Politics in Spain, the Transition to democracy
BY NICK SNELLING
Imagine living in one of the most backward countries in Western Europe – a country ruled by the longest serving fascist dictator of the twentieth century, who had murdered and oppressed countless people after one of the most brutal civil wars in modern Europe. Think what it must be like to be in a country where you are not allowed to speak your provincial dialect and where the police are a fearsome para-military force, the law is arbitrary and the media is controlled by the state.
Consider a creaking infrastructure with an uneven economy and much of the population existing at subsistence level, at direct variance to the rest of Europe. To make matters worse, imagine an uncertain future with a dying dictator. Perhaps, you are in your mid-fifties and, as a young man, fought in the civil war, with nightmare memories of drawn blood still fresh. Maybe, you, or a member of your family, were an oppressor during the dark years after the war and are awaiting the vengeance of others upon the demise of the regime.
Of course, this was Spain in the early 1970’s. Only some 35 years ago. A potentially volatile and fractious state. And yet, now, Spain is a triumphantly secure parliamentary democracy, in which a return to a dictatorship (left or right wing) would be unthinkable. Just as incredible has been the transition of Spain from being a poor and backward country to a nation that now boasts the 9th largest economy in the world and the fifth biggest in the EU. Remarkably, all of this was achieved almost completely peacefully despite barely closed wounds.
General Franco had certainly not envisaged a parliamentary democracy after his death and would have been appalled to think that, within seven years, a socialist party (the PSOE) would govern the country for 14 consecutive years. In 1969 he had anointed the future King, Juan Carlos 1, as his successor and Head of State, envisaging a continuing dictatorship, albeit under an absolute monarch.
To his credit, the future king, started meeting clandestinely with liberal opposition leaders, in the years preceding Franco’s death. Sworn in as king and Head of State, two days after Franco died on the 20th November 1975, Juan Carlos 1 stated immediately that his aim was to restore democracy and be king of all Spaniards. At the time, this was a bold move, as he was walking a tightrope between powerful, establishment forces and the expectations of much of the country for a modern democracy. However, the king was determined to be instrumental in radically changing the politics in Spain.
King Juan Carlos initiated limited reforms straight away under an inherited and ineffective prime minister (Carlos Arias Navarro), before replacing him with the more canny Adolfo Suarez in 1976. By 1977 a referendum had been passed by a huge majority introducing universal suffrage and a two-chamber parliamentary system. This was followed, the following year, by the legalising of the socialist party (PSOE) and the calling of the first general election for 41 years. The centrist party of Adolfo Suarez won the election and then appointed 7 ‘wise men’ from all the political parties to draft a new constitution.
With the landscape of politics in Spain maturing fast, the new constitution was approved in 1978 and King Juan Carlos 1 relinquished absolute power, in favour of a defined parliamentary democracy. Amongst other things, the new constitution forbade a state religion, allowed anyone over 18 to vote and, importantly, started a process of power dissolution to the 17 autonomous regions. True democracy was now on the ‘starting blocks’ and a general election with a mandate to govern was called for March 1979.
Adolf Suarez’ party regained power after the 1979 election. However, his centrist (UCD) party was starting to splinter under the conflicting pressures of deeply entrenched conservative interests and the necessity to continue the momentum of radical social and economic reforms. More dangerous still, was the insecurity of the military, whose 36 year long grip on power under Franco, was disappearing fast. Spain’s new democracy had yet to be tested by fire, notwithstanding the dangers that lay all around from both reactionaries and hard-line conservatives.
In February 1981 the world was shocked to see the Congress of Deputies under the command of Lt. Col Antonio Tejero Molina of the Guardia Civil supported by some 200 armed men. For eighteen tense hours, he held the members of the Congress hostage, whilst he awaited military support to secure the coup. In Valencia, General Jaime Milans de Bosch (Commander of the 3rd Military Region) in support of the coup, placed tanks on the streets and called a State of Emergency. Meanwhile, General Alfonso Armada, the coup leader, tried desperately to gather support amongst the rest of the army to support the uprising.
However, behind the scenes, King Juan Carlos was strongly voicing his disapproval of the coup and telling leaders, both military and political, that he was against it. His lack of support and vehement disapproval of the coup proved critical and the crisis passed with Tejero surrendering and the plotters being quickly arrested. Miraculously, no-one had been hurt, but Spanish democracy had felt the white heat of confrontation at a particularly delicate time. It was not to happen again.
The king was pronounced a hero and secured the overwhelming approval of the nation for his actions, with even the leader of the communists, Santiago Carillo, famously stating: ‘Today, we are all monarchists’. Ironically, the failed coup helped to change the political landscape, but in directly the opposite fashion to that intended by hard-line conservatives. When a general election was called in 1982, it was overwhelmingly won by the socialist (PSOE) party in a powerful and significant rejection of hard-right politics. Indeed, under Felipe Gonzalez, the socialist (PSOE) party was to remain in power for 14 consecutive years until 1996, winning four general elections in the process.
Divisive and demoralised, the conservative wing of Spanish politics echoed the experience of the UK Labour party during the Thatcher years. Several leaders were tried and found wanting and it was not until the conservatives re-invented themselves in 1989 as the Partido Popular (PP) party that they found a leader in Jose Maria Aznar capable of restoring their credibility. However, it still took until 1996 before the conservative (PP) party succeeded to power by forming a coalition government.
