Spain's envoy for change

IN THE FACE OF TERRORIST attacks by Basque separatists last year, Spain's Pedro Zerolo spoke about serenity of the soul and spirit. When he was called a faggot by supporters of the conservative People's Party, Zerolo, the openly gay executive secretary of the Spanish Socialist Party, spoke of pride and equality.

Zerolo sounded his call for a new progressive age on a recent trip to Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay in late May. Throughout his tour the 48-year-old former lawyer and activist, identifiable by his nest of unruly cuffs and stylish outfits, urged political leaders to support same-sex marriage, as Spain does.

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"Courage is at the heart of liberty, equality, and fraternity," Zerolo told a group of gay leaders in Buenos Aires. "It takes courage to recognize our dignity, courage to recognize our rights. It will take courage to make [Argentina] more decent, modern, and forward-looking."

Zerolo, a top adviser of Spanish president Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, met with Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and urged her to "step into the future" by legalizing same-sex unions and allowing gay parents to adopt children.

In Paraguay he met with president-elect Fernando Lugo, a former bishop, to promote gay marriage.

Zerolo was born in Venezuela of Spanish parents who fled Spain's oppressive regime of Francisco Franco in the late 1950s. He has said that while he considers himself a proud Spaniard, his heart "has been torn" between South America and Spain.

He is a polarizing force in his adopted country. A tireless advocate for Zapatero's government and an inexhaustible defender of the left-leaning Socialist Party, Zerolo is often mocked on Spanish television for his affable and direct speaking style. His language is grandiose and overwrought, as when Zerolo described the president's era as a time when he's never had so many "orgasms"--not only induced by his husband but also by "Zapatero's democratic orgasms."

In Buenos Aires, Zerolo's rhetoric was comparatively muted. He told journalists that Argentina and Spain were involved in a "romance" in terms of their relations and that both countries must "take advantage of [this] optimal moment."

"I'm here," Zerolo said, "to bring joy and equality for men and women in Spain and throughout South America."

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COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning