Madrid: Reaffirming Its Clout

In 2015, four new Google Campus locations will provide physical forums for nurturing startups through networking and mentorship. One of these will be in Madrid and comes as a sorely needed vote of confidence in Spain's shaken economy.

Madrid has held a vital position as the financial and political heart of the nation since becoming the Spanish Empire's ruling center in the late Middle Ages. Sadly, the city was ravaged by the 1930s Spanish Civil War. The next three decades were a bloody, oppressive dictatorship under Generalissimo Francisco Franco. This self-proclaimed totalitarian's initial policy of autarky further damaged the war-crippled economy until Franco bowed to pressure, allowing international trade. A golden era called "the Spanish Miracle" followed, bringing an unprecedented rate of industrial development and an influx of workers to Madrid. Spain continued on its upsurge, entering the European Union in 1986 and the eurozone in 1999. Then, the recent worldwide market crash almost annihilated Spain's economy, nearly taking down the euro with it.

In January 2014, the European Central Bank breathed a sigh of relief as Spain announced it was exiting the international bailout program, having used only $56.6 billion of the $137 billion line of credit. Its 2014 GDP growth rate of 0.6 percent was positive for the first time in several years. Foreign investors are back, cautiously hunting for bargains. Nevertheless, with the unemployment rate holding at 26 percent, it's a long road to recovery from the double-dip recession.

馬德里：不思議的影響力

2015 年時，四座新的 Google 創業校園將提供實體論壇，透過人際網絡與師徒制來培育新創公司。其中一座將設在馬德里，這對於西班牙搖搖欲墜的經濟正是一張迫切需要的信任票。
在中世紀後期成為西班牙帝國的統治中心以來，馬德里就是國家的金融與政治核心，佔有舉足輕重的地位。不幸的是，這座城市遭 1930 年代的西班牙內戰蹂躪。接下來的 30 年，則是弗朗西斯科．佛朗哥大元帥充滿血腥與高壓的獨裁統治。自詡為極權主義者的佛朗哥，起初所採取的封閉政策進一步破壞了遭戰爭摧殘的經濟，這項政策一直到佛朗哥屈服於壓力而開放國際貿易才告終。之後則是一段被稱作「西班牙奇蹟」的黃金時期，為馬德里帶來空前的產業發展速度和大量湧入的工作人口。西班牙持續崛起，於 1986 年加入歐盟，又在 1999 年加入歐元區。不過最近的全球市場崩盤卻幾乎毀掉西班牙的經濟，差點連歐元都一併葬送。
2014 年一月時，歐洲央行鬆了一口氣，原因是西班牙宣佈退出國際紓困方案，在 1,370 億美元的信貸額度中只使用了 566 億美元。該國 2014 年的國內生產毛額成長率為 0.6%，是這幾年來首度出現的正成長。外資紛紛回流，謹慎地尋求搶進低點。儘管如此，在失業率仍維持 26% 的情況下，要從二次衰退中恢復，西班牙還有很長的路要走。