MADRID — For years, people considered him a right-wing extremist for wearing the Spanish flag on a bracelet, explained Angel Muñoz, a 62-year-old chauffeur, standing in central Madrid. But not any more, he said, pointing out dozens of Spanish flags outside the apartments around him. “Now with this thing happening in Catalonia, perhaps they feel a bit prouder to show the flag,” Mr. Muñoz said, referring to the northeastern region’s push for a separate state. “Somehow now the rest of Spain feels more united.”Nationalism has always been a tricky thing for Spain. Advertisement Continue reading the main storyBut nationalism is still associated with Franco, whose authoritarian rule centralized Spain after a bloody civil war that was one of the defining ideological conflicts in 20th-century Europe.

Source: New York Times October 05, 2017 13:31 UTC