Franco's Final Years and the Spanish Transition to Democracy

Franco's Final Years and the Beginning of the Transition

In 1973, the Franco regime, because of its last gasps, was unable to adapt its structure to the deep political, economic, social, and cultural changes that had occurred in Spain since the 1960s.

On June 8, 1973, Franco left the Presidency of the Government in the hands of Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, remaining as Head of State. Carrero represented the hard line of the Franco regime, which would follow a policy of continuity and guarantee that Juan Carlos did not deviate from the principles of Francoism.

A defining moment of the final crisis opened with the disappearance of Prime Minister Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco (Doc.1), the victim of an ETA attack in December 1973. The system's reaction to this crisis had to conform to the same two political groups: the immobilizers or "bunker", a party to follow the hardest line of the Franco regime, and the "openers", who believed in the introduction of reforms in the system once Franco had disappeared. The "bunker" was formed by old Falangists, the army in its entirety, and the practice of vertical unionism. One of their highest representatives was Velasco (Doc.4). They all spoke of an ideological reset of the system and the possibility of a "Franco without Franco" and were unwilling to tolerate even the small reforms proposed by the government ("...Here we have many things and will spend many more... (...) close the passage to which arrebatarnos want to win.")

The weakening of the political regime coincided with a major economic crisis, caused largely by the oil crisis (1973), due to the rising price of it, and that Spain, which depended entirely on oil, was unable to cope. This caused a massive loss of foreign exchange, withdrawal of foreign capital, reduced tourism, etc. This situation gave rise to a phase of social conflict in Spain, rising unemployment and social inequality. The discontent led to an increase in union activity, which carried out a series of strikes (Doc.2), more numerous and have contributed mightily to the erosion of the regime.

Moreover, the persistence of some interventionist measures hindered the adaptation of the Spanish economy to the crisis. Various controls on prices, foreign trade protection, and subsidies to agriculture and industry were in place. Industry depended on cheap credit provided by the state or the banking system, while continuing to manage INI-making enterprises. (Doc.3)

In July 1974, the PCE created the Democratic Junta in Paris, which integrated personalities and diverse organizations, and made a series of requests such as the formation of a provisional government, amnesty for political prisoners, and the legalization of political parties (Doc.5).

These objectives would eventually be achieved through the transition, the key period in the history of Spain, which began with the proclamation of Juan Carlos I as King of Spain after Franco's death in November 1975 and ran until the full consolidation of democracy.

The Transition to Democracy

The monarch's aim was to establish a modern democracy in Spain and decided to remove Prime Minister Arias Navarro, since he did not consider him the right person, being closer to the "bunker" than to immobilizing reformism. In June 1976, the king appointed Adolfo Suárez as President of the Government. Juan Carlos' plans for democratization opened two possible pathways: "Rupture", which was defended by the opposition forces, including the PCE, which consisted of forming a provisional government in the style of the Pact of San Sebastián, and "Reformer", which spoke of democracy coming from reform. The latter was chosen, and thus the way the government of Suárez, during July and August 1976, dedicated to drafting a Law for Political Reform.

In November, the Francoist Cortes approved the Law for Political Reform, which among other issues, recognized the sovereignty of the people and a new composition of these courts, which would be bicameral and elected by universal suffrage (Doc.7). This Court, on the same day, would vote for its dissolution, so that it passed into history with the name of "Harakiri".

Once this law was approved in the courts, the government began the process to legalize trade unions and political parties, as well as the dissolution of the National Movement, which were being achieved throughout 1977 and which were essential to hold elections and thus form the first democratic government since the Civil War.