Spain’s Transition to Democracy: Analysis of Key Historical Documents
The Message of the Crown
We find ourselves with “The Message of the Crown”, the first speech of Don Juan Carlos de Borbón as Head of State. It is, therefore, a contemporary primary source document of its time. Occurring two days after Franco’s death, it left behind 36 years of a totalitarian, perpetual, and personal dictatorship. Don Juan Carlos wrote this speech and sent it to the Francoist courts; it is addressed to the Spanish people. The nature of the topic is political, and that same year (1975) began the transition to democracy in a context of tension and stress caused by ongoing strikes, demonstrations, terrorist attacks, and so on. The purpose of this paper is to reassure the army and the Catholics (aliphatic powers). As for the author, Don Juan Carlos is the son of Don Juan and grandson of Alfonso XIII. He was 48 when there was a request by Franco, thanks to the agreement he made with Don Juan. So in 1947, the Law of Succession was established. Juan Carlos was not Franco’s designated successor until 1969, when he was 31.
The main theme of the text is the King’s desire to publicize his political agenda, which was based on consensus: a democratic monarchy.
First, we see that he refers to “that time full of excitement and hope.” In this part, he refers to assuming his responsibility for the Spanish crown, but really the dynastic right belonged to his father. For this reason, he is excited; in turn, he is moved by the death of Franco, and a change was coming.
This dynastic jump occurred because Franco could choose his successor. During the Second Republic, Alfonso XIII named his son, but Franco decided, through a pact, to proclaim Don Juan Carlos as his successor. Don Juan was not chosen due to the Laussane Manifesto, in which he offered himself as an alternative to the Franco regime.
Later, he refers to “a new stage in the history of Spain,” referring to an agreed break. The problems he had were that Franco did not accept it because he wanted the dictatorship; the royalists did not believe that he was competent for that position, preferring to continue the lineage with Don Juan; and finally, the opposition was afraid of continuity. However, with this agreed break, the King contented everyone. With the help of Adolfo Suárez and Torcuato Fernández Miranda, during his administration, he secretly negotiated with the opposition, making them resign from republicanism, social revolution, independence, etc., in exchange for amnesty and the Political Reform Law. On the other hand, Adolfo Suárez engaged Catholic and Francoist ministers in his government. So he pleased everyone, getting a reform within the Francoist legality.
Here, we speak of an “effective consensus,” referring to the various reforms that were made during the transition stage, including political, electoral, and fiscal reforms, prioritizing the legalization of autonomous states. At this stage, 13 pre-autonomies were legalized, the Generalitat was recognized, nationalist symbols were allowed, etc., but without leaving the indissoluble unity of Spain. On the same theme, he mentions the “Unity of the Kingdom” because Spain is going to be unified but decentralized, as opposed to the dictatorship. In this new scheme, the army would occupy political neutrality and external defense. Also, the church would be separated from the state, and it is now non-denominational (although most of the nation is Catholic).
When he speaks of “guardian of the constitutional system,” it means that there will be a constitution, which made Spain a parliamentary monarchy, always seeking democracy.
The “Recognition of social and economic rights” is because he ignores the political and recognizes the economic and social rights of the Spanish, thus appeasing the labor movement and stopping the strikes and demonstrations that they carried out. We mention the material goods that we can enjoy, among them health, urban planning, and security, achieving the welfare state.
Finally, the King made a political transition towards democracy despite the limited powers the Constitution gives him. His position was specifically ceremonial and representative. His role was strengthened in the disaster of 23-F, the same day as the failed coup by Fernando Tejero. Today, he has the majority support of the Spanish and has earned international recognition.
In my opinion, the message of the crown was really important because it served to calm and reassure Spanish society during the transition. The great merit was to achieve the transition from a dictatorship to a democracy without provoking civil strife again, as in the past. Thus, Spain regained freedoms, and our country approached the rest of the European democratic states.
Integration in Europe
Under Franco, Spain could not be fully integrated into the main military-political and economic structures of the Western world because, during the 1940s, there was a period of international isolation. Franco was in line with Fascism and established friendship with the Axis (Hitler and Mussolini). However, in 1953, Spain established a friendship with the U.S. because Franco had declared himself anti-communist in a historical context of the Cold War, where the USA (liberals) faced Russia (communists). Thanks to this, in 1955, Spain was admitted to the UN. Subsequently, on March 25, 1957, the Treaty of Rome established the EEC (European Economic Community), which would become the EU, aimed at establishing free trade and a trend of economic and political unity.
