Franco’s Dictatorship in Spain: 1950s Transformation and Onward
The 1950s: A Turning Point for Franco’s Spain
As for the opposition in these first years out within the maquis, they continued to fight until they were demobilized at the end of the 1940s. On the outside, and for many years, the opposition continued to face defeat, lying down after the Civil War. It was not cohesive or united enough to become a clear and strong opposition against the regime.
The 1950s marked a turning point in the dictatorship, with several events that ultimately “legitimized” it both externally and internally. The interest of the U.S. in Spain in the context of the Cold War led to the signing of a bilateral agreement in 1953 for the installation of military bases in exchange for economic aid. In 1955, Spain entered the UN, but other agencies such as the newly created EEC refused entry to Spain until it democratized its political life. But Spain and Franco had already made it; it was no longer isolated. The discourse that Spain was, above all, an anti-communist country helped him.
The other event was the change in economic policy. Halfway through the 1950s, changes began to occur, but they proved insufficient. It was in 1959 when the Stabilization Plan of the Spanish economy was introduced, which marked the definitive turning point.
Early Social Unrest and Economic Changes
On the other hand, we find the first student protests in 1956 that were resolved by the dismissal of the Minister of Education and the hasty decolonization of Morocco in the same year. These crises led to a new government that came into power, the so-called technocrats belonging to Opus Dei, who instigated the subsequent economic changes.
The 1960s: Modernization and its Discontents
The Stabilization Plan and the creation of development poles made Spain a modern country in the 1960s. The per capita income of the Spanish rose considerably in this decade, but this development was not without its problems and contrasts:
- Two million people were forced to migrate in search of work in Europe, although they were also a source of hard currency for the country.
- The rural exodus of those years led to a drastic redistribution of the population, a factor in the population contrasts that exist today in Spain.
- The middle class grew from almost nonexistent, but the gap between rich and poor continued to widen.
- There was rapid urban growth, but a lack of services in many Spanish cities.
- Spain was industrialized, and the agrarian problem was almost accidentally being dealt with.
- Spain started to receive and become a nation of tourists.
Political Tensions and Franco’s Successor
In politics, ministers and people came with a slight tone of openness, and this time we would enter into the debate between opening the system because we were doing so economically and socially or remaining in the original positions. The stationary position won, but opposition in the streets grew more and more: the rise of workers’ commissions, the birth of ETA linked to the resurgence of nationalisms, the Congress of Munich, etc.
In 1969, Franco named his successor, following the law of 1947, where he said he would appoint his successor. His successor would be Prince Juan Carlos, who would continue with an authoritarian monarchy and would keep the basic principles of the dictatorship.
The Final Years of the Dictatorship
The last years were marked by an important physical decline of the dictator, who delegated government action to people like Carrero Blanco and Arias Navarro after his death. In 1973, the world oil crisis broke out, crippling the growth of the Spanish economy, as well as others. The opposition was growing, terrorist groups multiplied, as did demonstrations and strikes, but the regime’s response to the requests for change, despite moments of hope, was immobility and a heavy hand.
The Franco regime ended up killing, despite protests from around the world, but the political principles were entrenched for those who were running the regime and for Franco. At the last moment, decolonization was precipitated from the Sahara, and on November 20, 1975, the dictator died, thus ending a regime that emerged from a civil war and at no time would forget who were the vanquished and who were the victors, a regime that did not deviate one iota from the principles of the National Movement and where the rights and freedoms of individuals were not respected.
Yes, many people were hopeful with Franco’s death, hoping for change, but we must not forget that there were also many people who supported the dictatorship for different reasons. After the dictator’s death, there were long lines to pass to view his funeral chapel. A few years had to pass, listening in the streets during demonstrations to phrases like “military power,” and in 1981 there were still those willing to regress the military situation in the country.