DOSSIER, HISTORY OF SPAIN (ADVANCED VERSION)

1. TITLE
2004 Madrid train bombings (11M).
2. TEAM MEMBERS
Samantha Chicaiza, Carlos Díaz, Victoria Madrid, Eva Rodríguez, Sofía Weissenborn.
3. CHOSEN TOPIC
We have chosen this topic because some of us were alive when it happened and even if we
were too young, we remember watching the news and seeing all the channels talking about it.
Also, we chose it since we are studying in Madrid and this attack happened close to ‘Atocha’,
where some of us take the train to come to class. This topic is still relevant because our
country (Spain) increased its security because of it. It was a moment that made us realize that
this type of attack was not so far away from us and that we needed to be careful.
4. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Add foreign affairs, causes and consequences, main features of Aznar administration.
The general elections of 3 March 1996 gave the PP a simple majority, which meant that José
María Aznar 's government needed the support of CiU and PNV.
Regarding the economy, the government applied anti-inflationary policies and budgetary
control, they increased the privatization of public companies (Repsol, Endesa, Telefónica,
etc.) and liberalized markets, such as gas, electricity and oil. Economic growth made it
possible to achieve the goal of incorporating Spain into Europe by fulfilling the convergence
conditions established in Maastricht (1 January 1999).
Other measures were Spain's entry into NATO's military structure and the professionalization
of the army, with the disappearance of compulsory military service.
On 12 March 2000, general elections were called, with the PP winning again, this time with
an absolute majority with 183 deputies to the PSOE's 125. The biggest problems came from
the approval of laws such as the Law on Foreigners, the National Hydrological Plan and
educational reform. But the government’s support for the US in the Iraq war was a major
drain on the government.
After 9/11 happened in New York City, Aznar made the decision to support US president
Bush in his war against terrorism, getting involved in both the Afganistan war and the Irak
war. Spain maintained its support to the United States even after Bush decided to invade Irak,
this made members of the Yihadist movement decide that Spain would be one of their targets.
To sum up what happened that day we have collected some facts. 193 persons were killed,
while almost 2.000 were injured. There were ten bombs (located in mobile phones) and it
happened in four trains. Firstly, the investigation regarding the authors of this act were
suspected to be Yihadist terrorist, however the government defended that it had been ETA,
and they maintained this position even after they knew that they were not the authors of the
crime, because this happened just a few days away from the elections the anti-war socialists
came to power, and a new government by Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was established,
with many parts of the population condemning the Aznar government for lying and
demanding the war to end . Zapatero ordered the removal of the Spanish troops from Iraq in
May 2004.
The second bombing attempt was on the 2th of April in one of Madrid’s AVE-Trains. It was
unsuccessful. The police had the suspicion this attempt was related to the occupants of an
apartment in Leganes. Days later, several bombs exploded in the same apartment. Seven
persons killed themselves, including one special forces agent. The motivation was clear. They
wanted to avoid the capture.
In 2007 there was a 7 month trial where 21 persons were convicted, five of them acquitted,
including the ringleader Rabei Osman. Nowadays there is a memoir near Atocha in “El
Retiro”, made of Olive and cypress threes in order to remember the victims of the March 11
bombings.
5. RELATED SONG TO THE EVENT
The attack that happened in Atocha has been talked about in books, documentaries, films and
even in songs. One example is the song ‘Jueves’ by La Oreja de Van Gogh.
The song ‘Jueves’ (https://youtu.be/cQHkDCaa5Ac) by the band La Oreja de Van Gogh talks
about a girl who took the train in Atocha from Monday to Friday. She always saw a boy that
she fancied. One day, she decided to go and talk to him. Surprisingly for her, the boy told her
that he chose that train instead of a faster one just to see her. They were in love with each
other. Then the train suffered the attack on the 11th of March of 2004 and she died. This song
explains the life of a girl and tries to represent that everybody there had a life with people
who they loved, experiences, feelings… The people who died in the massacre happened in
Atocha were humans.
6. QUESTIONS WE WOULD ASK IN THE INTERVIEW
- How did you experience the day of the attacks?
- How did you react to the news, when they claimed the responsible for the attack was
ETA?
- How did you get involved in further developments?
- How did you react to the terrorists suicide happening in Leganes?
- How did you feel seeing the destroyed waggons of the trains?
We would ask these questions in order to get a better understanding of how one person
experienced the day and to empathize with the person. We would also like to know what
personal point of view he or she has towards the political developments that occurred
afterwards. The focus is still on the personal experience .

7. REFERENCES

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Documental del 11m en el 10º Aniversario en EL PAÍS (elpais.com)

elmundo.es - Los agujeros negros del 11-M