Spain’s Political Transition to Democracy

Posted on Feb 7, 2025 in History

The Political Transition to Democracy in Spain

Political transition refers to the process of dismantling the dictatorship that followed the death of Franco. This process culminated in the establishment of a democratic regime. The 1978 Constitution is the legal expression of this political change.

The Role of Anti-Francoism in the Transition

On November 22, 1975, Juan Carlos I became Head of State, with the title of King. Arias Navarro was confirmed as Prime Minister, with a new monarchical cabinet including Fraga and Jose Maria de Areilza. This new government proved unable to carry out any democratic reform, going no further than passing a law on the right of assembly or association, without political parties.

The democratic opposition took vindictive protests, defending a democratic breakdown. This was a unitary alternative among all the anti-Franco forces (Assembly of Catalonia in 1971, Democratic Junta, and Democratic Convergence Platform).

Mobilizations

  • Claims of freedoms, amnesty, and autonomy.
  • Political prisoners of the Franco regime.
  • Labor conflicts.

The Political Reform

The so-called “immobile” had no choice but to accept police repression or the action of paramilitary bands and violent acts. However, reformers, altered by the response of the anti-Franco opposition and concerned about the inability of the Arias government, with the approval of the monarchy itself, strove to move the government towards reform.

The reform project involved change from existing laws, seamlessly. On June 30, 1976, Arias Navarro was forced to resign. Replacing Arias was a young reformist, Adolfo Suarez, who connected with the claims of the Crown. This led him to formalize contacts with the democratic opposition and to make some significant decisions.

He proposed a Political Reform Bill, which was adopted on November 18, 1976, by Franco’s own courts. The Law for Political Reform (LRP) proclaimed:

  1. Democracy
  2. Popular sovereignty
  3. Congress of Deputies and Senate
  4. Universal suffrage
  5. Inclusion of political parties.

This marked the beginning of the dismantling of the dictatorship. Its existence before the law was a complex process. The factors that made this possible were:

  1. The force of reform from the monarchy.
  2. The support of most attorneys in court for the proposal not to hold accountable those involved in the dictatorship and maintaining the illegality of the communist left.

In short, the transition represented a safe path, which was only denied by the *bunker* (hard-line Francoists).

The Democratic Elections

This period saw the gradual legalization of political parties and trade unions, freedom, and the dismantling of Francoist organizations. This provoked violent actions from ultra-right groups and terrorist groups such as GRAPO or ETA. The Communist Party was legalized on April 9, 1977. Elections were announced for June 1977.

Candidates:

  • Unión de Centro Democrático (UCD): Adolfo Suarez
  • Alianza Popular (AP): Fraga
  • PSOE: Felipe Gonzalez and Alfonso Guerra
  • Spanish Communist Party (PCE): Santiago Carrillo

The elections on June 15 gave victory to UCD. The PSOE became the second political force, while the PCE remained far from their expectations, and AP barely made gains.

The Constitution of 1978

The left won significant parliamentary representation, making it necessary to address a constitutional process. It was decided to develop a consensus text among parliamentary forces. To do so, a seven-member constitutional panel was formed.

The result was a constitutional text declaring Spain a “social and democratic state of law,” organized as a parliamentary monarchy. The Crown had representative functions, and the army was subject to civilian power. It declared the non-denominational character of the state, abolished the death penalty, and included a comprehensive chapter on social and economic rights.

The Constitution enshrined the right to autonomy of nationalities and regions, and recognized Castilian and other Spanish languages as official. It constituted a politically progressive constitution.

Approved by Congress and the Senate, it was submitted to a public referendum on December 6, 1978, and subsequently enacted. Shortly after, the sections were dissolved, and new elections were called in 1979.