The President of the Spanish Government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, has taken part in the “National Prayer Breakfast” in Washington, a bipartisan event organised by members of the United States Congress, giving a speech in which he spoke about Haiti, unemployment and tolerance, issues that the President of the United States, Barack Obama, also touched on in his own speech.
Zapatero said he would speak in Spanish, “the language used in the first prayer to the God of the Gospels in this land”.
He started by talking about how a democrat in Spain, "one of the oldest nations on Earth" views the United States as a country "that understands the value of religious freedom... a nation born from democracy... and which has expanded this into pluralism, tolerance and respect for all opinions and beliefs”.
He then went on to say that, like the United States, “Spain… is a diverse nation, forged from diversity and renewed in its diversity”.
Quoting a comment by the Latin American writer Carlos Fuentes, the President explained that Spain, “is American too” and “the most multicultural of all the lands in
Europe, from Celtic and Iberian Spain through to Phonoecian, Greek, Roman, Jewish, Arab and Christian Spain - and above all Christian".
“Our two countries owe a great deal to those who have come from outside... and who, through coexistence, have today become us”, added Zapatero, before quoting a verse from Deuteronomy which says: “Never take advantage of poor and destitute labourers, whether they are fellow Israelites or foreigners living in your towns”. “We must never stop working to ensure that we properly integrate those who have come to work and live with us in our countries. And let us not forget about those who we cannot help, and who are living in misery in so many places around the world”, he added.
Zapatero then gave the example of Haiti, “whose tragedy has moved us all
to… a solidarity that reminds us that we are all the same in being human, vulnerable and brothers. And this must not be watered down or forgotten”.
He then spoke of another curse, poverty, and announced his “deepest support for those men and women who are suffering, in these difficult times, from unemployment. They must know that there is no job that we, as leaders, feel a greater responsibility for… than to help bring about job creation”.
He also defended “the right of every person, everywhere in the world, to make their own moral decisions, to make their own search for goodness... the freedom of everybody to live with the person they love and to build and care for their family”.
Lastly, he referred to the Alliance of Civilizations and "tolerance, which is much more than accepting others". “Hatred is born out of ignorance, and harmony is built upon understanding. So is peace”, he said.
Zapatero stressed that “Spain has already been an example of coexistence between the three
religions of the Book: Judaism, Christianity and Islam” and today “defends religious tolerance in the world and.... the Alliance of Civilizations”.
“We do this with the same level of conviction with which we reject resolute fundamentalism”, emphasised Zapatero. “The United States knows, as does Spain, that the spurious use of religious faith to justify violence can be
enormously destructive”, said Zapatero, who finished his speech by recalling the victims of terrorism. “What better moment could there be than this Prayer Breakfast for us
to remember, together, our victims of terrorism”.
The President concluded by praising freedom: “Whether in a theoretical or a civic dimension, freedom is always the bedrock of hope”.
“May this quality continue to illuminate America and all of its people”, said the President of the Government in closing.
Zapatero is the first Spaniard to have attended the Prayer Breakfast as a special guest, one of the "most traditional and symbolic events in American society", he said, as he gave thanks for having been invited.
President Obama also took part in the event, saying he was “especially pleased” to see his “dear friend” Rodríguez Zapatero, and asked him to take his best wishes to Spain.
Obama also spoke of Haiti, of the help provided by countries from all over the world and by America, by people of every faith and no faith, united in a single purpose.
“This is what we do, as Americans, in times of trouble", said the President of the United States, lamenting that this same unity could not be mustered for long-term purposes, or to tackle the day-to-day tragedies, "of children without food, men without shelter and families without healthcare”.
He also bemoaned the fact that political culture is not more “serious and civil”, and that it was not possible “to disagree without being disagreeable”.
The subject of the injustices suffered by women and homosexuals in many parts of the world was also discussed during the breakfast. The Democrat senator who presented Zapatero, mentioning that his country was currently at the helm of the EU, praised the similarity between the two country's governments. Hillary Clinton, who gave the main speech, spoke about her efforts to promote equality between men and women during all her travels, and both she and Obama condemned the persecution of homosexuals.
The National Prayer Breakfast is an event privately hosted by members of the United States Congress. It is a meeting that is open to all, regardless of faith or ideological belief, and its objective is to promote dialogue.

• Speech by the President of the Spanish Government at the National Prayer Breakfast