Spanish transition to democracy
Kingdom of Spain Reino de España | |||||||||||
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1975–1982 | |||||||||||
Flag
(1977–1981) Coat of arms
(1977–1981) | |||||||||||
Motto: King | | ||||||||||
• 1975–1982 | Juan Carlos I | ||||||||||
Prime Minister | |||||||||||
• 1975–1976 | Carlos Arias Navarro | ||||||||||
• 1976–1981 | Adolfo Suárez | ||||||||||
• 1981–1982 | Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo | ||||||||||
Legislature |
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28 October 1982 | |||||||||||
Currency | +34 | ||||||||||
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History of Spain |
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Timeline |
The Spanish transition to democracy, known in
The
The end result of the Transition according to Casanova was "at least from 1982 onwards, a parliamentary monarchy, based on a democratic constitution, with a large number of rights and freedoms, the consequence of a complex transition, riddled with conflicts, foreseen and unforeseen obstacles and problems, in the context of economic crisis and political uncertainty."[2] However, as then-prime minister González said later, "the state apparatus was retained, in its entirety, from the dictatorship".[5]
An important characteristic of the Transition was that the most important aspects were adopted by consensus between the governments and the opposition.[6] While often cited as a paradigm of peaceful, negotiated transition, political violence during the Spanish transition was far more prevalent than during the analogous democratization processes in Greece or Portugal, with the emergence of separatist, leftist, fascist and vigilante terrorist groups and police violence.[7][8]
The Re-Democratisation also led to Spain's integration into Europe, a dream of Spanish intellectuals since the end of the 19th century.[9] Previous attempts at democratization included the First Spanish Republic and the Second Spanish Republic.
Political role of Juan Carlos I
General
King Juan Carlos I began his reign as head of state without leaving the confines of Franco's legal system. As such, he swore fidelity to the Principles of the Movimiento Nacional (National Movement), the political system of the Franco era; took possession of the crown before the Francoist Cortes Españolas; and respected the Organic Law of the State for the appointment of his first head of government. Only in his speech before the Cortes did he indicate his support for a transformation of the Spanish political system. This de facto alliance between Juan Carlos and the political forces opposed to maintaining the status quo is considered to be a key part to the success of Spain’s transition to democracy.[10]
The transition was an ambitious plan that counted on ample support both within and outside of Spain.
For the transition to succeed, the army needed to refrain from intervening in the political process on behalf of Francoist elements within the existing government. As Raymond Carr explains,[13]
In containing the right and keeping the army loyal to the government the support of the King, as commander-in-chief of the army, was critical, enabling the government to retire factious generals who regarded it as their duty to maintain the existing constitution.
The King did not initially appoint a new prime minister, leaving in place the incumbent head of government under Franco, Carlos Arias Navarro. Arias Navarro had not initially planned a reform of the Francoist regime; in the National Council of the Movement, an advisory assembly of the ruling FET y de las JONS (Falange) party and other groups in the Movimiento Nacional, he declared that the purpose of his government was the continuity of Francoism through a "democracy in the Spanish way" (Spanish: democracia a la española).[14][15] He believed political changes should be limited: he would give the parliament, the Cortes Españolas, the task of "updating our laws and institutions the way Franco would have wanted".[16]
The reform programme adopted by the government was the one proposed by Manuel Fraga, rejecting Antonio Garrigues' plan to elect a constituent assembly. Fraga's programme aimed to achieve a "liberal democracy" that was "comparable to the rest of the Western European countries" through a "gradual and controlled process", through a series of reforms of the pseudo-constitutional Fundamental Laws of the Realm. This is why his proposal was dubbed as a "reform in the continuity", and his support came mostly from those who defended a Francoist sociological model.[17]
In order for reform to succeed, it had to earn the support of the hardcore Francoist faction known as the
The project coalesced into a proposal to reform three of the Fundamental Laws, but the exact changes would be determined by a mixed commission of the Government and the National Council of the Movement, as proposed by
The Arias-Fraga reform collapsed on 11 June, when the Cortes rejected changes to the Criminal Code, which had previously made it a crime to be affiliated with a political party other than FET y de las JONS.
