Francoism and Transition

1 Francoism 1939-1975

1.1 Foundations

Franco became the ruler of Spain after the Civil War (1936-1939):However, Franco had
already concentrated powers within the rebel side during the war:

He was appointed Generalísimo de los Ejércitos (Supreme General of the Armies) in

September 1936. He was also appointed as Head of the State and the Government on
1 October 1936.
Franco was also the only leader of Falange Española y de las JONS.

Francoism rejected the national sovereignty and representative democracy:

There was not any political or trade union freedom.

There was an official Trade Union: Sindicato Vertical, whose members were
workers and employers.

Francoist ideology was known as Movimiento Nacional, whose main principles were:

Fascism:

Falange was conceived as a Fascist party whose main

leader was Franco.
Franco was given the title of Caudillo.

Fascist symbols were adopted, such as the salute,

paramilitary uniforms, or the emblem of the yoke and
the arrows.

Nationalism and centralism:

The statutes of autonomy were abolished as well as
Az88. Yoke and
arrows (CC BY-SA) other languages or flags other than the Spanish.
There were military parades, hymns, and exaltation of
the national flag.
National-Catholicism:

Francoism was legitimised by the Catholic Church since the Civil War was considered
a crusade against Marxist atheism.
Catholicism was the official religion of Spain.

Traditionalism:

The Habsburg Imperial Spain was the model Franco followed.

Liberalism and enlightenment were blamed for the decline of Spain.

Franco had some supporters within Spain:

The Army, the Catholic Church, and Falange. Initially the monarchists also supported
Franco since they thought that monarchy would be re-established.
Landowners, businessmen and bankers also supported Franco. Little by little the
middle class also accepted his regime since they preferred a better standard of living

1.2 Internal policy (1939-1959)

The Post-War period was very hard for Spain, whose reconstruction was extremely slow.
Franco used this period to consolidate the foundations of his new State by passing some
essential laws:
Fuero del Trabajo (1938): It was an act that regulated labour rights. It created the
Sindicato Vertical as a trade union.
Ley de Cortes (1942): This act created a sort of one-house Parliament whose
decisions were strictly advisory.
Fuero de los Españoles (1945): It speaks about the rights of the Spaniards.It involved
the birth of the “organic democracy”, which was the name Franco gave to his regime.
Ley de Referéndum Nacional (1945): This act allowed Franco to call a referendum in
order to vote for any of his proposals.
Ley de Sucesión (1947): Due to this act Spain was considered a kingdom but without a
king. Hence, Franco is appointed Caudillo de España. Franco had the power to
appoint his successor.
Ley de Principios Fundamentales del Movimento (1958): It fixed the main principles of
the national organisation
 Sebastian Dubiel. Valle do los Caídos. Built by republican prisoners (CC BY)

During this period Juan Carlos de Borbón arrived in Spain after the conversations that Franco
and Juan de Borbón held in 1948 on board of the Azor yacht .

This stage of Francoism involved a very hard repression where the followers of the defeated
side in the war were executed without fair trials and many people were jailed. There were more
than 30,000 executions in the early 1940s. More than 250,000 people were in prison due to
their political ideas.

1.3 Foreign policy (1939-1959)

During WWII Spain was officially neutral (non-belligerent), although relations changed as
war did:
Biblioteca Virtual de Defensa. Muñoz Grandes in German Army uniform(CC0)

There was an initial support to the Axis: Franco met Hitler in

Hendaye (France) on 23th October 1940 in order to negotiate
the entry of Spain in the war. Franco demanded the north of
Africa in exchange of joining the Axis.Hitler rejected ceding
those territories to Franco. Spain sent the Blue Division
(División Azul) led by Muñoz Grandes in order to fight with the
Axis in the USSR.
After the German defeat in the USSR, Franco declared the neutrality of Spain and did
not support the Axis any longer.
After WWII Spain was internationally isolated since it was a regime that had been created
with the assistance of the Nazi-Fascist powers: All the ambassadors left Madrid in 1946,
except Portugal, Argentina, Switzerland, and Ireland’s. Spain was not allowed to join the
newly created UN.

Some nations supported Spain: Portugal and Spain signed the Iberian Pact (Pacto Ibérico) in
1942 to give mutual support. Franco signed a protocol with Perón’s Argentina in 1948 so as
to import Argentinean products.

The Cold War in the 1950s was extremely beneficial for Spanish international relations since
the USA sought support against the spread of communism: Spain could join some
international organisms thanks to this new policy: FAO (1950), UNESCO (1952), UN (1955).

