Francoist Spain: Organic Law and Political Structure

Article 6 and the Organic Law of the State

The text reproduces most of Article 6 of the Organic Law of the State, published in the Official State Gazette on January 10, 1967, during the full development of the second phase of Franco's Spain, which covers the years from 1959 to 1975, the year Franco died.

The Nature of the Francoist Dictatorship

This section of the Act demonstrates explicitly the little respect the Franco regime had for the rule of law that characterized the parliamentary democracies of Europe at the time. The Franco dictatorship is a dictatorship that:

• Recognizes national sovereignty in a limited way.
• Does not accept the division of powers; for Franco, executive power was exercised beyond the legislature and the judiciary.
• Lacks a true constitution. Although the State Act of 1967 was presented as the definitive Spanish Constitution, it was not legitimate because it was adopted by undemocratic courts that had no authority to create a rule of law.

After the Civil War, Spain introduced an ex-military dictatorship with fascist tendencies; that is, it was far from being a democratic or communist parliamentary system. It deleted the Republican Constitution of 1931 and banned political parties, unions, and the Statutes of Autonomy of Catalonia and the Basque Country. Franco assumed full powers as Head of State, Prime Minister, Head of the only party, and Generalissimo of the Armies.

The Fundamental Laws of the Regime

The regime was based on several Fundamental Laws:

• Fuero del Trabajo (1938): Established the unions and prohibited strikes and labor demands.
• Ley de Cortes (1942): A collaboration tool for the legislative work of the Head of State.
• Fuero de los Españoles (1945): A declaration of rights, provided they did not clash with the fundamental principles of the state.
• National Referendum Act (1945).
• Law of Succession (1947): Established that the Spanish State was constituted as a Kingdom. In the following years, an agreement was reached with Juan de Borbón so that his eldest son, Juan Carlos, would be educated in Spain. In 1969, before the Spanish courts, Juan Carlos de Borbón swore allegiance to the principles of the Movement, receiving the title of Prince of Spain.
• Law on the Principles of the Movement (1958): A synthesis of all the above laws.

The Rise of Technocrats and Opus Dei

In 1957, the stage of the Opus Dei technocrats as ministers began. Franco emphasized the goal of liberalizing the Spanish economy by opening it to foreign markets. These technocrats were more interested in economic progress than in politics.

In the early 1960s, Franco assigned key economic ministries to members of Opus Dei. Their numbers increased by 1969, leading to what can be described as a monochrome government due to the control of Opus ministers over sectors like education, information, and justice.

The Final Years and the Transition

In 1973, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco served as President of the Government, while Franco remained Head of State. The economic and social changes that occurred during the 1960s were not accompanied by political changes within the regime.

Franco died after a long illness in November 1975. Juan Carlos occupied the position of Head of State, as established in the Law of Succession. With this, Spain would eventually become a parliamentary monarchy through a reform process.