age old bureaucracy, coupled with a very hierarchical mindset (the spanish monarchy protocol was famous for its complexity) - what do you expect?

as david landes notes in his quite brilliant book, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations, exactly this mindset ruined Spain, Latin and South America. While the USA took off like a rocket.

if you think that modern times have no relation to the past come visit spain and try to get internet installed in your flat. colleagues in barcelona fought for 12 months...