The Best of All Possible Islands: Seville's Universal Exposition, the New Spain, and the New Europe

PART VI: The Aftermath

PART VI 䉬 The Aftermath 291 21. Closing Days and Parting Shots The Expo ended as it had begun—with embittered parochial politics and elaborate official celebrations of cooperation and progress. After the furor over the season passes had subsided in late summer, most Sevillanos sought to enjoy the fair as best they could and were more concerned with the effects of the massification on the event than with the continuing squabbling among local politicians and officials of the State Society. Nevertheless, by mid-August a new source of contention had emerged and begun to attract public attention. The day of honor of Andalusia had been lackluster, so the desire to give the exhibition a stronger regional stamp now centered on the much-anticipated day of honor of Seville, which was scheduled for the end of September, and on plans to have a strong Andalusian presence in the Expo’s closing ceremonies. To be successful , both of these efforts would require members of the various political parties to cooperate with one another and with Expo officials. But because grudges abounded and because everyone had an eye on post-Expo politics and electioneering , the odds that peace and harmony would prevail were low. Still, what actually happened exceeded even the most pessimistic predictions. By mid-August, Alejandro Rojas Marcos, the alcalde (mayor) of Seville, revealed that he was considering a protest against the government to coincide with Seville’s day of honor. He cited a long list of grievances that included disputes over licensing fees, the refusal of Expo officials to grant a day of free admission for Sevillanos, and issues concerning how expenses would be divided between the city and the region. Referring to Jacinto Pellón and Felipe González, the alcalde lamented, “They have deceived me” (DD 16 Aug 1992:7). Such remarks did not endear the alcalde to Socialist politicians or Expo officials. At the same time, Pellón was boasting of the increasing crowds at the Expo, rejecting calls for special emphasis on Andalusia in the closing ceremonies, and making condescending observations that regional flags already abounded on the Expo site (DD-ex 15 Sep 1992:1). Obviously, a spirit of compromise was not being established for future collaboration. Evidently with the aim of calming things down, two other figures began to insert themselves into the discussions: Virgilio Zapatero, the Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE) cabinet minister who was responsible for overseeing the events of 1992, and Emilio Cassinello, who was the commissioner general of the Expo. Zapatero made efforts to guarantee a strong Andalusian presence at the closing ceremonies, with activities including the playing of the regional anthem (DD-ex 17 Sep 1992:3). Cassinello stated that the Expo was “everyone’s project” and called for an “armistice.” Nevertheless, he was critical of the motives of El Partido Andalucista (PA) and Rojas Marcos, and he rather undiplomatically stressed that “the city of Seville as such is not a participant in the Expo” (DD-ex 17 Sep 1992:3). Seeking to answer mounting criticisms of the Expo and the PSOE by national officials of El Partido Popular (PP), Cassinello characterized the Expo as “an investment,” in contrast to José María Aznar, who had referred to it as a “dispilfaro” (a looting) (DD-ex 20 Aug 1992:3). Meanwhile, in the city hall, the vice-mayor of Seville, Soledad Becerril of the PP, announced that the municipal budget for observations of Seville’s day of honor would be small. Her announcement represented an attempt to shelter her party from the coming political storm and to put more pressure on her coalition partners of the PA to cooperate with Expo officials. Socialist members of the city council reluctantly agreed to support the day of honor but expressed skepticism about Rojas Marcos’s ability to organize the event without conflict (ABC 27 Aug 1992:36). To reduce Rojas Marcos’s chances of reaping political gains from the event, they also proposed that part of the celebration be devoted to recognizing the contributions of former mayors, as well as Pellón, to the Expo project (ABC 28 Sep 1992:6). As Seville’s day of honor and the Expo’s closing ceremonies approached, both local and national politicians appeared to expend more energy positioning themselves politically than planning for such mundane matters as how to handle the closing of hundreds of pavilions and businesses and what to...