Op-ed: Spanish central bank confirms recession

The Bank of Spain officially confirmed yesterday that Spain has entered a recession. Cristóbal Montoro also used the term for the first time. The word "recession" signifies that an economy's GDP has contracted for three consecutive quarters.

Spain now joins other European countries that are being hit hard by the W-shaped recession -- a recession followed by a slight rebound and another deep recession. Two main problems are plaguing Spain: the need to trim national debt and difficulties creating employment.

United States Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Tuesday that they way to combat unemployment is to grow rapidly.

This is precisely Spain's problem. As long as we do not grow, we will struggle to create jobs and fail to reduce debt.