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Spain History - 2nd Return of House of Bourbon - (1975)
When General Franco died
in 1975 the symbolic power and Spain passed to Don Juan Carlos the grandson of King
Alfonso XIII. The new King
Juan Carlos I was initially thought to be a likeable and
suitable puppet for control by the Franco
diehards. However, the past patient young man showed at a surprising speed that
he knew how to manipulate political antagonists and moved Spain into
the path of European democracy. His first act was to replace the
Prime Minister Arias Navarro with a relatively unknown man named
Adolfo Suarez. In 1977 the whole of Spain watched on television as Prime
Minister Suarez effectively introduce a Bill dismissing the main control of Franco's regime and
introducing a democratic system of elective
representation. Their next task was to prepare and present a
democratic Constitution that would allow for acceptable
harmony between the monarchy, army, church and political
factions.
Following quickly on this success all press censorship was removed,
and political parties legalized. The new Constitution that followed proved to be one of the most liberal in
content and practice in all of Europe. The transition from the
absolute rule of Francoism to democracy was smoothly introduced,
and much to the surprise of the many diehards. After approval by
parliament they turned to the people and asked them for their opinion in a referendum
on the 6th of December 1978. The approval of the citizens of Spain was 87.8 per
cent in favour of the new Constitution. Spain now consisted
of 17 different regions and with respect to the individualistic
nature of their people autonomous administration was introduced.
Particularly difficult was the Basques with the ETA party
continuing in their bloody battle for liberty against what they
considered was an imposed occupying force. Catalonia took a less
direct approach to their desire for autonomy from Madrid through
their wily leader Jordi Pujól. Using the powerful economy of his
region and subtle political maneuvers in parliament he changed the
rules so that each region had its own individual President,
legislature and courts system, co-official languages, and control of
their own tax revenues.
This new parliamentary reforms also brought a change in social
standards and with it new problems not apparent under the previous
Franco regime. Crime figures began to climb, drug addicts became so
common that hardly a family escaped, live sex shows were common
place and all forms of moral deviation were generally accepted. The
situation was unacceptable to so many, both the church leaders and
the generals were preparing their plans and on February the 23rd in 1981
a band of soldiers right-wing soldiers led by
Colonel Antonio Tejero made an attempt to take control of the
"Cortes" before
the television cameras in Madrid. On the same day a coup was
initiated both in Valencia and Girón and the king promptly
addressed the nation warning that it that neither he nor his loyal
generals would allow these rebels to succeed. The king's appeal won
the day and his prestige soared as all over Spain people took to the
streets to show their support.
Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo was soon appointed Prime Minister in place of
Suarez. Until the next elections in 1982 the country managed to
avoid any further power struggles although rumours were always
circulating about discontent behind the scenes. The 1982 elections were won by the Socialist Party under Felipe
Gonzalez taking Spain historically into being led for the first
time by a left-wing Government. Also, this new Prime Minister was
not a person from a cultivated and privileged background for he was
a man from humble origins, his father having been a herdsman on a
livestock farm near Seville. Gonzalez had climbed aboard the
Socialist wagon as a youth whilst studying to become a lawyer and he
had been arrested several times for his political activities. His
climb in the party had been usually quick having elected in Paris
to Secretary General of the outlawed party. At 40 he took the top
office in Spain having made many important friends in his career in
northern Europe. He brought with him to the office his friend and
aide Alfonso Guerra who has been complimented as being the source of
many of Gonzalez policies.
The Spain that Gonzalez had inherited presented some severe initial
problems. There was a failing economy, lack of reserves, old
fashioned bureaucracy, and strong resentment from the conservative
minded public and much of the army. However, on the reverse side of
the coin he enjoyed the confidence of bankers and industry who were
prepared to allow him to prove himself. The army was possibly the
easiest of his problems as money was the quick answer in this
respect. Increased salaries and much needed equipment coupled with
relocation of units in order to improve national unity removed most
of any discontentment. In 1980 Gonzalez took Spain into NATO (The
North Atlantic Treaty Organization), which meant that they had to
open the closed frontier between the British Colony of Gibraltar and
the mainland of Spain which had been shut by Franco in 1969. This
small colony is at the time of writing a thorn in the side of
both the UK and Spain. In the eyes of London the place no longer
offers any strategic value, from the point of view of Madrid the
English should return a stolen possession, whilst in the ardent
opinion of 98% of the Gibraltarians, they should be allowed to
decide their own fate which so far has indicated there is no wish to
be part of Spain.
In 1962 the European Community denied an application for Spain's
entry but in 1986 Spain became
a fully-fledged European partner in this organization which is now
renamed as the European Union. By the end of 1990 the population of
Spain enjoyed one of the world's highest disposable incomes as
Gonzalez and his party continued the successful run of office.
However, the down slide in the world economy brought the dream to an
end in 1992 as foreign investment dried up and the stock market
dropped 30 per cent in the same year and the trade deficit increased
by $ 30 billion. However, Gonzalez enjoyed temporary popularity this
same year brought in the shape of the Summer Olympic Games in
Barcelona and International Expo in Seville. The Socialist managed
to retain most seats in 1993 but they had to rely on the support
of both the Catalans and the Basques for winning political battles
in parliament. In the meantime the EU had been handing out generous
funds for projects and superb inter-city motorway network. Once
again corruption was the order of the day and the bureaucratic
machinery had by now increased to such immense proportions that it
became the average Spaniard's dream to become "a rich shuffler
of bureaucratic papers". Corruption reached all levels but very
few were ever publicly held to task for their abuse of power. Two
examples who did not escape were Luis Roldan of the Guardia Civil
who was indiscreet in using a secret security fund, and the director
of the Bank of Spain who left a trail of misused state money as he
lived in grandiose style.
Spain once more needed a change and in March 1996 José María Aznar
(PP) entered the political stage by winning the vote but still 20 seats short of
a ruling majority. After two months of backroom negotiation he emerged as Prime
Minister. With his usual frankness Aznar warned the country to expect an austere
programme of cuts in spending, major reduction in civil servants, and in a
businesslike manner he attacked the problems once again supported by the leaders
in industry and commerce. By 1999 Spain was on a sufficiently good financial
footing to join other EU members in changing its traditional currency to the
Euro. José Aznar was relected for a further term in 1999 and continued building
the wealth and prosperity of the country. The next election in 2004 resulted in
his defeat bringing back the PSOE now under the leadership of José Gonzalez.
Aznar and his Party's fall from public favour can be mainly blamed on the
Spanish involvement with the USA in the war on Iraq and the subsequent terrible
bombing in Madrid only three days before the election. Approximately 200 hundred
people were slaughtered in comuter trains when on the way to work in the early
morning.
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