There were also some international agreements that Spain signed in this period: A Concordat
was signed in 1953 with the Holy See:
Spain gained its right to present bishops for its dioceses.
In exchange, the Church got tax exemptions, economic support for the clergy, and
control over education.

An essential agreement was signed in 1953 with the USA due to Franco’s anti-communist
ideas:

The USA would guarantee economic and militar support to Spain.

Some American military bases were built in Spain: Torrejón de Ardoz, Morón de la
Frontera, Rota, and Zaragoza.

Bkwillwm. Franco and Eisenhower. Madrid 1959

(Dominio público)
1.4 Autarchy

Between 1939 and 1959 Franco tried

to impose the so-called Autarchy,
which tried to provide products that
could only be produced in Spain. The
State intervened in every economic
matter:

It created the INI (Instituto

Nacional de Industria) in 1941
in order to control the national
production. All the state
industries were part of this
Falconaumanni. Ration Coupon (CC BY-
institution.
SA)
It also created the Instituto
Nacional de Colonización in
1939 to have more agricultural
lands in Spain.
Some services were also nationalised, such as the railway system, which was grouped
in RENFE.
The State also controlled the prices and production of wheat.

This policy had some consequences such as:

there was a decline in agricultural and industrial production, which caused economic
stagnation. Ration Coupons had to be used in Spain until 1951 since there was
shortage of basic products, which led to famine. Black market (straperlo) developed
in order to get those basic products which could not be obtained with the coupons.
Those good increased their price notably.
1.5 Opposition to the regime (1939-1959)

Once the Civil War ended many people were exiled and a Republican government was
created in exile. It was led by Diego Martínez Barrio. This government was fixed in Mexico
City at the beginning and subsequently in Paris.

Monarchists also opposed the regime after WWII since they supported the return of Juan de
Borbón (Alphonso XIII’s son) as his legitimate successor. Don Juan wrote the Manifesto of
Lausanne in 1945, where he denounced Franco’s totalitarianism and demanded the
reestablishment of monarchy as well as democracy.

Within Spain there were also armed groups who hid in the mountains to attack the regime;
they were the so-called maquis. They were around 10,000 guerrilla fighters. They carried out
sabotage and undercover attacks to Francoist targets. They expected a popular uprising
against Franco, but it never existed. Their most important campaign counted on some
international help when the Aran Valley was invaded in 1944 in order to restore the Republic
in Spain (Operación Reconquista de España).
However, this military campaign was not successful due to Franco’s reaction.

1.6 Internal policy (1959-1975)

During this period there were some timid attempts of political opening-up with new acts:
Ley Orgánica del Estado (1966). It created two figures on the top of the political status:
Head of the State and President of the Government. It was allowed to create political
associations.
Ley de Prensa (1966). It was drafted by the minister of Information and Tourism,
Manuel Fraga Iribarne. It relaxed censorship on press.
Ley de libertad religiosa (1967). It allowed worshiping any religion apart from
Catholicism.

The governments of this period were controlled by the so-called

Technocrats, most of who belonged to the Opus Dei. Their main goal
was to promote economic development in order to keep social
stability.
Carrero Blanco's
car after attack Franco’s last years were marked by his succession: The Cortes
appointed Juan Carlos de Borbón as Franco’s successor as King
of Spain on 22nd July 1969. Franco also appointed Luis Carrero Blanco as President of the
Government in 1973 but he was assassinated by ETA on 20th December 1973. After Carrero’s
assassination, Carlos Arias Navarro was appointed as the new President, who promised some
timid political opening-up
.

Francisco Franco died on 20th

November 1975 and was
succeeded by Juan Carlos I,
who was crowned as King of
Spain on 22th November.
Ecorepublicano. Franco and the Prince of Spain (CC BY-SA)
1.7 Foreign policy (1959-1975)

Due to the Cold War the regime of Franco was internationally accepted. There were
negotiations to join the European Economic Community in 1962. However, it was not possible
since it was not a democratic regime.I n 1970 Spain reached a commercial agreement that
granted a reduction in customs duties for trade with the EEC members.

During this period Spain lost its last colonies:

• Spanish Morocco was given back to Morocco in

1956 after the independence of the French
protectorate.
• Due to historical reasons Spain kept Ceuta, Melilla,
the Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, the Peñón de
Alhucemas, the Chafarinas Islands, as well as the
Islet of Perejil.
• Cape Juby (next to the Spanish Sahara) was given
Lencer. Green March map (CC BY- back to Morocco in 1958.
SA)
• Ifni was eventually given back to Morocco in 1963
after a war.
• Equatorial Guinea (Fernando Po, Annobon, and Río
Muni) was granted autonomy in 1967 and it gained its
independence in 1968.