First government of Adolfo Suárez (July 1976 – June 1977)
Torcuato Fernández-Miranda, the president of the Council of the Realm, placed Adolfo Suárez on a list of three candidates for King Juan Carlos to choose to become the new head of government, replacing Arias Navarro. The king chose Suárez because he felt he could meet the challenge of the difficult political process that lay ahead: persuading the Cortes, which was composed of appointed Francoist politicians, to dismantle Franco's system. In this manner, he would formally act within the Francoist legal system and thus avoid the prospect of military intervention in the political process. Suárez was appointed as the 138th Prime Minister of Spain by Juan Carlos on 3 July 1976, a move that, given his Francoist past, was opposed by leftists and some centrists.
As Prime Minister, Suárez quickly presented a clear political program based on two points:
- The development of a political reform bill, which, once approved by the Cortes and the Spanish public in a referendum, would open the constituent process for creating a liberal democracy in Spain.
- Democratic elections to be held in June 1977 to elect a Cortes charged with drawing up a new democratic constitution
This program was clear and unequivocal, but its realization tested the political capacity of Suárez. He had to convince both the opposition to participate in his plan and the army to allow the process to run uninterrupted, and at the same time needed to bring the situation in the Basque Country under control.[13]
Despite these challenges, Suárez's project was carried out without delay between July 1976 and June 1977. He had to act on many fronts during this short period of time in order to achieve his aims.
The draft of the Political Reform Act (Ley para la Reforma Política) was written by Torcuato Fernández-Miranda, speaker of the Cortes, who handed it over to the Suárez government in July 1976. The project was approved by the Suarez Government in September 1976.[26] To open the door to parliamentary democracy in Spain, this legislation could not simply create a new political system by eliminating the obstacles put in place by the Franco regime against democracy: it had to liquidate the Francoist system through the Francoist Cortes itself. The Cortes, under the presidency of Fernández-Miranda, debated this bill throughout the month of November; it ultimately approved it, with 425 votes in favor, 59 against, and 13 abstentions.
The Suárez government sought to gain further legitimacy for the changes through a popular referendum. On 15 December 1976, with a 77.72% participation rate, 94% of voters indicated their support for the changes. From this moment, it was possible to begin the electoral process (the second part of the Suárez program), which would serve to elect the members of the Constituent Cortes, the body that was to be responsible for creating a democratic constitution.[27]
With this part of his plan fulfilled, Suárez had to resolve another issue: should he include the opposition groups who had not participated at the beginning of the transition? Suárez also had to deal with a third problem: coming to terms with the anti-Francoist opposition.
Relations of the Suárez government with the opposition
Suárez adopted a series of measured policies to add credibility to his project. He issued a partial
Through these and other measures of government, Suárez complied with the conditions that the opposition groups first demanded in 1974. These opposition forces met in November 1976 to create an association of democratic organizations called the Democratic Convergence Platform.
Suárez had initiated political contact with the opposition by meeting with
The PCE, for its part, acted ever more publicly to express its opinions. According to the Communists, the Political Reform Act was anti-democratic and the elections for the Constituent Cortes should be called by a provisional government including members from the opposition. The Communists particularly and the opposition more broadly did not show any enthusiasm for the Political Reform Act. Suárez had to risk even more to involve the opposition forces in his plan.
In December 1976, the PSOE celebrated its 27th Congress in
Relations of the Suárez government with the Spanish army
Adolfo Suárez knew well that the Búnker—a group of hard-line Francoists led by José Antonio Girón and Blas Piñar, using the newspapers El Alcázar and Arriba as their mouthpieces—had close contacts with officials in the army and exercised influence over important sectors of the military. The ever-present threat of a coup d’etat from the hardliners required careful navigation.
To resolve the issue, Suárez intended to support himself with a liberal group within the military, centered on General
Meanwhile, Gutiérrez Mellado promoted officials who supported political reform and removed those commanders of the security forces (the
Suárez wanted to demonstrate to the army that the political normalization of the country meant neither
Resurgence of terrorist activity
The Basque Country remained, for the better part of this period, in a state of political turbulence. Suárez granted a multi-stage amnesty for numerous Basque political prisoners, but the confrontations continued between local police and protesters. The separatist group ETA, which in the middle of 1976 had seemed open to a limited truce after Franco's death, resumed armed confrontation again in October. The time from 1978 to 1980 would be ETA's three deadliest years ever.[28] However, it was between December 1976 and January 1977 that a series of attacks brought about a situation of high tension in Spain.
The Maoist
In the midst of these provocations, Suárez convened his first meeting with a significant number of opposition leaders, who published a condemnation of terrorism and gave their support to Suárez's actions. During this turbulent time, the Búnker capitalized on the instability and declared that the country was on the brink of chaos.
