An article by Joaquín Estefanía in El País refers to the recently-published Informe sobre el desarrollo de la Sociedad de la Información en España, eEspaña 2003 (Annual report on the development of the information society in Spain), published by the Auna Foundation. “However you look at it," Estefanía writes, "(total internet user population, security on the net, infrastructure, corporate internet penetration, wide band, public expenditure, the presence or otherwise of a culture of innovation, etc.), Spain brings up the rear of European countries. Only Greece has a lower information society penetration rate than ours. Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the United Kingdom, Holland, Germany, Ireland, Austria, Belgium, France, Portugal, Luxembourg and Italy are all ahead of Spain. While this is bad enough, the trend is even worse, as our country is part of a handful of nations that have stagnated in 2002. During its transition to democracy, the report says, Spain managed to win a place in the first rank of Europe. It must now endeavor to find a place in the vanguard which has left the industrial revolution behind, and is rapidly moving ahead in the information society and tools of the new economy.” (Translation courtesy of the English language edition of El País). Well, the Internet revolution won’t start until after the summer, I’m afraid. People are too busy drinking out on the nation’s terrazas, away from their computers.
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