Spain’s Democratic Transition: Key Events and Figures
**Spain’s Transition to Democracy: 1975-1982**
**1. Beginning of the Transition (1975-1977)**
In November 1975, Juan Carlos I was proclaimed King of Spain. Over a period of time, the Spanish people made the change from dictatorship to a democratic constitution, a process called the *political transition*, considered a model for being agreed upon and nonviolent.
The new monarchy was born, legitimized by the Franco regime, which claimed control of the army, administration, and law enforcement. In his proclamation as king, Juan Carlos made a wise speech, calling for harmony and a statement of democratic will, reconciliation, tolerance, freedom, and recognition of regional peculiarities.
To form the first government of the monarchy, Juan Carlos placed Torcuato Fernández Miranda in front of the courts and the Privy Council and Arias Navarro as Chairman of the government. Rounding out the reformist cabinet were ministers Fraga, Osorio, and Garrigues, and two unknown figures, Adolfo Suárez and Rodolfo Martín Villa. In 1976, there were strikes affecting factories, utilities, and communications. In Catalonia and the Basque Country, hundreds of thousands of citizens were mobilized in favor of autonomy.
ETA continued its attacks against the forces of public order. The reforms that Arias raised were not what the situation required, and how he dealt with the problems of public order deprived him of the confidence of the King.
Given the slowness of the democratic opposition, it united in March 1976 in *Democratic Coordination*. Problems persisted in the request for a general amnesty for political prisoners of the regime, the legalization of banned political parties and unions, the defense of freedom, and the holding of free elections. Under pressure and without the support of the King, Arias was forced to resign on July 1.
**Adolfo Suárez’s Policy Reform**
In July 1976, a politician named Adolfo Suárez, who came from the Franco regime, was named head of government. Although most of the opposition interpreted the appointment as a brake on reform, Suárez immediately showed greater tolerance towards democracy. He granted a broad amnesty and established contacts with Felipe González and even Santiago Carillo and CCOO. In September 1976, the country introduced the draft on television for the *Political Reform Act*, designed by Fernández Miranda, which was to change the existing political system and regulate the desired call for elections. He acted very wisely to get the backing of a Franco Cortes law that would bring about its own immediate dissolution. The law was adopted on November 18 and on December 15, 1976, it was voted on in a referendum with 94% of the votes and a 77% stake. In the following months, there was some provocation on the part of ETA. The outpouring of grief brought a million people who gave an example of strength and serenity and contributed to the legalization of the *Communist Party of Spain*. This was the symbol of Franco and the match between the working class and the middle class, caused by the 1977 Easter. It was an act of political intelligence by Adolfo Suárez, who could not attend an election where the DCP was not involved.
**2. The Constituent Period: Consensus Stage (1977-1979)**
Guaranteed political pluralism, the parties prepared to participate in the first democratic elections since 1936, held on June 15, 1977. The *UCD*, a government coalition formed by an amalgam of personalities and center parties, social democrats, liberals, and democrats, around Adolfo Suárez, won the victory, followed by the *PSOE*, led by Felipe González, the *PCE*, and the *Popular Alliance*, while the far-right obtained one seat. The UCD government, under the direction of Smith, had a task: developing a constitution and dealing with the international economic situation of the seventies. To address the economic situation, the *Moncloa Pacts* were signed in October 1977. These arrangements agreed to three bands expected to reduce inflation and tackle fiscal reform, social security, and public enterprise. They established a limit on wage increases. The benefits of the Moncloa Pacts were seen in lower inflation, increased productivity, and, above all, in improving the climate of social peace and industrial relations. The other section was performed on consensus between all political and social forces in the development and adoption of the *Constitution of 1978*. Parliament appointed a commission of seven members of different political forces, from the Franco right to the Communist Party, to draft the new constitution. The committee failed to reach an agreement, and the text came to be discussed at the conference and dinner. On December 6, 1978, the constitution was approved in a referendum. Its main features are:
- The state is defined as a social and democratic rule of law, organized in a parliamentary form of government.
- The state is no longer defined as Catholic.
- Civil rights are recognized for all: freedom of association, assembly, and expression, the right to privacy, the right to divorce, and the abolition of the death penalty.
- The powers of the crown are limited to matters merely representing it, and it only holds the supreme command of the armed forces.
- Political representation is organized in general courts consisting of two chambers: the Senate and the Congress of Deputies.
- The separation of powers (legislative, executive, and judicial) is established.
In terms of social rights and duties of the population:
- The state has the right to intervene in the economy.
- The right to education is considered a public service that the state is to promote and control.
- Equal rights for men and women and non-discrimination on grounds of sex, religion, or race.
- The right to health and healing.
**3. Threatened Democracy (1979-1982)**
The first steps of democracy were threatened by terrorism and the military coup.
ETA intensified its activity, and armed action was supplemented in the polls by Herri Batasuna, which reached more than 15% of the vote. Other left-wing terrorist groups like the FRAP and GRAPO carried out actions trying to provoke a coup by the military. At this stage, general elections were called for March 1979, which were again won by the UCD. Shortly after, the first free municipal elections since 1933 were called. The PSOE reached a remarkable manner so that, after a deal with the PCE, it won the mayorships of the major cities. Several factors led to a weakening of Suárez and his government. The statutes of autonomy and their generalization divided members of the government and the party. At the beginning of 1981, there were rumors of military pressure to dismiss Smith, who was accused of weakness against separatism and terrorism. Because of internal tensions, harassment of the opposition, and yet unknown factors, in late January 1981, Adolfo Suárez resigned.
Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo, who had been a minister in every government of Suárez, was proposed to replace him. On February 23, 1981, during the investiture vote in parliament for Calvo Sotelo, there was a coup attempt, with the takeover of Congress by a detachment of policemen under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Tejero, while Valencia was taken by the tanks of General Captain Milans del Bosch. On February 24, the troops were kidnapped, and their congressional representatives had to be paid. The following months, under the chairmanship of Calvo Sotelo, government policy was marked by the effects of 23 F. The disintegration of the ruling party, the UCD, accelerated, with the loss of one-third of its deputies and division into up to four different formations. Even Suárez left to create the *Social Democratic Center (CDS)*. Calvo Sotelo managed to include Spain in NATO. Without waiting to exhaust the legislature, he announced the October 1982 elections.
The PSOE obtained a large majority of the electorate between 1982 and 1992, renewing electoral victories on several occasions.
This broad electoral support allowed it to undertake a series of economic and political reforms that had as main targets getting out of the economic crisis, the incorporation of the country into the European and international context, and the definitive consolidation of democracy in Spain.