Despite the increased violence by the ETA and GRAPO,
First elections and the draft of the Constitution
- Union of the Democratic Centre(UCD, Unión de Centro Democrático): 34.61% and 165 seats
- Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE, Partido Socialista Obrero Español): 29.27% and 119 seats
- Communist Party of Spain(PCE, Partido Comunista de España): 9.38% and 19 seats
- People's Alliance (AP, Alianza Popular): 8.33% and 16 seats[29]
With the success of the
The Constituent Cortes (elected Spanish parliament) then began to draft a constitution, in the middle of 1977. In 1978, the
Governments of the UCD
Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez's party, the UCD, received a
The clashes among the several factions, inside the party, eroded Suárez's authority and his role as leader. The tension exploded in 1981: Suárez resigned as the head of government, and
While the democratic normalization had succeeded in convincing
First government of Felipe González (1982–1986)
Calvo Sotelo dissolved parliament and called for elections in October 1982. In the 1979 election, the UCD had achieved a plurality, but in 1982, it suffered a spectacular defeat with only 11 seats in the Parliament. The
At the 28th Congress of the PSOE in May 1979, secretary-general Felipe González resigned, rather than ally with the strong revolutionary elements that seemed to dominate the party. A special congress was called that September, and realigned the party along more moderate lines, renouncing Marxism and allowing González to take charge once more.
Throughout 1982, the PSOE confirmed its moderate orientation and brought in the social democrats, who had just broken from the UCD.
Winning an absolute majority in parliament in two consecutive elections (1982 and
Chronology of key events
Date | Event |
---|---|
20 November 1975 | Franco dies |
22 November 1975 | Juan Carlos sworn in as king and Head of State;[32] he pardons 9000 political prisoners.[6] Arias Navarro continues as prime minister. |
January–March 1976 | Democratic protests include 17,455 strikes, 1672 demonstrations and 283 sit-ins as documented by Interior Ministry[33] |
29 May 1976 | Right of Assembly Act[34] allows public demonstrations[21] |
14 June 1976 | Political Associations Act[35] allows political parties[21] |
1 July 1976 | Suarez appointed prime minister, forms new government and announces his intention to create a modern democracy |
19 July 1976 | Penal Code reformed to decriminalise the rights of assembly, association, expression of ideas and freedom of work[36] |
30 July 1976 | Amnesty for some political prisoners (but excludes "crimes of blood")[37] |
18 November 1976 | Political Reform Act[38] passed, which re-establishes democracy |
18 December 1976 | Political Reform Act ratified by referendum |
4 March 1977 | Labour Relations Act[39] legalises right to strike |
18 March 1977 | Electoral Rules Act[40] passed |
1 April 1977 | Trade Union Act[41] legalises the right to organise |
9 April 1977 | Communist Party legalised |
22 April 1977 | European Parliament acknowledges Spain's move to democracy[42] |
14 May 1977 | Don Juan renounces claim to throne[42] |
15 June 1977 | First free election held in Spain since 1936. They have a mandate to write a new constitution |
21 June 1977 | Spanish Republican government in exile dissolves itself |
15 October 1977 | Amnesty Act[43] freed political prisoners, including "crimes of blood" (referring to ETA) and permitted those exiled to return to Spain and guaranteed immunity for those who participated in crimes during the Civil War and in Francoist Spain |
29 September 1977 | Reestablishment of the Generalitat, the autonomous government of Catalonia, the sole institution of the Second Spanish Republic to be reinstated |
25 October 1977 | Moncloa Pacts signed |
6 December 1978 | New constitution ratified by referendum |
29 January 1981 | Suarez resigns as prime minister |
23 February 1981 | Attempted coup d’etat known as 23-F |
30 May 1982 | Spain joins NATO |
28 October 1982 | Socialist government elected |
Notes
- ^ Some historians suggest an earlier date for the conclusion of the Transition[3] including the 1977 general election, the 1978 Constitution, or the 1981 attempted coup. One writer suggests the Transition only concluded in 2006 with the end of consensus politics and the re-emergence of open debate on divisive issues.[4]
See also
- Metapolitefsi
- Portuguese transition to democracy
- Spanish society after the democratic transition
- Sociological Francoism
References
- ^ Colomer Rubio 2012, p. 260.
- ^ a b c d Casanova & Gil Andrés 2014, p. 291.
- ^ Ortuño Anaya 2005, p. 22.
- ^ Tremlett 2008, p. 379.
- ^ Tremlett 2008, p. 142, quoting Felipe Gonzalez.
