. "Some of the promises we've started to implement. Others will come."

Special correspondents Pamela Rolfe and Robert Scarcia contributed to this report.