Spanish Sahara was occupied by Morocco during the Green March in October 1975.
The Green March was organised by Hassan II, who sent 350,000 civilians and 25,000
soldiers to occupy the Spanish Sahara. Morocco tried to avoid the UN’s resolution of
self-determination for Western Sahara. As a consequence, in the Agreements of
Madrid

Spain divided the territory between Morocco and Mauritania to avoid a war. However,
the latter relinquished its part in 1979. The Saharan conflict is still unfinished.

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1.8 Opposition to the regime (1959-1975)

There were some major strikes at the Universidad Complutense in 1956, where many
students and professors were subsequently judge

There was a very important meeting of opponents in Munich in 1962, the so-called
Contubernio de Muchich. These opponents agreed on some points to develop in Spain:

Freedom of trade unions, press, association, and expression.

Acknowledgment of regional feelings.
Development of human rights.

They agreed on developing democracy.

During the 1960s strikes became common in the

industrial areas. In addition, the trade union
Comisiones Obreras was founded in 1962. It was
created by the PCE. Shortly after the PSOE and UGT
also reorganised themselves.

After the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) the

Catholic Church was more critical against the
CCOO activists condemned at 1001 Francoist regime.Many Catholic organisations
process (1972)
opposed the regime, mostly at University.

Terrorism grew to attack the regime in some parts of Spain: ETA (Euskadi ta Askatasuna)
was created in 1959 in order to get the independence of the Basque Provinces.

Meanwhile all the clandestine political parties coordinated the establishment of a democracy
in Spain once Franco died.

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1.9 Desarrollismo

Between 1959 and 1975 the new economic period is the so-called Desarrollismo due to the
approval of the

Plan de Estabilización Económica, which was passed in 1959 and involved the end of the
Autarchy:

The government tried to get the economic balance and to reduce the national debt.
Prices and production were deregulated.
The Spanish peseta was strongly devaluated in order to attract foreign
investment.

Salaries were frozen in order to get a competitive workforce.It made many

people migrate to other European countries, who sent back foreign currencies to
Spain, which reactivated the Spanish economy.

The Planes de Desarrollo began in 1964 and let

create industrial hubs across Spain.They involved the
development of leading sectors of economy. Foreign
investment was essential. All economic sectors
improved in this period thanks to these policy:

Pujanak. Seat 600. Symbol of Desarrollismo and the new middle class (Dominio público)

• Agricultural lands grew thanks to the colonization of new areas and the use of new
techniques, such as irrigation, machinery, fertilizers...
• These measures made tourism become a basic pillar of the Spanish economy. The
Spanish GDP grew between 4 and 7% annually.
• Spanish economy modernised during this period and a middle class grew thanks to
these improvements:
However, the growth was not even and made regional imbalances appear. Industry was
mostly concentrated in Madrid and around the coast. Inland Spain remained agrarian and
many people migrated to the industrial areas; it is the so-called rural exodus.

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1.10 Society

Between 1939 and 1975 Spanish

population grew a lot: from 26 million
up to 35.5 million inhabitants.
Nonetheless, during the Post-War
years there was a severe decrease
of the birthrate. There were many
migration movements in Spain and
outside Spain.

There was a massive internal

migration movement in the 1950s and
1960s: the rural exodus More than 4
million people left their homes and
Rodriguillo. Spanish population 1950-1981(Dominio público)
moved to the most industrial or tourist
areas. Some cities grew so quickly
that did not have enough housing and
services. Hence, some slums were
created on the outskirts of these
cities.

External migration took many Spaniards to other European countries in the 1960s and early
1970s. They mostly emigrated to West Germany, France, Belgium, and Switzerland, where
they did the hardest jobs.

A new social structure developed after the 1950s once there was economic development:
The upper class was now held by the bankers and businessmen, not by the
landowners.

A new middle class grew in this period and most of the Spaniards belonged to this
group. Most of them worked in the tertiary sector.
Working class was composed of farmers (who were fewer than before) and industrial
workers, who improved their conditions and had access to buy their own properties.

Compared with 1939s society, spanish society had chaged completely in 1975

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2 Transition to democracy

After Franco’s death, Juan Carlos I was crowned as King of Spain,

who worked to establish a parliamentary monarchy in Spain.
Meanwhile, the opposition parties grouped together in 1976 in an
association called Coordinación Democrática (so-called Platajunta
since it merged both Plataforma and Junta Democrática), which
demanded the dissolution of the Francoist Cortes and elections for
new Constituent Cortes.

