Spain's Transition to Democracy (1975-1982)

Transition Characteristics (1975-1982)

The transition (1975-1982) was the process of dismantling Franco's dictatorship and evolving towards a democratic rule, as expressed in the 1978 Constitution. People wanted to restore civil liberties without diminishing the achieved socioeconomic status. Juan Carlos I and his opening speech marked the first steps towards this goal.

Social Demands: Political and labor groups promoted demonstrations and strikes, demanding freedom, amnesty, and Statutes of Autonomy (specifically for Catalonia and the Basque Country). These actions were met with harsh police repression. ETA attacks provoked a reaction from the extreme right, who demanded a tougher government response. The army, showing its opposition to political change, became a key player. They were also the main victims of ETA attacks as they represented a strong force of nationalism under Franco's regime. The Catholic Church supported the project of peaceful coexistence and encouraged the opposition.

Political Groups: Franco's ruling class was divided between supporters of change within the system and those who remained immobile (the bunker). Opposition groups, in successive alliances, culminated in the Democratic Convergence. This group advocated for a democratic breakdown, meaning the elimination of all Francoist institutions, the formation of a provisional government, and the initiation of a constituent process leading to a democratic regime.

Arias Navarro's Government

This was a Francoist government that proposed a program of limited reforms. It failed to gain the support of the opposition as it remained within the unchanging framework of the Franco regime. The King desired a faster pace of change and relied on individuals who controlled other areas of power. Internal problems within the government and conflicts with the King's interventions led to Arias Navarro's resignation.

Adolfo Suárez's Government

Suárez accelerated the democratic changes. He proposed the Political Reform Act, which regulated free elections for the formation of a bicameral legislature as the repository of national sovereignty. The result was the failure of the opposition groups who had called for abstention, thus abandoning the principle of democratic breakdown.

The aim was to dismantle the Franco system definitively. Suárez changed the Law of Political Associations, legalizing existing political parties. He also recognized the right to strike, abolished compulsory unionism, and regulated freedom of expression and free elections. All this led to opposition from the bunker and part of the army.

Before the June 1977 elections, continuous terrorist attacks aimed to halt the democratic process through a coup. The elections were won by the UCD party, organized by Adolfo Suárez, with a majority vote.

Adolfo Suárez's Second Government - First UCD Government (1977-1979)

The main objectives were to maintain and develop agreements with other political forces to achieve a democratic constitution, the institutionalization of autonomous regions, negotiations with the European Economic Community, improvement of the economic situation, and resolution of the fiscal deficit.

The international economic crisis, triggered by rising oil prices, began to affect Spain. The Spanish economic structure was backward compared to Europe and technologically and financially dependent on foreign powers. This caused inflation to reach 27% in 1977 and unemployment to rise, leading to an increase in social conflicts demanding better salaries and protesting business closures. The economic and political crisis threatened the construction of democracy.

To address these problems, the Moncloa Pacts were signed between the government, political parties, employers, and trade unions. These pacts committed the government to control inflation by reducing expenditure and implementing budget control and tax reform that would tax personal income and businesses. Trade unions committed to accepting greater flexibility in working conditions and limiting wage increase demands.

Demonstrations and public complaints, mainly in Catalonia and the Basque Country, demanded a reform of the country's structure and organization. However, the constitution was not yet approved. Negotiations began with Josep Tarradellas to head the new Generalitat de Catalunya, established by decree.

The 1978 Constitution was the result of consensus among different parties to regulate democratic coexistence and address major political issues: the form of government (monarchy), the definition and construction of the rule of law, and the issue of nationalities and regions. The constitution was approved in a referendum on December 6, 1978.

UCD's Second Government (1979-1982)

After the approval of the 1978 Constitution, elections were held on March 1, 1979, in which the UCD won again. However, abstention increased as the government and the parties were unable to solve the serious problems of the economic crisis and terrorism.

Statutes of Autonomy were negotiated with Basque and Catalan nationalists and approved on October 25, 1979. This reinforced internal conflicts within the UCD party, whose territorial barons wanted autonomy for all regions to be like that of the Basques and Catalans, thus contradicting the government.

The Iran-Iraq war caused a further rise in oil prices, leading to a new crisis that favored an agreement between unions and employers but caused significant problems for vulnerable groups.

Terrorism increased, with a rise in ETA killings and the activity of other groups (GRAPO, FRAP) and far-right organizations. Terrorist violence became the primary political problem. These conflicts were exacerbated by the fact that state bodies (justice, army, etc.) had not yet adapted to the Constitution.

The military accused Suárez of not tackling terrorism effectively and of breaking Spain with his regional policy.

On January 29, 1981, Suárez resigned. As the UCD had a parliamentary majority, his vice president, Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, was nominated as President of the government, which had to be approved by Parliament on February 23.

The Attempted Coup: The attempted coup, involving civilians and military personnel, revealed the fear of civilians and the division within the military. However, the King's swift intervention defeated the coup and reinforced his legitimacy as a savior of democracy. After this event, the sense of military threat against the democratic system diminished.

Calvo-Sotelo's government did not resolve the divisions within the UCD. The problems arising from the sale and consumption of toxic rapeseed oil (causing around 1,000 deaths) and the arrest and execution of three young people mistaken for ETA members eliminated the remaining public support the government had. Calvo-Sotelo joined NATO's military structure and called for elections in October 1982.