In 1959, the Stabilization Plan was established. A new economic team, composed of members of Opus Dei as skilled technocrats, aimed to improve knowledge about the economy and relations with international banks to stop autarky. So in 1962, the Spanish government negotiated with Castiella to join the EEC but was rejected by the European Parliament and the Congress of Munich. Later in 1970, a preferential trade agreement and specialized training of staff were established. In 1977, the transition took place, where Adolfo Suárez planned to enter the European Community. So Oreja Aguirre sought entry, but we were in a time of economic crisis. Later, in 1979, negotiations began that stretched long enough for the governments of Adolfo Suárez, Calvo Sotelo, and then finally Felipe González.
But there were a number of problems. Structural reforms were made to gain entry into the EEC; therefore, this involved social costs, as it had to be unanimously negotiated by consensus with the French opposition. Spain had a strong agricultural sector (Spain produced a lot of cereal, olives, etc.) and fishing, but the EU had established production limits, so these sectors were cut. On the other hand, the steel industry was highly polluting, and so they had to close because it was not profitable to invest in new machinery. To do so, restructuring aid was given. On the other hand, in order to join the EEC, Spain should be equivalent to the management rules and the interest rate and taxes, curb inflation, the public deficit, and public debt.
However, during the government of Felipe González, favorable events occurred. In 1981, Socialist Mitterrand’s rise to the French Presidency supported the entry of Spain into the EU since both governments were socialist. On the other hand, in 1983, Morán, a government minister under Felipe González, made efforts at the European Council to expand the number of members in it. He also linked the increase in EU funds to expand and accept the accession of Spain and Portugal. Subsequently, on June 12, 1985, the Act of Accession was signed in Madrid after adopting solutions for the agricultural, livestock, fishery, and industrial sectors and overcoming the problems with France over wine and fishing. After January 1, 1986, there was a cash income to benefit economic modernization to invest. We agreed to cohesion and solidarity; there was a push for technology and better quality, value, and recognition, established by the EU to establish a balance. Then in 1987, the Single European Act was made, which recognized the free movement of persons, capital, and merchandise. Then in 1992, the Maastricht Treaty meant commercial, political, economic, and monetary union.
To belong to the EU, Spain had to endure some sacrifices, such as budget cuts in order to eliminate the deficit, a salary adjustment to avoid inflation, and finally, the privatization of public enterprises and revenue gains.
On the other hand, regarding the entry of Spain into NATO, the history of this fact dates back to the World Wars. In both, Spain was neutral because they were in a post-war situation in both events. However, during World War II, Spain collaborated with the Axis (Hitler and Mussolini) by sending the Blue Division (a body of soldiers sent to collaborate with Hitler). Spain had established a friendship with the U.S. because Franco had declared himself anti-communist in a historical context of the Cold War, in which the Americans (liberals) were faced with the Soviets (communists). Later, during the Transition, Adolfo Suárez initially declared neutrality during the Cold War with Latin America and Arab countries. Years later, in Calvo Sotelo’s government, he committed to integrating Spain into the EU, but there was opposition at the national level by the PSOE and PCE, calling for a referendum to let the people decide. Internationally, it was opposed by the USSR because it stated that it broke the equilibrium of the balance block. However, Sotelo got us into NATO at a delicate time in those years since the Soviet invasion took place in Afghanistan and the policy of deploying new missiles in both blocs in Europe, in addition to numerous military bases throughout Europe. Following October 28, 1981, the accession of Spain into NATO was approved, which included the participation of key figure Pérez Llorca. Years later, in 1986, during the government of Felipe González, a referendum was called, and for that, he invested in media propaganda to defend the permanence in NATO. Saying yes, as proposed by the Socialist government, but remained involved to accept three conditions: non-integration into their military structure, the denuclearization of the Spanish territory, and the gradual reduction of the U.S. military presence in our country. As “yes” triumphed, Spain participated in humanitarian missions. In 1995, Javier Solana (Socialist) was NATO Secretary, and finally, Aznar joined the military structure in order to participate in the Cold War.
