Latin love, Hispanic hate

“The motherland loves you, loves to beat you.” These were the words of Spain’s most famous football presenter to Argentina after the two World Cup finalists were confirmed. Lionel Messi’s countrymen were quick to reject this paternalism — but the very fact that it was expressed says much about Spain’s relationship with its former colony.

The Viceroyalty of the River Plate, as it was known then, effectively had independence handed to it. British invasions created an organised local core, and Napoleon’s invasion destroyed the Spanish government. In May 1810, local notables took power, and Spain never got another look in.

For so long, Spain’s people went to Argentina in search of opportunity, but now things are the other way round

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Madrid would only recognise Argentinian independence in 1863, but soon after that, its former colony would surpass it. The opening up of the southern plains, huge immigration and a booming economy meant that Argentines were better off than Spaniards for more than a century.

For so long, Spain’s people went to Argentina in search of opportunity, but now things are the other way round. The collapse of the Argentine economy, particularly from 1975 onwards, was matched by the post-1959 Spanish economic miracle and the Iberian country joining the EU. The gap between the two nations keeps widening, and, as such, more and more Argentines are trying to come to Spain.

Spain has received a lot of coverage for its illegal immigration amnesty, but for Argentines, the “ley de nietos”, or grandchildren law, has been even more influential. This allows the children or grandchildren of those who left during the Spanish Civil War or Francoist dictatorship to apply directly for Spanish citizenship, as well as widening eligibility for many others. The law was interpreted extremely generously, with no evidence of persecution having to be shown. Some 1.5 million applications have come from Argentina, three-fifths of the overall total. With the scheme having a 90 per cent success rate, almost all of these applicants will be Spanish citizens.

The Latin American republics broke away from Spain so that local elites could pursue their own interests, but the fig leaves of national identity soon followed. Rather than the backward Catholic Spaniards, they were rational, enlightened republicans. The triumph of Argentina seemed to prove this, as the mix of Italian and Spanish immigrants who developed the nation did far better than those at home.

This sense of superiority birthed the infamous phrase, “Argentines are Italians who speak Spanish and think they are French.” Various versions of this exist, with the English taking the place of the French or being bolted on as an extra. In any case, the inference is that they are more reasonable or enlightened than the old Spanish system they left. This is the tragedy of Argentinian history: failing to be as successful as the rapacious liberal Anglo-Saxons, they could not escape their Spanish political inheritance. Although many came from Italy, it is often forgotten that the largest city in the Spanish Empire was Naples.

Indeed, the modern concept of Hispanidad, Spanishness in a political context, was birthed in Buenos Aires. There, the Spanish ambassador and writer Ramiro de Maeztu came up with a doctrine of shared Catholicism and historical legacy which he thought could bring the Hispanic world together against both liberalism and communism. He did this because he was perturbed by a nation founded by Spaniards looking not to a shared vision of a Catholic imperial past, but to, in his eyes, the damaging Anglo-Saxon Enlightenment.

This notion never became much more than forgettable Francoist propaganda, but, most importantly, the word Hispanidad still survives with a different meaning. Now, the concept is best described as the growing reality of a Spanish-speaking transatlantic cultural, economic and political world. The globalisation of commerce, people and language has brought Buenos Aires, Madrid and Miami far closer together than de Maeztu could have dreamed. All three cities now offer an economically liberal shared dream of mobile transatlantic elites.

In Buenos Aires, digital nomads rush to take advantage of the cost of living and enjoy its sophisticated urban life, with Peter Thiel being the most recent refugee. In Madrid, rich Argentines flock to one of the poles of Hispanic culture and business. Finally, in Miami, you find the synthesis of American commerce with Latino culture. The World Cup final will be a great exhibition of this cultural world in the second-largest Hispanic nation on Earth.

Such blurred boundaries won’t make the contest any less fierce

When it comes to the football, most of the players on both sides have played in Spain or — like Chelsea’s easily dislikable Enzo Fernández — really want to. As is normal in modern football, most will know each other. Barcelona players make up the core of the Spanish squad, but Lionel Messi is the club’s icon as much as Argentina’s. Such blurred boundaries won’t make the contest any less fierce, as Spanish fans discuss stopping Argentina’s talisman “by the civil or the criminal.”

The Argentinian “freedom fighter” and suspected British agent San Martín is thought to have said, “Let us be free; the rest doesn’t matter.” Clearly, he didn’t foresee this final.