Franco's Spain: Technocrats, Crisis & Final Years

Franco's Regime: Early Consolidation & Technocrats

Franco concentrated power in himself until his death. He was the maximum authority, exercising executive and legislative power. In the governments of 1962-65 and 1969, Opus Dei technocrats reinforced their positions, although they did not achieve full power. This group of technocrats formed, though Carrero Blanco also maintained significant influence over Franco. The technocrats' approach focused on:

• Modernizing the state administration through the approval of laws and the establishment of new ministries and secretariats.
• Completing the institutionalization of the Regime, highlighting the Organic Law of the State of 1967, which recognized the figure of the President of the Government and Head of State. Another novelty was the emergence of the so-called "family solicitors" group in the Cortes.
• Appointing a successor for Franco: Don Juan Carlos.
• The 1966 Press Law, drafted by Fraga, was prominent.

In the later years, a deep internal split opened within the ruling class between the "immobilists" (adherents against informational openness) and the "aperturistas" (those who believed in possibilities for change within the Regime). Both factions were affected by the Matesa Case, an economic scandal in which several Opus Dei ministers were implicated. Foreign policy, led by Fernando María Castiella, attempted to approach Europe and open doors for negotiations. The relationship with the U.S. remained close. In the colonial field, the failed attempt to recover Gibraltar was compounded by the recognition of Equatorial Guinea's independence in 1968 and the transfer of Ifni to Morocco.

Late Francoism: Decline & Crisis (1969-1975)

Its policy was characterized by:

• The decomposition of the Regime, coinciding with the leader's aging, was dominated by a clique of loyalists. The Regime felt betrayed, lost its arbitration capacity, and corruption scandals erupted.
• In 1969, a government emerged dominated by Opus Dei technocrats who achieved some economic success.
• In 1973, Carrero Blanco was appointed President of the Government, but a few months later, he became the victim of an ETA attack, a blow to the Regime's conservatism.
• Carlos Arias Navarro was appointed as Carrero Blanco's successor, as Franco acted under pressure from the El Pardo clique. He began his government program with an aperturista (opening) agenda but soon shifted towards immobilist positions.
• The Regime was very weak internally, while the opposition strengthened. To ETA's terrorist actions were added those of FRAP and GRAPO.
• Arias Navarro responded with a crackdown, and several members of FRAP and ETA were tried by Courts Martial and condemned to death. In the following months, Franco fell seriously ill.

In foreign policy, an approach to Europe occurred with the signing of a Friendship and Cooperation Agreement in 1970. Also, in 1974, dictatorships fell in Portugal and Greece. In 1975, King Hassan II of Morocco convened the "Green March" into the Spanish Sahara. Ultimately, Spain signed a tripartite agreement by which it would withdraw from the Sahara. Franco died in these circumstances on November 20, 1975.