Franco’s Dictatorship: Decline and Societal Changes
The Decline of Franco’s Dictatorship
The 1960s had been of great splendor for the dictatorship. During those years, the building had served as a mechanism to strengthen the opposition and began to show signs of wear, such as the Matesa scandal in 1969, which had used subsidies to make money illegally. It was not very different from other corruption scandals but was important because of the confrontation between the political families of the Franco regime. It was used by the Falange to try to discredit Opus Dei. The press could report freely on the case and political accountability. As a result, the Ministers of Trade and Finance, and Fraga were dismissed. The following government showed that no ex-Falangists made them pay for airing the event.
In the political sphere, the law of succession in 1947 had established the monarchy as a succession formula when the dictator disappeared. Although Juan Carlos had been chosen as heir, he began his education under the control of Franco. The pressures of Carrero Blanco and Lopes Rolled allowed the appointment of Juan Carlos as successor by way of ex-king. The courts approved it, and a 1971 decree set the conditions for the prince to assume the duties as interim chief of state during the temporary sickness or disability of the dictator.
The growing weakness of the dictatorship and the deteriorating health of the dictator led to nervousness among the political families. In 1973, Carrero Blanco was named prime minister. It was the first time that the ex-delegate had that responsibility, and it supposed his appointment as successor of the dictatorship. Other government figures turned into a stationary position, represented by the bunker. The increase of the democratic opposition and repression of terrorism increased. The proclamations of states of emergency and the intensification of the public order of the court showed the will of the dictatorship continued.
On December 20, 1973, in Madrid, the trial against members of the CCOO union began. That same day, Carrero Blanco was assassinated by ETA. Thus disappeared the strong man of the Franco regime, and public opinion was shocked.
The Rise of Opposition and International Pressure
The opposition increased its manifestations, and international criticism raged. The strength of the labor movement was the protest extended to the public sector and services. Also, the student revolt began to join the opposition. In 1974, the PSOE congress was held in France to renew its address, giving way to a generation integrated by Nicolas Redondo, Felipe González, and Alfonso Guerra. The impact of the Carnation Revolution in Portugal influenced Spanish society so that some army officers formed the Democratic Military Union.
The Final Years and the Saharan Crisis
After the assassination of Carrero Blanco, a new government headed by Arias Navarro was formed. It was a new sample of the intransigence of the bunker. Arias Navarro wanted to keep public order and mitigate the opposition. He made a programmatic discourse in 1974, which expressed a spirit of openness, allegedly authorizing political associations. These movements were too late and found the growth of the democratic position. But the dictatorship continued repression. In 1975, Arias enacted an anti-terrorism law that decreed the death penalty for those involved in attacks. As a result, five members of ETA and FRAP were executed, which raised a wave of international protests.
Coinciding with the agony of Franco, the problem of the Sahara broke out. The Polisario Front had been formed in Western Sahara for independence. Since the mid-1950s, the UN had begun to urge Spain to begin decolonization. In 1975, the representative government and the Polisario Front met to design self-determination for the Sahrawi people. Due to the disease, the ex-king wanted to annex the region to Morocco. In October, the Green March took place. The fear was that the dictatorship would accept the annexation of the Sahara to Morocco and Mauritania.
Franco’s Death and Societal Transformation
Throughout 1975, the physical deterioration of Franco became apparent. His constant relapses led Juan Carlos to assume internally the head of state, but Franco resumed his powers on the 30th of that month. In Spain, the dictator’s death was expected, hoping for a change of regime. On October 15, the dictator had a heart attack. Faced with this, he delegated his powers to Juan Carlos and finally died on November 20, 1975. No head of state attended his funeral.
In making an assessment, the dictatorship was a setback for Spanish society, and the modernization started in the first third of the twentieth century was interrupted. The costs of exile and repression were stretched out, and autarky brought catastrophic hunger and hardship. Developmentalism helped consolidate the dictatorship but increased the demands and expectations of society.
A change in mentality and culture occurred as improving living standards allowed the incorporation of youth from urban middle classes into university education. They found themselves in a consumer society with a cultural entertainment industry similar to that of their co-generation Americans and Europeans. Women also questioned the role assigned by the dictatorship, vindicating their personal and professional autonomy and equal rights. Aesthetic features became hallmarks of youth who found in pop culture a form of expression, and the repression made flourish a climate of generational spokespersons of songwriters and the democratic aspirations of poets in exile.