In the 1960s elements in the regime were increasingly troubled by its lack of “institutionalization” and the problem of the succession, as Franco was in failing health and there was no designated successor. The Organic Law of 1969 gave the regime a cosmetic constitution, and in 1969 Franco finally recognized Juan Carlos, grandson of Alfonso XIII, as his successor as king and head of state; Juan Carlos’s designation was rejected by the democratic opposition as a continuation of the regime. To secure continuity, in June 1973 Franco abandoned the premiership to Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco. However, in December Carrero Blanco was assassinated by ETA.
Carlos Arias Navarro, the former minister of the interior, was selected as the new premier. His government saw a fierce struggle between reformists, led by Manuel Fraga and the new foreign minister, José Maria de Areilza, who wished to “open” the regime by limited democratization from above, and the “bunker” mentality of nostalgic Francoists. Although Arias Navarro promised liberalization in a February 1974 speech, he eventually sided with the hard-line Francoists, and his Law of Associations proved to be completely unacceptable to the opposition and a defeat for the reformists. The government severely repressed ETA’s terrorist activity in the Basque provinces, executing five terrorists in September 1975 despite international protests. Spain since 1975 Transition to democracy
After Franco’s death on November 20, 1975, the accession of Juan Carlos as king opened a new era, which culminated in the peaceful transition to democracy by means of the legal instruments of Francoism. This strategy made it possible to avoid the perils of the “democratic rupture” advocated by the opposition, which had united, uneasily, on a common platform in July 1974. Arias Navarro, incapable of making the democratic transition supported by the king, was replaced in July 1976 by Adolfo Suárez González, a former Francoist minister. Suárez persuaded the Francoist right in the Cortes to pass the Law for Political Reform (November 1976), which paved the way for democratic elections. Suárez then convinced the opposition of his willingness to negotiate and his democratic intentions; in April 1977 he legalized the PCE against the wishes of the armed forces. In the elections of June 1977, Suárez’s party, a coalition of centrist groups called the Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD), emerged as the strongest party, winning 165 seats in the Cortes, closely followed by the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), who captured 118 seats. It was a triumph for political moderation and the consensus politics of Suárez. The PCE gained 20 seats and the right-wing Popular Alliance 16.
Suárez formed a minority government, and the political consensus held to pass the constitution of 1978. The new constitution, overwhelmingly ratified in a public referendum in December 1978, established Spain as a constitutional monarchy. Church and state were separated, and provisions were made for the creation of 17 autonomous communities throughout Spain, which extended regional autonomy beyond Euskadi (the Basque Country, encompassing the provinces of Viscaya, Guipúzcoa, and Álava) and Catalonia, both of which had already been given limited autonomy. Confronted by terrorism and economic recession, the UCD disintegrated into the factions of its “barons.” After heavy defeats in local elections and fearing a possible military coup, Suárez resigned in January 1981.
The inauguration of Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo, also a member of the UCD, as prime minister was interrupted by the attempted military coup of Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Tejero, who occupied the Cortes (February 23, 1981) and held the government and the deputies captive for 18 hours. The coup attempt failed, however, because of King Juan Carlos’s resolute support of the democratic constitution. Calvo Sotelo, who was left with the task of restoring confidence in democracy, successfully engineered Spain’s entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1982. The administration of Felipe González, 1982–96
The election of October 1982 marked the final break with the Francoist legacy, returning the PSOE under its leader, Felipe González, whose government was the first in which none of the members had served under Francoism. The PSOE won a solid majority (202 seats), while the UCD was annihilated, winning only 12 seats. The conservative Democratic Coalition led by Manuel Fraga gained 106 seats and formed the official opposition.
A radical party in 1975 committed to the replacement of capitalism, the PSOE subsequently abandoned Marxism and accepted a market economy. The new government made its main concern the battle against inflation and the modernization of industry. González’s policies were resisted by the unions (the socialist UGT and the CC.OO. controlled by the PCE), which staged violent strikes against the closing of uneconomic steel plants and shipyards. The left was further alienated by the government’s decision to continue NATO membership, despite the party’s official opposition to membership during the 1982 election. To justify this radical departure from the PSOE’s traditional neutralism, membership in NATO was submitted to a referendum and made dependent on a partial withdrawal of U.S. forces stationed in Spain under the 1953 agreements. Spain also was to make its contribution to collective defense outside the integrated military command of NATO. The government won the referendum of March 12, 1986—a triumph for González rather than evidence of understanding of or enthusiasm for NATO. González also secured Spain’s entry into the EEC in January 1986 after prolonged and difficult negotiations.
The government lost some support on the left with the creation of the United Left (Izquierda Unida; IU), the core of which was remnants of the PCE, and the right capitalized on law-and-order issues, focusing on the fight against terrorism, disorder on the streets, the rise in crime, and the development of a serious drug problem. The government was accused of using its large majority to force through a major reform of university and secondary education and of abandoning socialist policies in the battle against inflation and in its support of a capitalist market economy. However, the government’s control of the PSOE was ensured by its manipulation of political patronage. It was furthermore troubled by frictions created by the demands of Euskadi and Catalonia for greater autonomy. But the success of the government’s economic policies (inflation fell and growth was resumed) and the popularity of González enabled the socialists in the election of June 1986 to retain their majority (184 seats), whereas Fraga’s conservative Popular Coalition (105 seats) failed to make any gains and fell apart.
In its second term, the government’s economic policies continued to provoke the hostility of the trade unions—unemployment ran at nearly 20 percent—and on December 14, 1988, the CC.OO. and the socialist UGT staged a general strike. In foreign policy, all the major parties, with the exception of the United Left, supported the government’s decision to offer logistical support to the United States and its allies in 1991 in the Persian Gulf War; however, massive demonstrations against the war revealed widespread neutralist sentiments. Tensions between the central government and the autonomous governments of Euskadi and Catalonia continued. Although ETA terrorists lost political support, the rise of nationalism in the disintegrating Soviet Union sparked outbursts of separatism in Spain. The Spanish government favoured greater political union with the EEC, the country’s major trading partner. Following Spain’s success in hosting football’s (soccer’s) World Cup a decade earlier, the country again achieved international prominence in 1992, when it hosted the Expo ’92 world’s fair in Sevilla and the Olympic Games in Barcelona.