Differentials Updating Language Specific Googles

[handfordr]

i.e. I have a UK sited .com domain with English and Spanish language content.
I was hit badly by Bourbon.
Steps to rectify the situation including new pages have been spotted by google and these pages are now back to pre-bourbon positions well before the next update. (Largely getting rid of affilliate links)

Google.es mirrors this recovery for English language pages / seraches but the Spanish language versions of these same pages are nowhere when you search on Spanish pages only. Pre Bourbon these Spanish language pages were invariably no 1 and what is no 1 now has no relevancy

Anybody know the differentials between Google updating English language and foreign language pages?