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    Spain's Socialist Leader Sets A New Course On Migrants, Gender And Catalonia

    After the conservative administration was forced out, Pedro Sánchez formed a cabinet with a record number of women, opened ports to refugees and even tweeted in Catalan to make amends with its leader.
    by Jessica Jones Jul 09, 2018 7 minutes
    Spain's new cabinet has 11 women to six men.

    In a matter of a few days, Pedro Sánchez, the 46-year-old leader of Spain's Socialist party, has gone from unpopular-at-the-polls lawmaker to prime minister of the fourth-largest economy in the eurozone.

    He was sworn in on June 2, after leading a no-confidence vote in parliament on May 31 that pushed out former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, as corruption allegations badly tainted the administration's center-right Popular Party.

    Now, with little more than a month in office, Sánchez has wasted no time in trying to put the country on a new, more liberal course following 6 1/2 years under conservative Rajoy.

    His agenda, so far, has included immigration and gender issues, as well as addressing a painful chapter under Gen. Francisco Franco's 1939-1975 dictatorship — which are "symbolic" themes for Spaniards, said Sandra León, an expert on Spanish politics at the University of York in England.

    "These areas may be good because they are likely to gather public support and do not represent a budgetary liability," León said.

    Sánchez's fast rise to the top of government came as a surprise to many in Spain. In 2016, he led the center-leftby the party in May 2017.

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