SemolaSeminola. The first president was Carlos Arias Navarro, who began some
Adolfo Suárez (CC
opening-up but he did not break up with Francoist laws. There were
BY-SA)
some social conflicts (strikes, terrorism, Montejurra)

When Arias Navarro renounced, the new president was Adolfo Suárez, who was directly
appointed by the King in July 1976. He declared the general amnesty of political prisoners.
He drafted a plan to reform the Spanish politics, whose final act was the Ley para la
Reforma Política, which was ratified in referendum on 15th December 1976 by 94% of the
voters:
It established a democratic system where national sovereignty was essential.
Universal suffrage was established.
The new Cortes should have two houses which should draft a Constitution.

All the political parties were legal, but the PCE (Partido Comunista de España), which was
eventually legalised on Good Saturday of 1977. The most conservative sectors opposed to
this decision since they considered the PCE the worst enemy of the previous regime. Some
other decisions were taken in order to make a real democracy.

But ther were some major problems:

Violence: ETA terrorism and Francoist opposition, who massacred the Atocha labour
lawyers on 24th January 1977.
The Spanish economy was suffering a major crisis:
Unemployment grew rapidly.
The economic growth stopped.

Inflation was really high, since it reached 20-30%.

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After all Suárez’s reforms the first
democratic elections were held on 15th June
1977, when his political party won (UCD:
Unión de Centro Democrático). Hence, he
became the first democratic president after
40 years.

Jorge Suárez Borrajo. 1977 elections

During this government there were also social and economic agreements due to economic
crisis caused by the oil price rise and the high unemployment. The result was the signing of
the Pactos de La Moncloa (25th October 1977) They fixed the principles of the economic
transition, such as wage moderation, employment flexibility, tax reforms, public spending
controls or increase of unemployment benefits. They also acknowledged common rights and
liberties in a democratic system.

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2.1 The Constitution of 1978

The Constitution of 1978 was drafted by a commission of seven deputies of different political
parties in order to make a lasting constitution:

• UCD members: Miguel Herrero de Miñón, Gabriel Cisneros, and José Pedro
Pérez-Llorca.
• PSOE member: Gregorio Peces Barba.
• PCE member: Jordi Solé Tura.

• AP member: Manuel Fraga Iribarne.

• Catalan minority member: Miquel Roca Junyent.

The text of the Constitution was passed by the Cortes Generales on 31st October 1978.
Spanish people ratified the text on 6th December 1978 in a referendum. 87.9% of the people
who voted (67.1%) said yes to this constitution. It was sanctioned by the King Juan Carlos I
on 27 December 1978.

The principles of the Spanish Constitution are:

National sovereignty resides in Spanish people, who delegate their power to those
representatives elected through universal suffrage.
Division of powers:Executive, which is held by the President of the Government (who
is appointed by the Congress of the Deputies).Legislative. It is composed of the Cortes
(Congress of Deputies and Senate). Judicial Power
The form of the State is the parliamentary monarchy.
Rights (both civil and social) and liberties are acknowledged.
There is political pluralism.

There is not any official religion, although it acknowledges that there is a Catholic
majority.
There is a new national organisation based on municipalities, provinces, and
autonomous regions.
Spanish is the common official language. However, it also acknowledges co- official
languages in several parts of Spain:
After the approval of the Constitution the Cortes were dissolved and new elections
were called.

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2.2 UCD government (1979-1982)

The second democratic elections were held on 1 March 1979, whose results were: UCD won
it. But Suárez’s party (UCD) suffered a major internal decomposition. These internal problems
and the political situation made Adolfo Suárez resign on 29th January 1981.

When Calvo Sotelo was to be elected president by the Congress of the Deputies on 23th
February 1981 there was an attempted coup d’état. Antonio Tejero entered the Congress and
kidnapped the deputies for one night. Some major officers supported the coup d’état, such as
Armada or Milans del Bosch. The coup d’état was thwarted and made democracy
consolidate.

El Pais front page 24th february 1981

The government of Calvo Sotelo (February 1981-October 1982) took some important
decisions:
Approval of the Divorce Law in June 1981, which was the first law that allowed people
to divorce in more than 40 years.
All the statutes of autonomy were eventually passed: Galicia on 6th April 1981.
Spain also joined the NATO on 30th May 1982.

A major sport event took place in June 1982 when the Football World Cup was held in
Spain, which opened the country to the world.

On October 1982 PSOE won the elections and Felipe González became president.

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Webgrafía

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