- ^ a b Aguilar 2009, p. 505.
- ^ Sánchez-Cuenca & Aguilar 2009, p. 429.
- ^ Tremlett 2008, p. 77: "More than a hundred demonstrators, left-wing activists, students and separatists were killed by the police or the ultras, the far right. Many more were killed by ETA and other left-wing or separatist terrorist groups".
- ^ Casanova & Gil Andrés 2014, p. 356.
- ^ Story 1977, pp. 474–95.
- ^ Casanova & Gil Andrés 2014, p. 295,306.
- ^ Carr 1980, p. 173.
- ^ a b c Carr 1980, p. 175.
- ^ a b Tusell 1977, p. 22.
- ^ Ruiz 2002, p. 21.
- ^ Gil Pecharromán 2008, p. 329.
- ^ a b Juliá 1999, p. 215.
- ^ Tusell 1977, p. 19.
- ^ Tusell 1977, p. 21.
- ^ Gil Pecharromán 2008, p. 30.
- ^ a b c Juliá 1999, pp. 215–216.
- ^ Gil Pecharromán 2008, p. 331.
- ^ Juliá 1999, p. 216.
- ^ Tusell 1977, pp. 23–24.
- ^ Ruiz 2002, p. 26.
- ^ "Historia de un Cambio". Ayuntamiento de Dúrcal. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007.
- ^ Jiménez Díaz 2016, pp. 41–58.
- ^ "Acciones Terroristas: Víctimas Policiales de ETA". La Guardia Civil. Archived from the original on 2005-08-16. Retrieved 2005-09-23.
- ^ "Appendix A: Table 2. Selected Election Results for the Congress of Deputies, 1977–86". Country Studies: Spain. Library of Congress.
- ^ Garland 2010.
- ^ Edles & Seidman 1998, p. 104.
- ^ Casanova & Gil Andrés 2014, p. 292.
- ^ Casanova & Gil Andrés 2014, p. 298.
- ^ Right of Assembly Act (17/1976) (in Spanish). 29 May 1976. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ Political Associations Act (21/1976) (in Spanish). 14 June 1976. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ Penal Code Amendment Act (23/1976) (in Spanish). 19 July 1976. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ Amnesty Decree (10/1976) (in Spanish). 30 July 1976. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ Political Reform Act (1/1977) (in Spanish). 4 January 1977. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ Labour Relations Act (17/1977) (in Spanish). 4 March 1977. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ Electoral Rules Act (20/1977) (in Spanish). 18 March 1977. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ Trade Union Act (19/1977) (in Spanish). 1 April 1977. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ a b Casanova & Gil Andrés 2014, p. 306.
- ^ Amnesty Act (46/1977) (in Spanish). 15 October 1977. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
Bibliography
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- OCLC 6555498.
- OCLC 870438787.
- OCLC 31660123. Archived from the originalon 2019-07-12.
- Colomer Rubio, Juan Carlos (2012). "Todo está casi perdonado. A propósito de la Transición, debate historiográfico y propuestas metodológicas" [All is almost forgiven. Regarding the Transition, historiographic debate and methodological proposals] (PDF). Stvdivm. Revista de Humanidades (in Spanish). 18. ISSN 1137-8417.
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- Edles, L.D.; Seidman, S. (1998). Symbol and Ritual in the New Spain: The Transition to Democracy After Franco. Cambridge Cultural Social Studies. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62885-3. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
- Instituto de Empresa. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2016-03-03.
- ISBN 978-84-8460-693-2.
- Gunther, Richard (1993). Politics, society, and democracy. The Case of Spain. Boulder, Co.: Westview Press. OCLC 26591531.
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{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - Ortuño Anaya, Pilar (2005). Los socialistas europeos y la transición española (1959–1977) [European socialists and the Spanish transition (1959–1977)] (in Spanish). Madrid: Marcial Pons. p. 22. ISBN 84-95379-88-0.
- ISBN 84-01-37824-9.
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- Story, Jonathan (1977). “Spanish Political Parties: Before and After the Election” in Government and Opposition (4 ed.). Cambridge University Press. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
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- Sánchez-Cuenca, Ignacio; Aguilar, Paloma (2009). "Terrorist Violence and Popular Mobilization: The Case of the Spanish Transition to Democracy". Politics & Society. 37 (3): 428–453. S2CID 154397192.
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- Historia de un Cambio (in Spanish). Retrieved on August 24, 2006.