Spain’s Transition to Democracy: King Juan Carlos & 1978 Constitution
Item 22: The Political Transition and the Constitution of 1978
I. THE LEADERSHIP OF THE KING: REFORMS IN PLACE OF RUPTURE
After the death of General Franco, accession to Head of State of Juan Carlos I resulted in the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty. This marked the beginning of one of the most interesting periods in Spanish history: the reintroduction of democracy through consensus. Few believed in November 1975 that King Juan Carlos I, educated by Franco to continue his work, would be the true engine of political change, shifting from Franco’s ‘organic democracy’ to a truly democratic political system. But he was. Don Juan Carlos aligned with his father, Don Juan, in the interest of establishing a democratic, parliamentary, and constitutional monarchy. The strategy was a complex program of legal and political structural reform from within the Francoist legality, leading to a democratic regime without a complete break.
This project had initial support from dominant Francoist sectors, keen on maintaining the existing scheme (known as ‘the bunker’), but not from the left, who demanded a ‘rupture’ of democracy, immediate abandonment of Francoist laws, and a provisional government, similar to the 1931 proclamation of the Republic. The left questioned everything, including the monarchy.
The King’s firmness and subsequent events in 1976 and 1977 imposed the need for a new spirit of consensus, requiring all sides to moderate their maximalist positions.
II. THE FIRST GOVERNMENT OF THE MONARCHY: CONTINUITY AND FAILED CHANGE
Although the King had full confidence in Torcuato Fernandez Miranda, pressure from the right led to the confirmation of Carlos Arias Navarro (Franco’s last prime minister). However, the government’s composition raised expectations, including Francoist hardliners and reformers (Fraga, José Mª Areilza, Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo…), along with relatively unknown figures like Adolfo Suarez and Rodolfo Martin Villa, regime children yet influenced by Fernandez Miranda. However, Arias Navarro was unable or unwilling to undertake the necessary reforms announced by the King in 1975. In a January 1976 speech, he announced only cosmetic measures, maintaining the fundamental principles of the Franco regime and authoritarian rule. Political parties were permitted, but with obstacles, excluding the Communist Party. Elections were not announced, making legalized parties more like currents of public opinion or pressure groups. This immobility led to instability, strikes, demonstrations, terrorism, and pressure from the democratic opposition and the King, forcing Arias Navarro to resign in July 1976.
III. THE SECOND GOVERNMENT: ADOLFO SUAREZ’S PRESIDENCY
To everyone’s surprise, the King appointed the relatively unknown Adolfo Suárez as Arias Navarro’s replacement. Suárez had a modest political career in secondary positions during Franco’s last years. Few believed this 43-year-old, with limited contacts, could lead Spain to democracy, especially given his government’s composition of individuals with little political prestige, deemed incapable of controlling the hard left and right. However, with the King’s support, this government dismantled the Franco regime’s apparatus and initiated the path to democracy and the Constitution.
1. The Political Reform Act of 1976
The first step came in November 1976 when Suárez got the Francoist Cortes to authorize its own dismantling by approving the Political Reform Act. This created a bicameral Cortes (Congress of Deputies and Senate) formed through free general elections with the participation of political parties. This replaced the ‘organic democracy’ based on representation through families, municipalities, and vertical unions. To enhance legitimacy, the Political Reform Act was submitted to a referendum in December 1976. Once approved, parties could act more freely, and in extremis, weeks before the election, the Communist Party was legalized, despite promises to the previous regime’s hardliners. The government understood that without their participation, the elections would not be seen as genuinely free by national and international opinion.
2. The Election of June 15, 1977: Analysis of Results
The elections were held peacefully in June 1977 with high popular participation. Uncertainty about the outcome, given the lack of recent elections (the last were in February 1936), was cleared when the results were announced.
The Democratic Center Union (UCD), a party artificially created by Suarez from center-right (democrats, liberals) and center-left (social democrats, moderate socialists) elements, won with 34% of the votes. The UCD lacked ideological unity, leading to its collapse years later, but it was the architect of the Transition.
On the right, the Alianza Popular (AP), led by Manuel Fraga (precursor to the current Popular Party, then more right-wing but supportive of democracy), obtained poor results (8%). The anti-democratic right, supporting the previous regime, was virtually wiped out, demonstrating its limited support among Spaniards.
On the left, the expected winner, the Communist Party, Franco’s main opponent during the dictatorship, also obtained poor results (9%). The real victor was the PSOE, led by Felipe González, with 28% of the vote.
In conclusion, the Spanish chose moderation, rejecting extreme positions and rewarding Suárez’s work, giving him the mandate to create a democratic constitution.
IV. THE SECOND SUAREZ GOVERNMENT: MONCLOA PACTS AND CONSTITUTIONAL PROCESS
After the UCD’s electoral victory, Suárez formed a government, rather than a coalition led by Felipe Gonzalez’s Socialist Party. Key figures included General Gutiérrez Mellado, dealing with the Francoist Army; economist Enrique Fuentes Quintana, facing the economic crisis; and Francisco Fernández Ordóñez, author of fiscal reform and later the divorce law.
The government faced two main tasks: solving the economic crisis and providing Spain with a Constitution:
3. The Economic Consensus: The Moncloa Pacts
A solution to the economic crisis had taken a back seat.