The Constitution of 1978
We are faced with “The Constitution of 1978”, a constitutional text, a primary source contemporary with the events described. It is about the 1978 Constitution, a written document that lists the laws and rights of the inhabitants of a nation. It meant the legal framework of democracy, was approved by referendum on December 6, and promulgated on December 29, 1978. It is part of the historical period of the Transition, which led to Spain’s transition from dictatorship to democracy. A paper prepared by the Congress, composed of representatives of different political parties. For this reason, its production accounted, for the first time in the history of Spain, for a negotiation, the result of a national covenant. This led to the Spanish nation, and it is, therefore, publicly available.
This constitution is the law that made possible the creation of a new democratic state and designed the Spain of autonomies.
The main theme of this paper is to present the content of the Constitution of 1978, which seeks a rule of law, progress toward democracy, establishing “National Sovereignty” (power is held by the people). Unlike the Franco dictatorship, in which there was no constitution, but some institutions for advice, and all the powers resided in the dictator.
It is noteworthy that there were some problems regarding the form of government, which during the dictatorship was unitary and centralized, but it was decided to create a parliamentary monarchy with a unitary system but decentralized (thus ending the problems of nationalities) by recognizing the rights of autonomy. Then there’s the problem with the state model: monarchy (left) and republic (right). But finally, they opted for the monarchy, with the consent of the Republicans, who thought they took precedence over democracy, but at the same time feared the Spanish army, which favored the King and the monarchy.
In terms of content, it is known that it consists of 169 articles, a preamble that reflects the “values” of security, justice, and freedom. Next, we observe that it includes the classic division of powers between the Courts (which had the legislature and were divided into the Congress of Deputies and the Senate), the Government (executive, was in charge of civil and military administration and the direction of foreign and domestic policy), and finally the King, who was Head of State and Armed Forces. His role was largely ceremonial and representative, with a hereditary, inviolable, and lifelong title.
This document shows several sections of the Spanish Constitution of 1978. It starts with Article 1, which defines the political form in Spain: a rule of law where sovereignty resides in the Spanish people, with our form of government being a parliamentary monarchy. The following is an excerpt from Article 2, which refers to the unity of Spain while recognizing the right to autonomy of nationalities and regions that make up the Spanish State. It includes the role of moderator that Don Juan Carlos has, which is of great importance. Although he does not have much power, his functions are mainly ceremonial and representative. It is a hereditary, inviolable, lifelong title, with the power to call elections and enact laws. A system that was totally different during the Franco dictatorship because, in this, the dictator possessed all the powers, was the owner and master of the country, with a lifelong, personal, and totalitarian regime.
Article 6 refers to political parties by demonstrating that political pluralism is necessary, that is, if there are different political parties, provided they are democratic. Further, Article 16 refers to the freedoms that should prevail in Spain, ranging from freedom of thought to religious freedom, revealing the secular character of the Spanish state but recognizing the religious mentality of the Spanish. He also mentioned that now, in this new government, politics is separate from the church and the army, with government funds and public schools.
Article 137: After gratifying the right of autonomy, on the principle of solidarity between regions, everyone can achieve and maintain self-government guaranteed by the state. Article 147 makes mention of an assembly composed of members of the council or island councils in the provinces accepted, and the senators and deputies elected from the regions. They prepare the draft statute; once approved by the autonomy, they send it to Parliament so that it can be dealt with as an Organic Law, as amended, and approved by voting.
Finally, the Constitution provided for a parliamentary democratic monarchy, containing the law of divorce, was non-denominational, abolished the death penalty, argued for the welfare state with economic, social, and political rights. It picked up and accepted the decentralized state, approving even 17 autonomous regions, giving them the same power and authority, creating funds for investment costs, etcetera. For these reasons, I call it the Spain of autonomies. It is noteworthy that some subjects were inconsistent, as is the case with the role of the Senate, which was not a real chamber of territorial representation, and, moreover, the fit of the Basque Country, which the Constitution recognized as historical facts but as sovereignty itself, and therefore, the right to self-determination.
In conclusion, this document, of great historical value, is the foundation of our legal system and the essential foundation of our democratic system. It has served to transform the political framework inherited from the Franco regime and promote reconciliation between the Spanish.