The Peaceful Transformation of Spain: 1975-1982
Spain’s Transition to Democracy: From Dictatorship to Constitution
Introduction
The political transition is the process by which Spain moved from dictatorship to democracy. It began with the death of Franco (November 20, 1975) and the proclamation of King Juan Carlos I of Spain and ended with the PSOE’s electoral victory in October 1982, a fact that meant the consolidation of democracy in Spain.
Democracy was established without a break with the dictatorship, which was dismantled from the institutions under Franco. The change was peaceful and a pact between political forces Franco (King and openings) and the opposition (liberals and the left, which abandoned its more radical proposals.) The diehards of Franco (the “bunker”) and the extreme left were against. But the transition could have done without popular mobilization, which pushed for the changes occur. The process coincided with the global economic crisis on oil. The Spanish transition became a reference model for other countries who wanted to leave a dictatorship.
During the transition we can observe several phases:
1 .- The first moments of the reign of Juan Carlos I. Arias Navarro’s government (November 1975-July 1976)
After the death of Franco, Juan Carlos I was proclaimed king in a political context of great uncertainty. It started a complex process of transition from dictatorship to lead a democratic system.
Many suspected that the new monarchy would be a continuation of the Franco regime without Franco. However, the new monarch was surrounded by a group of advisers, among which was Torcuato Fernandez Miranda, who designed a plan for political change. This change came in calling for reform. It was applying controlled changes to guarantee the inviolability of military officials and Franco and lead to a democratic system from Franco’s own laws.
At first the king decided to keep the front of the Arias Navarro government, the executive who had presided at the final stage of the dictatorship. The government included Manuel Fraga in the key post of interior minister and young figures from the Movement and Adolfo Suarez and Martin Villa.
The Arias government failed to implement when a credible reform process and responded with repression of social protests. A wave of strikes swept the country in January 1976. The repressive response incidents culminated in Vitoria, in March 1976, when five workers were killed by the police.
That same March, the entire opposition was grouped in the Democratic Coordination which reinforced the protests against government inaction Arias Navarro. Finally, the king, who had not hidden their displeasure with the work of the executive, dismissed Arias Navarro in July 1976.
2 .- The Government Suárez and the Political Reform Act
The appointment of Adolfo Suárez, a young politician from the Movement, as the new prime minister was greeted with disappointment to democratic opinion. Although the new government was formed by ministers openings, many thought that Smith was not the right man to lead the process towards democracy.
The new government adopted a reform program to move legally from dictatorship to democracy (“into law.”) Granted a partial amnesty in 1976 and held the bill for Political Reform. It was the realization legislative dismantling of the Franco regime from the regime itself. Similarly, Smith began discreet contacts with the democratic opposition.
The most resistant to change the Franco regime, increasingly irritated by the political and terrorist attacks by ETA and the GRAPO, began to conspire to organize a military coup against the fledgling reform process. In September 1976, Lt. Gen. Smith appointed vice president of government Gutiérrez Mellado. Gutierrez Mellado was a key figure to control the hazard in the military coup.
Despite the coup conspiracies and acts of terrorism of ETA, the Political Reform Act was passed by Parliament in November 1976 Franco (representing the “political suicide) and popular referendum on December 15, 1976, with 81 % of votes. The opposition abstention recommended because it ensured the continuity of the monarchy.
Terrorism represented a serious obstacle to the transition process, the GRAPO, far left, kidnapped the president of the State Council (December 1976) and the far right made a killing of labor lawyers, linked to the PCE, in the Atocha Street on January 24, 1977, prompting a wave of solidarity with the PCE.
Smith got the democratic opposition adopt their reform met with the heads of opposition parties by establishing a “broken covenant.” The PSOE was legalized in December 1976. Suárez legalized the PCE on April 9, 1977, at Easter. There were numerous military resignations and protests Franco. The PCE renounced the use of the republican flag and pledged to abide by the monarchy.
On June 15, 1977 held its first democratic elections in Spain since the Second Republic.
The game winner was the Democratic Centre Union (UCD), new party organized by Smith in which the openings were grouped Franco with some moderate elements of the former democratic opposition. The CDU won 34.5% of the vote.
The second largest party was the Socialist Party of Felipe Gonzalez with nearly 30% of the vote. To the surprise of many, the PSOE took hegemony on the left. Was behind the PCE, Santiago Carrillo led with a 9.4% andManuel Fraga’s Popular Alliance to 8.0%. Convergencia i Unio de Jordi Pujol and PNV were formed as the main nationalist forces. The radical left was not just the Franco representation and undemocratic.
After the elections entered its second phase (1977-79) of the Suarez government. Suarez’s new government was ready to face two major challenges of the moment: to develop a constitution that politically articulate the new democratic system and to tackle terrorism of ETA, still attempting despite an amnesty decreed in October 1977 and the danger coup.
All this delicate political process should be done in a context of deep economic crisis. The 1973 oil crisis had severely beaten Spain and unemployment and inflation grew alarmingly. To stabilize the economic situation the main political forces in October 1977 signed the Moncloa Pact, a set of agreed measures to address the serious economic difficulties.
In September 1977 the regional government was restored in Catalonia, returning from exile its chairman, Joseph Tarradellas. The Government set up 13 pre-autonomy, a simple provisional administrative decentralization. It drafted a Constitution adopted by referendum on December 6, 1978 with 88% of votes. There was a high abstention rate in the Basque Country, where the negatives were very high (23%), due to the propaganda of the Nationalists, contrary to the Constitution. Was also rejected by the extreme right.
