Spain closes a cycle of strong growth in its public policy of foreign aid for development, and starts a new period of crisis and fiscal adjustment in which the co-operation strategy must be revised. This article describes the stylized facts that characterize the Spanish Official Development Assistance (ODA). We analyze the geographical, sectorial and instrumental ODA distribution, comparing the different patterns followed by the last two Governments of the PP and the PSOE, and we propose economic policy criteria to design a truly selective and “strategic” public policy of international co-operation.