Spain’s Second Restoration: Democratic Consolidation (1979-2004)
The Second Restoration (1979-2004)
The second term was marked by the advance of democratic consolidation, but also by the decline of the UCD in the government and a coup attempt to abort the infant democracy in 1982. It is the beginning of a period of democratic normalcy in that two parties have alternated in government: the PSOE (1982-1996) and the PP (1996-2004).
The Governments of the UCD
Once the constitution was approved, the Parliament was dissolved, and elections were called for March 1979. The UCD won again, presided over by Adolfo Suarez. The CDU gained 168 deputies, the PSOE, 121, and PCE, 23 seats. The party further to the right, Democratic Coalition, won only 10 MPs. The participation was lower than the previous election by ten points, even though the franchise had been reduced from 21 to 18. To explain this reversal, the term “electoral passivity” was coined, as the turnout was attributed to the electorate. More internal problems of the ruling party were added to its failure in the first democratic municipal elections held in April 1979, after which left-wing councils were established in large cities. A similar situation occurred in the regional elections in the Basque Country and Catalonia (March 1980), where the CDU lost half of the votes obtained in 1979. The opposition gained strength and benefited from social and political unrest, as well as the internal crisis of the UCD. In May 1980, the executive had to have a motion of censure tabled by the PSOE (from the second election had abandoned its Marxist ideology) in Parliament; the government would win with little margin. Before UCD fractionation and the questioning of his leadership, Adolfo Suarez resigned as president of the government on 29 January 1981. According to television reports, he personally took this decision “to prevent democratic coexistence from being interrupted.”
The 1981 Coup Attempt
The main threat to the democratic system’s survival was mainly in the military in areas hostile to the democratic process, which had been the legalization of the Communist Party, the autonomic process, terrorism, and the announced reform of the army, such as serious warning signs that justified their intervention. Thus, on February 23, 1981, there was a coup while the Congress of Deputies was performing the vote of investiture of Calvo Sotelo as Suarez’s successor as president of the government. A group of civil guards under the command of Lt. Col. Antonio Tejero stormed into the hemicircle, interrupted the vote by force, and held all Members. In parallel, the captain general revolted Milans del Bosch in Valencia and tanks took to the streets to impose a military coup that changed the course of Spanish politics.
Calvo Sotelo’s Government
Two days after the coup, Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo was sworn in as the new Chief of Government. His policy was indistinct from the previous Suarez, and legislative work continued. The government signed with business and labor organizations the National Employment Agreement, to contribute, from the working world, to democratic stability. Also, the Divorce Act, which the Democrats of the CDU opposed, was approved in April 1981. Spain’s entry into NATO was also requested, which became effective on May 30, 1982, opposing the leftist parties. The PSOE expressed his willingness to refer the issue to a referendum if they reached power. After a pact between the UCD and PSOE, the Organic Law of the Autonomy Process Harmonization (Lopa) was approved on June 30, 1982, in order to prevent them from being overwhelmed the limits of the powers given to the autonomies. General elections were held in October 1982 that gave the victory to the PSOE.