Spain's 1959 Economic Plan & CCOO Labor Rise

Spain's 1959 Stabilization Plan

The government aimed to adapt the Spanish economy, stabilize prices, and revive industry. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and U.S. funders supported the new government's economic policy.

Through the Decree-Law of July 21 and July 27, 1959, on foreign investments, and the banking reform of 1962, the following steps were implemented:

• Cutting public expenditure.
• Reforming the Bank of Spain, placing it under the control of the Ministry of Finance.
• Increasing taxes on gasoline and tobacco.
• Devaluation of the Peseta (Pst.).
• Liberalizing trade.
• Limiting credit to private banks.
• Implementing new regulations for foreign investment.
• Creating official credit institutions: the Official Credit Bank, Mortgage Bank, Construction Bank, and Agricultural Credit Bank.

The effects of the Stabilization Plan on the overall economy included:

• Breaking autarkic patterns.
• Immediate improvement in the balance of payments.
• Accumulation of foreign exchange reserves.
• Increase in bank profits.
• Achieving a balanced budget.

Resurgence of the Workers' Movement: CCOO

The repression faced by the labor movement from 1939 to 1957 resulted in the suppression of political and associational activity for most workers. The old underground trade unions, the UGT (which only maintained some active groups in Asturias and Vizcaya) and the CNT (with very few militants), were severely weakened. The Collective Agreements Act of 1958 allowed for the negotiation of working conditions within each company and sector.

September 1964 marked a significant step forward in the stability of these committees in Madrid. An assembly of company liaisons and jurors elected 13 workers to form the Provincial Workers' Commission (Comisión Obrera Provincial) of Madrid. Combining legal and illegal actions, and led from 1966 by the PCE (Communist Party of Spain) and Christian-oriented organizations, the new CCOO (Workers' Commissions) movement spread throughout the country.

From 1967 onwards, the commissions were declared illegal, and many of their leaders were punished. In 1972, the national coordinating body of CCOO was arrested during a meeting in a Madrid church. Christian trade unionism experienced a renaissance during this era. The JOC (Young Christian Workers), HOAC (Workers' Brotherhood of Catholic Action), and others engaged in united action, often alongside Communist militants, within the CCOO framework.