Spanish Political History: From Franco to Democracy
Manifesto of the Congress of Munich
The text is an excerpt from the manifesto of the Fourth Congress of Munich in June 1962, which unanimously adopted a resolution introduced by a Spanish delegation, specifying five conditions to be met by Spain for integration into democratic Europe. In short, it demanded that Spain should implant institutions representing the will of the people, individual and collective freedoms, recognition of natural communities (not shown in the text), freedom of association and opinion, and organization of political parties.
Congress of the European Movement
The European Movement started in 1948 with a meeting in The Hague (Netherlands), headed by Churchill, Leon Blum, Spaak, and De Gasperi (political English, French, Belgian, and Italian respectively). There emerged the idea of creating a European Union, political and constitutional, although the national sentiments initially determined that its objectives were limited to economic integration. In 1962 the movement was still alive and celebrated the fourth congress in Munich.
European Convention on Human Rights
Entered into force in 1953, it aims to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. Its role model is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948.
European Social Charter
Signed in Turin in October 1961 by the Council of Europe (established in London in May 1949 to promote economic and social progress of member states) are regulated in the Charter, inter alia, labor rights and the right to work at a living wage and fair working conditions, social security, etc.
Designation of Don Juan Carlos as King
The text is an excerpt from the proposal as king of Prince Juan Carlos, made by Franco to the Cortes on July 22, 1969, and published in the Official Gazette on reference to principle 23. It makes reference to the VII of the Law Principles National Movement which establishes the Monarchy’s political form of the Spanish state, with the notes of the Catholic tradition, social and representative. Franco accordingly decides that the time has come to propose to Parliament Prince Juan Carlos de Borbon y Borbon to succeed to the title of king, stating the reasons for taking this decision. Article 1 makes clear that succession vacancy will occur when the head of state.
Spanish Courts (or Courts of the Kingdom)
The Cortes were created in Franco’s Spain by the Act of 1492, giving them an advisory role. Their representation was limited because their attorneys were appointed directly or indirectly by power.
Don Juan Carlos de Borbon y Borbon
Current king of Spain, born in Rome in 1938, son of Don Juan and Maria de las Mercedes de Borbón, and grandson of Alfonso XIII. He was educated in Spain from 1948 in military academies and the University. In 1962 he married Princess Sofia of Greece. He accepted the nomination of the leader to succeed to the title of king, the head of state. As such he was crowned on November 22, 1975, being a key figure in the transition from dictatorship to democracy and consequently on the transition from a traditional monarchy to the current constitutional model.
Monarchy: Traditional, Catholic, Social, and Representative
The monarchy would be Franco intends to implement a new kind, either absolute or constitutional, but “traditional, Catholic and representative” as they understood these concepts in the laws and principles of the Movement.
National Movement
Spanish Falange, the political party fascist founded by José Antonio Primo de Rivera in 1933, was undermined by Franco to be diluted within the so-called National Movement, which had accommodated the different families (Carlist JONS, sectors of the CEDA, monarchists), which had supported the military uprising against the Republic. The National Movement supplied the regime cadres, tried to frame and indoctrinate the masses which had other institutions such as the vertical union, the Women’s Section, the Youth Front, etc.
Moncloa Pacts
The text is a fragment of the Moncloa Pacts carried out on October 9, 1977, between the government of Spain and the democratic parties in which an agreement is reached on the program of reorganization and reform of the economy and a political action program legal. The text reflects the aspects in economic reform: tax reform, public spending control, Social Security, educational program, access to housing, labor relations, financial reform, agricultural modernization, and public company status.
Control of Public Spending
Consists of measures that governments apply to reduce the deficit and inflation. In this case, among other measures, negotiated wage restraint, the peseta was devalued sharply, and established new taxes that affected the higher rents as the special payroll tax or income tax on capital.
Reforming the Financial System
It carried out a control, through the government and the Bank of Spain, the liquidity and solvency of banks and savings banks, to avoid the risk of bank failures and the flight of capital abroad.
Manifesto of the Democratic Board
The text is an excerpt from the manifesto of the Democratic Board of Spain, presented to the public in Paris on June 29, 1974. A provisional government should lead the process of breaking with the past under a democratic program that included: amnesty for those imprisoned for political offenses or unions, legalization of all political parties, freedom and rights (trade union, strike, assembly, demonstration, press, radio, opinion, information …), independence and unity of the judiciary, political neutrality of the armed forces, recognition of the political personality of the historical communities and other areas they choose, the separation of church and state, holding a referendum to decide the state model and the integration of Spain in Europe.
AI (Amnesty International)
In the present case, it concerns the annulment of the Franco law that established the existence of political offenses and, consequently, the release of those were imprisoned for this reason.
European Communities
Refers to the European Economic Community (EEC), which arises from the Treaty of Rome in 1957 and Spain was excluded for lack of democratic political institutions.
Constitution of 1978
The text is a selection of articles of the 1978 Constitution, adopted by the Parliament on October 31, 1978, and published in the Official Gazette on December 29, which refers to the following issues:
- National unity does not preclude the recognition of autonomy of the nationalities and regions (art. 2)
- Although expressed the importance of the Catholic Church, the state remains far removed from any denominational (art. 16)
- Establishes a duty to work and the right to work of Spanish (art. 36)
- The king is the Head of State and his person is inviolable and not subject to liability (art. 56)
- The crown is hereditary in the House of Bourbon in the order of primogeniture and the male being preferable to women.
- The courts represent the Spanish people and consist of Congress and Senate.
The King’s Person is Inviolable
Privilege whereby the king is not subject to criminal liability for acts performed in the exercise of their functions. This privilege exempts him from being arrested or detained, except in cases prescribed by law, and under which it cannot be processed without authorization of the respective legislative body. Could be tried by an international tribunal. As the Spanish government has ratified the International Criminal Statute, which proclaims that the offenses referred to in it may be prosecuted without regard to official position of the accused person as Head of State or Government, a member of a Government or parliament, an elected representative or government official, which in no case exempt from prosecution and constitute a ground for reduction of sentence. Due to the universal tendency for human rights under the International Criminal Court would be fully competent to deal with these crimes, and could judge the king in the crimes within its jurisdiction.
Indissoluble Unity of the Spanish Nation
The unity of Spain is strengthened to reassure the army but is compatible with the recognition of autonomous territorial organizations, forming a unitary state, but complex. To meet the demands of the nationalists opposed to a general model of decentralization and federal uses two different concepts: nationalities and regions to make a difference in status between the territories they wanted access to the autonomous regime.
Cooperation with the Catholic Church
The Spanish government officially does not consider any particular confession and, therefore, no longer defined as a Catholic, but neither secular states, at least with the roundness of the Second Republic. The Establishment Clause of the State relied was tinged with the specific and exclusive reference to the Catholic Church, the only confession that is quoted in regard to their historical roots and its social. For this reason, the government imposes a duty to cooperate, at least, with the Catholic Church mandate was ratified by the Organic Law 7 / 1980 Religious Freedom.