Franco’s Spain: Dictatorship, Transition, and Legacy
Franco’s Features
Common
- Totalitarianism. The aim was to create a harder dictatorship. The totalitarian society tried to control, while only the dictatorship held political power.
- Caudillismo. This is the concentration of all power in one person considered the nation’s leader.
- Centralization. The goal was to centralize all state apparatus in the capital, suppressing regional nationalism.
- Repression. Persecution of people opposed to the regime.
- Control of media and propaganda. Great importance was attached to propaganda and censorship.
Specific
- Duration. The long dictatorship was divided into several periods, each with its own interests.
- Power Concentration. Franco’s concentration of power was greater than that of other dictators. Although other institutions existed (like the courts), they were symbolic.
Franco’s Powers
His powers were absolute until his death. He held the highest office in the state, wielding civil (head of state), legislative, executive, and judicial power. He also held supreme military command (Generalissimo) over the land, sea, and air forces. As head of his party, he was its leader.
He also legislated on religious matters; the Church granted him privileges: the right to enter churches under a canopy and the right to appoint bishops.
Ideology of the Dictatorship
The regime’s foundation was blind obedience to the leader. It began as a mixture of ideologies because the rebels had more in common in what they opposed than what they wanted. The military wanted a military dictatorship; the Falange and Carlists wanted a return to the monarchy.
Stages of the System
The first period (1939-1945), strongly influenced by the Falange and Italian Fascism, coincided with World War II.
From 1945-1959, there was an emphasis on religious belief. Alliances shifted away from Germany and Nazism.
1959-1975 was a period of development, coinciding with Franco’s physical decline. He replaced ministers with technocrats, focusing on economic growth. From 1959, he developed reservoir construction plans. A vertical organization of citizens in families, municipalities, and unions was implemented.
Fundamental Laws of the Regime
The republican constitution was removed, replaced by fundamental laws. These included laws on work jurisdiction, venue of the Spanish constitutional law of the courts, national referendum, succession of the principles of the national movement, and labor.
The most important was the 1967 Organic Law of the State, approved in a national referendum. It outlined the powers and functioning of state organs, incorporating theories of organizational democracy.
Social Support
Social support came largely from the upper classes, small and medium landowners in the north and central plateau, and much of the middle class (out of fear). The poor had little sympathy but were liabilities. The most supportive groups were those who benefited from the regime: the military, the Church, Opus Dei, and the FET de las JONS. The Falange lost power but retained influence in the vertical union and the National Council.
Franco’s Death
Franco’s health worsened in 1974 and 1975. His incapacitation destabilized the government, particularly concerning the Sahara conflict. This phosphate-rich territory was coveted by Algeria, Mauritania, and Morocco. In 1973, the Polisario Front advocated independence. Spain agreed to decolonization and a self-determination referendum.
In October 1975, Morocco’s King Hassan II (with US support) organized the Green March, a peaceful invasion. Faced with war, Spain ceded the territory. The November 14 Agreement transferred the Sahara to Morocco and Mauritania. This abandonment started an ongoing conflict between the Polisario Front (proclaiming the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic) and Morocco. Franco died on November 20, 1975, leaving an anachronistic regime in crisis. His claim to leave Spain’s future “bound and tied” proved illusory.
The Immobility of the Arias Navarro Government
On November 22, 1975, Juan Carlos was proclaimed king. He retained Carlos Arias Navarro as prime minister, alongside reformers Fraga Iribarne and José María de Areilza. Expectations for accelerated reforms and democratization were dashed when Arias Navarro’s program showed continuity with Franco’s policies. His restrictive proposals on assembly and association, and the lack of political parties, disappointed democrats.
Popular Mobilizations
To push for change, the opposition created a common agenda. Groups like the Junta Democrática and Plataforma de Convergencia Democrática joined the Democratic Coordination. Their policy was a democratic rupture: a constituent process, an interim government, and general elections to establish a new system. They promoted mobilizations (demonstrations, strikes, protests) demanding freedoms and amnesty. Labor disputes often demanded political change. The 1975-1976 winter mobilizations were significant, with general strikes in Catalonia, the Basque Country, and Madrid. Government and employer responses were forceful (arrests, dismissals). The Vitoria general strike in March 1976 resulted in five deaths and many injuries.
The Suárez Government and Political Reform
The tense situation polarized the political class. Hardliners favored repression, while paramilitary groups silenced opposition. This context included student killings and the Montejurra (Navarra) events in May 1976. Reformers, seeing Arias Navarro’s failure, worked with the monarchy. Their aim was to reform the political system through legal and institutional evolution. King Juan Carlos forced Arias Navarro’s resignation on June 30, 1976. Torcuato Fernández-Miranda maneuvered Adolfo Suárez, a reformer, into power. Suárez initiated contact with democratic forces, pardoned prisoners, and proposed the Political Reform Act (LRP). The LRP recognized fundamental rights, legislative power in popular representation, and a democratic electoral system. It was approved by the Francoist Cortes, dismantling it and establishing a bicameral assembly (Congress and Senate) elected by universal suffrage. Underground negotiations with Francoists ensured their economic and social status. The Act was approved in a December 15, 1976 referendum (81% yes).
The 1978 Constitution
The June 15, 1977, Cortes were not formally constituent, but developing a democratic constitution became their priority. It was drafted by elected members from all parties (except a Basque minority). The process emphasized consensus, resolving key issues through negotiation. The Constitution was progressive but ambiguous, allowing both left and right to interpret it. Published on November 6, 1978, and approved in a December 6 referendum, it defined Spain as a “social and democratic state of law,” a parliamentary monarchy with mainly representative functions for the Crown, and the army subject to civil power. It established a non-denominational state, abolished the death penalty, and developed fundamental rights and freedoms (including the right to strike). It recognized the free market but allowed for state intervention. It established regional autonomy and recognized Castilian and other regional languages. It also established a Constitutional Court and mechanisms for constitutional reform.