3. Democratic consolidation and crisis of the CDU (1979-1982)
Adopted the Constitution, dissolved the Parliament and called new elections for March 1979, UCD won again, in the minority. During this period developed the Autonomous State with the approval of bylaws and elections between 1979 and 1983 to form the autonomous parliaments. There were also the first democratic municipal elections (April 1979) to win the left, usually the PSOE and the PCE-PSOE in major cities (Tierno Galván Madrid). It passed the Statute of Workers (1980) and Divorce Act (1981). Spain joined NATO, with strong opposition from the left, the PSOE promised to hold a referendum on NATO to stay in the country when it came to power. The Socialist Party Marxist ideology resigned after an extraordinary congress of the party, and hardened their opposition, the PCE suffered a crisis because Carrillo failed to control dissent. AP was reinforced by the political incorporation of UCD.
The UCD was in crisis. The PSOE presented a censure motion against the government in May 1980 and Smith began to receive criticism from the barons of his own party, split into two groups: liberals and social democrats in the center-left, Democrats and conservative, right wing . Abril Martorell, Deputy Prime Minister, resigned (July 1980) and Suarez in January 1981.
The UCD elected as successor to Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo, Who was involved in the attempted coup at the ballot Tejero that came to his inauguration as the new prime minister. Calvo Sotelo could not stop the dissolution of the party, which suffered the abandonment of public figures to the right (AP) and left (PSOE). In the October 1982 elections won by absolute majority, the PSOE. It is the end point of the democratic transition in Spain.
The 1978 Constitution
The democratic Constitution of 1978 was the result of consensus among almost all parties, the text is comprehensive, detailed and somewhat ambiguous. The explanation must be sought in the historical context: Spain was going from a dictatorship to a democracy in a peaceful and orderly, but mostly guided by the magic word and key to the transition: the consensus, that the past does not condition the present and to not return to repeat the mistakes of the Second Republic and the sufferings of the civil war and dictatorship. It should also be noted that there was no party with an absolute majority may impose its principles.
A presentation of seven members drafted a bill, which was debated in Parliament. The Constitution was adopted on 6 December that year in a referendum, with 87% of affirmative votes.
The “framers” were Gabriel Cisneros, Miguel Herrero de Mignon and José Pedro Pérez Llorca UCD, Gregorio Peces-Barba del PSOE, the PCE Pauline Julien, Miquel Roca, representing the PNV and the Catalan minority, and Manuel AP Fraga. The absence of a representative of the PNV linked to the question of “historical rights”, had serious consequences because the main Basque nationalist party eventually did not support the constitutional text. |
The 1978 Constitution is a law of laws agreed, consensual, non-partisan. It is the ninth of Spanish constitutionalism, but it has totally different characteristics to the other:
Nonpartisan Constitution: For the first time in the history of Spanish constitutionalism we have a Constitution that does not respond to the interests and ideology of the ruling party. This explains its validity, is among the three constitutions more durable, and has developed a consolidation of the party system, with a rotation of them (UCD, PSOE and PP)
CONSTITUTION ECLECTIC: You can see influences of many constitutions, both Spanish (“31 and 12 primarily) and foreign.
AMBIGUOUS Constitution: This is an open and ambiguous text, but left open the possibility for the future to build it by consensus of all as in the case of divorce, abortion, state autonomy, education, etc.
Content of the Constitution
Its preamble contains the fundamental principles of the Constitution:
It defines Spain as a social and democratic state of law, proclaims that sovereignty resides in the people and defined the political form of state as a parliamentary monarchy.
Article 2 does support the unity of the nation – indivisible unity of the Spanish nation – with the right to autonomy of nationalities and regions. It is a situation between administrative decentralization and federalism.
Title I is the largest of the Constitution and contains the rights, freedoms and duties of the Spanish.
Here we list the individual rights as the right to life, physical integrity, freedom of ideology, religion and worship, freedom of expression, education, etc. Furthermore, some social rights such as protection of the family, have a decent home, to enjoy the environment, right to work, to protection of health, etc.
In regard to the Crown states that the King is the Head of State and laying down its functions, powers and prerogatives. His power esformal.
The state is non-denominational, but protects the majority Catholic religion and open channels to other faiths.
Castilian is recognized as the only official language throughout the territory, but it is the regional co-official languages in their territory.
The Constitution establishes the separation of powers and organizing the powers of state:
Courts consist of two chambers: the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Both are elected by universal suffrage and exercise the legislative power.
The government, which exercises executive power, heads the domestic and foreign policy of Spain. It also has legislative powers as it may present draft laws to Parliament and develops regulations adopted laws. The Prime Minister is vested by the legislature.
Judges and magistrates exercising judicial power. Establishing the Court Constitucionalcuya function is to prevent any violation of the Constitution and ensure that there are no laws that contradict the Constitution. It is also the highest body responsible for protecting the rights and freedoms.
In Title VIII of the 1978 Constitution sought to address one of the historical problems of our country, unite the state’s unity with the diversity of regions and nationalities that comprise it.
The only modification made to the Constitution until 2006 was held in 1992 to grant the right to vote in municipal elections to the European Union citizens living in Spain. This modification was necessary after the ratification by Spain of the Treaty on European Union.