Spain’s Transition to Democracy: 1975-1978
The death of Francisco Franco marked the beginning of a new historical stage: the transition to democracy, which aimed to prevent social division. To this end, the Crown garnered the support of anti-Franco sectors. However, the tension between supporters and opponents caused instability.
Following the dictator’s death, institutional mechanisms led to Prince Juan Carlos being named King of Spain on November 22, 1975.
The new monarchy was born protected (legitimate) by Franco himself, thus ensuring the control of state institutions.
In his coronation, Juan Carlos I expressed his willingness to establish a peaceful monarchy, initially reassuring Franco by placing Arias Navarro as Prime Minister.
The King put Torcuato Fernández-Miranda in front of the Parliament and Council, and required Arias to include in his government some figures of Francoist reformism (Manuel Fraga) or openness (Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo), as well as Adolfo Suárez and Rodolfo Martín Villa.
Juan Carlos I bet on a democratic, constitutional, and parliamentary monarchy. Reforms were not supported by the right and left.
The evolution of events showed the need for a consensus. Then, Arias Navarro initiated a reform that proved inefficient.
Protests, unrest, and strikes increased instability.
Navarro reacted to this situation in an authoritarian manner, sparking clashes in Vitoria and Montejurra.
Under these circumstances, the King forced the resignation of Arias Navarro and appointed Adolfo Suárez as Prime Minister.
The opposition interpreted the appointment as a setback for the reform process. However, Suárez argued that this was not his intention, demonstrating his democratic ideals.
To make his intentions more credible, he granted amnesty and contacted the opposition.
The process concluded with the adoption of the Political Reform Act, creating bicameral Cortes elected by universal suffrage.
Suárez called a national referendum for the people to express their opinion, with a favorable outcome.
A crucial step in establishing democracy was the legalization of political parties: in 1976, the PSOE was legalized, and a year later, the PCE (Spanish Communist Party).
The situation worsened; however, Suárez continued to negotiate with the opposition, implementing measures including the cancellation of Francoist institutions, the extension of the amnesty, and the call to elect the Constituent Cortes.
When political pluralism was ensured, the parties prepared to participate in the first democratic elections since the Second Republic.
Thus, on June 15, 1977, the Spanish chose moderation: UCD (Unión de Centro Democrático) won most of the elections, followed by the PSOE.
The PCE suffered a major defeat, while AP (Alianza Popular) was hampered by its relationship with Franco. The far right was removed from Parliament.
Meanwhile, nationalists achieved results that indicated a future role in the political life of Spain.
In the social sphere, a consensus was needed to support a new constitution, whose complexity stemmed from the differing views of the editors: The UCD suggested that a group of experts draft the text, the PSOE declared itself Republican and demanded that extensive rights be included, the right and the communists had a lesser role, Catalanists intervened as mediators and demanded the territorial organization of the state, and, finally, the Basques expressed their desire for national sovereignty.
After the 1977 Elections
After the 1977 elections, Suárez formed a new government with great political pluralism but placed his henchmen in the most decisive positions, such as Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado.
Before the courts, the King called for collaboration from all to achieve democratic coexistence.
However, the Government and Parliament had to deal with regional, economic, and public order problems.
To create a constitution of social peace, social conflicts were neutralized by the Moncloa Pacts, which aimed to achieve stabilization of the transition process to a new democratic system and economic policy.
However, there were public order conflicts, the most severe associated with ETA.
The constitution was influenced by three schools of thought:
- Liberalism: defending individual rights, division of powers, and acceptance of the rule of law.
- Democratic Socialism: accepting the capitalist economy and giving the state the opportunity to promote measures to correct and eliminate inequalities.
- Christian Humanism: freedom and democratic legitimacy through universal suffrage.
Initially, the main work was carried out by a commission of seven people (three from UCD, one from the PSOE, a Catalan nationalist, a communist, and one from AP).
The constitution was approved in the House of Representatives in July 1978 with a large majority.
In the Senate, the consensus was not achieved because Basque nationalists tried to join.
In October, the constitution was passed in a Congress-Senate session.
On December 6, 1978, a national referendum was held, with a favorable outcome, opposed only by some sectors of the extreme left and right, and the Basques.
Structure of the 1978 Constitution
It has 11 titles, 169 articles, plus additional, transitional, and derogatory provisions:
Title I: rights and freedoms, non-denominational state, abolition of the death penalty, unclear legislation on abortion, and strengthening freedom of education.
Title II: refers to the monarchy (the organ of state with a parliamentary, moderator, and arbitration role), which is given symbolic and representative functions and less power than in other European countries.
Titles III and IV: refer to the legislature and executive. The system divides the bicameral Congress of Deputies and Senate. To elect representatives, it recognizes the right to vote for those over 18 years of age, with the Congress elected by a proportionally attenuated system while the Senate remains a majoritarian system. Formulas are due to direct democracy, such as referendums (consultative) and organic laws that require an absolute majority. It has a preventive trend, settling votes of censure.
Titles VI and VII: address issues of social and economic status.
Title VIII: deals with the territorial organization of the state, mostly. It reached a conclusion based on autonomous regions. To satisfy Catalonia, the Basque Country, and Galicia, it uses the term “nationality,” which does not involve claims of a political break.
Assessment of the Transition
The transition was a political process through which Spain moved from dictatorship to democracy after Franco’s death, in an international context of expanding democracy.
Adolfo Suárez’s government dismantled Franco’s structures from within: “From law to law,” as Fernández-Miranda said. He did so, pushed by the opposition and after Arias Navarro failed in his attempt to revise the Franco regime.
The 1978 Constitution was the result of a consensus that had been established in national political life. It closed the chapter of the Civil War, opposing the two Spains. The constitution protects a system of liberty through a triple procedure: the Constitutional Court, the Judiciary, and the Ombudsman.
The 1978 Constitution is a virtually unchanging text, which has not been modified to this day.
The constitution is influenced by the constitutions of 1812 and 1931 and includes solutions such as the vote of censure, innovative issues such as the Ombudsman, and the protection of individual rights and public freedoms by the Constitutional Court.
It facilitated the inclusion of Spain in the international arena.
The last two decades in the history of our country have led to the strengthening of democracy, the great triumph of the transition.