Spain’s Democratic Board Manifesto 1974
The Democratic Board Manifesto (1974)
This manifesto, drafted illegally and made public on July 29, 1974, announced the creation of the Board, consisting of democratic parties and organizations of the anti-Franco opposition. It should be noted that at that time, General Franco was hospitalized, and for this reason, was forced to temporarily transfer power to Juan Carlos. Franco returned to assume the leadership of the state until his death on November 20, 1975.
The aim of the manifesto was to prepare for the regime change that would take place in Spain while the dictator was dying. Within the democratic opposition, there was a division of opinion on how this change should occur. Most anti-Franco parties advocated for a radical break from the totalitarian system to a democratic one. Others believed that a successor appointed by Franco, such as Juan Carlos de Borbón, would establish a monarchy based on the principles of the National Movement.
Key Demands of the Manifesto
In the first three points, the Board members advocated for:
- The formation of an interim government that would replace the Francoist system. The new regime had to be an authentic democracy with freedoms, rights, and obligations recognized by the Spanish people.
- The release of all leaders and representatives of political parties and militant trade unions who were illegally arrested, and the dropping of all charges against them.
- The legalization of all political organizations.
The following sections claimed freedom of association and the return of labor organizations’ heritage expropriated during the Francoist regime. They also claimed the right to strike, peaceful assembly, and demonstration, and freedom of expression.
Further sections demanded a basic condition in any democratic state: the separation of powers, especially the judiciary. For instance, the manifesto criticized the so-called Public Order Court, which judged political crimes during the dictatorship. Elsewhere, it advocated for the restoration of the army’s role to take care only of external defense and, more importantly, to ensure military power was not above civil power.
In the last point, the manifesto opened the possibility that after Franco’s death, a state could be created in which the existence of different constituent peoples of the Spanish State was recognized.
They also claimed the separation of religious and political power. Once democracy was established, they proposed holding a referendum to decide the final form of the state, whether monarchical or republican, but in any case, it would be a democratic state.
Growth of Anti-Franco Opposition (1960s)
During the sixties, the anti-Franco opposition grew as a result of social changes. The new labor movement, the new urban bourgeoisie, and the university staged the opposition.
- The New Labor Movement: Trade unions like UGT and CC.OO operated as clandestine unions, infiltrating the vertical unions of the Franco regime. However, the CNT had practically disappeared in this period. The PCE and PSOE also continued to operate underground with other parties such as the PSP, the ORT, and the MC.
- The Progressive Bourgeoisie: Brought together for the first time in what newspapers called the Munich Conspiracy (1962), representatives of the Spanish opposition in exile and inside Spain met.
- The University: Student organizations emerged with trends and policies related to various parties. In that decade of the sixties, there were mass demonstrations in the streets and a large increase in labor conflictivity.
Crisis of the Franco Regime
All these economic and social changes were not accompanied by a change in the Franco regime’s political structure. The regime’s crisis was accentuated by the assassination of Luis Carrero Blanco by ETA in December 1973.
From this time, two trends emerged within the regime: the Immovable and the Openness. Carlos Arias Navarro, Carrero’s successor, announced a law on political associations, always respecting the principles of the National Movement. One of the most important facts of this phase was the constitution, in hiding, of the called Democratic Board.
Transition and Legacy
Franco died after a long illness on November 20, 1975. Juan Carlos would succeed him as Head of State, as foreseen in the Law of Succession. The Constitution of 1978 would take care of realizing many of the claims contained in the Manifesto of the Democratic Board, but some, like the referendum to decide the form of the state, never took place.