Certainly, by the mid 1990s the socialist (PSOE) party had become associated with a number of scandals, the most devastating of which was the GAL (Grupos Antiterroistas de Liberacion) murder squads. These were shocking, government approved assassinations against ETA members. Furthermore, like so many long-serving governments, the socialists were considered arrogant and had been associated with many incidences of corruption. Perhaps more damning, was that they were perceived as being incapable of effectively running the economy and re-vitalising Spain after the depression years of the early 1990s.
More vitally, with the election of the conservative (PP) party in 1996, Spain showed that it had come of age as a democracy and felt able to bring back into power a right wing party, without fear of it reverting to the terrifying extremism of the past. In fact, like so much of the democratic world, Spain now has, effectively, two major, national competing political parties: the socialists (PSOE) and the conservatives (PP). Both parties roughly mimic the Democrats and Republicans in America or Labour and Conservative in the UK and tend to squabble over politically centrist ground. Neither are radical in any historic sense and both would consider any form of undemocratic government abhorrent.
Jose Maria Aznar’s conservative (PP) party governed reasonably effectively after 1996, winning an overwhelming mandate in the 2000 elections. However, the ecological disaster of the ‘Prestige’ oil tanker, support for the Iraq war and the spiraling price of housing reduced their popularity. Nonetheless, they were expected to win the general elections scheduled for the 14th March 2004.
Three days before the 2004 general election, a cataclysm of horrendous proportions hit Spain and this had a dramatic effect upon the existing politics in Spain and the election itself, resulting in the current socialist (PSOE) party taking power. On the morning of the 11th March 2006, Al Qaeda terrorists exploded a series of bombs at three train stations in Madrid during rush hour. Some 191 people were killed and over 1,800 hurt, with Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar repeatedly, and incorrectly, blaming ETA for the atrocity. As the truth for who was responsible for the bombing came to light, the conservative (PP) party lost critical credibility and their grip on power.
The next general election is scheduled for 2008 with the possible result difficult to predict. However, what is certain is that democracy in Spain is safe, for the first time in its turbulent history. This is a remarkable achievement and a tribute to the Spanish people, who have determinedly put behind them the dreadful divisions of a bitter civil war and cruel dictatorship, all within the living memory of many. There are few nations that could have achieved this and shown such maturity and tolerance in such a short period of time. Long may it continue.
TIME LINE
– POLITICS OF SPAIN –
PERSONALITIES
King Juan Carlos 1
Born 1938
King since 1975
Constitutional monarch and head of the armed forces
Nominated as General Franco’s successor but restored parliamentary democracy
Decisively opposed Tejero’s 1981 coup attempt
The symbol of Spanish unity
General Francisco Franco
1892-1975
Youngest general (34) in Spain’s army 1926
Nationalist leader during the Civil War 1936-1939
Dictator 1939-1975
The symbol of Spanish division
Adolfo Suárez
Born 1932
Appointed prime minister 1976
Led UCD party to victory in Spain’s first free elections in 41 years in 1977
Resigned 1981 and retired from active politics 1991
Now suffering from Alzheimer’s disease
Remembers nothing of his years as prime minister
Felipe González
Born 1942
Former head of socialist party (PSOE)
Prime Minister 1982-1996
Won 4 elections
Consolidated Spanish parliamentary democracy
Spain’s ambassador for the bicentenary celebrations of Latin American independence in 2010
José María Aznar
Born 1953
Former head of conservative party (PP)
Prime Minister 1996-2004
Won 2 elections
Introduced Euro and revitalised economy
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
Born1960
Current head of PSOE
Prime Minister since 2004
Promotes vision of ‘Nueva Via’ – similar to Tony Blair’s ‘Third Way’
TIMELINE
1936 – 1939 Spanish Civil War (Fascist against Republican)
1939 – 1975 Fascist dictatorship under General Franco
1955 Spain joins United Nations
1975 Franco dies and Juan Carlos 1 becomes King.
1976 Adolfo Suarez appointed Prime Minister
1977 General Election to form a constituent assembly to draft a new democratic constitution. King Juan Carlos’ father renounces any claim to the Spanish throne
1978 Spanish Constitution approved. King Juan Carlos gives up absolute power.
1979 Centrist (UCD) party wins election and Adolfo Suarez remains Prime Minister
1981 Tejero mounts unsuccessful right wing military coup
1982 Socialist (PSOE) win elections. Felipe Gonzalez becomes Prime Minister. Spain joins NATO
1986 Socialist (PSOE) win elections again. Spain joins the European Union
1989 Conservative (PP) party formed from failed AP. PSOE win elections again.
1992 Barcelona Olympics and Sevilla Trade Fair
1993 Socialist (PSOE) lose support in general election and form coalition government
1996 Conservative (PP) party form a coalition government. Jose Maria Aznar becomes Prime Minister
2000 Conservative (PP) party win majority at general election. Aznar remains Prime Minister
2002 Peseta replaced by Euro
2004 Madrid bombings by Al Qaeda 3 days before general election. Socialist (PSOE) party gain surprise majority. Jose Luis Zapatero becomes Prime Minister
2008 General election won by Zapatero’s PSOE (socialist) party
BY NICK SNELLING
(Noms de plume Alexander Peters, Elena Suarez, Alberto Diaz)