The Democratic Spain: From Transition to Consolidation
The Democratic Spain: Monarchy of Juan Carlos I
The Government of UCD (1978-1982)
The first steps of democracy were threatened by terrorism and military coups. ETA intensified its activities with the objective of forcing the government to accept the independence of Euskadi, complementing its actions through the political party Herri Batasuna, which garnered over 15% of the votes in electoral contests. ETA’s terrorism, along with that of other groups like the Popular Front and GRAPO, aimed to undermine the credibility of the fledgling democracy and provoke a reaction from the military and state security forces, who were the targets of their attacks.
Following the adoption of the Constitution and subsequent legislative elections, Adolfo Suárez, credited with promoting the democratic reform, secured another electoral victory. However, the left’s triumph in local elections soon followed, fueled by the pact between the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party) and the PCE (Communist Party of Spain).
The Suárez government faced significant challenges, including the implementation of the autonomous decentralization process outlined in Articles 143 and 151 of the Constitution. The differences between the government and the opposition intensified, with the PSOE launching harsh criticism culminating in a motion of censure against Suárez, which ultimately failed. Suárez also faced the gradual disintegration of his own party, plagued by internal divisions over issues such as divorce law, tax reform, and terrorism.
Within the military, rumors of conspiracy were rampant, and a climate of discontent drove some military leaders to plot against democracy. Suárez’s resignation in January 1981 and the insults directed at the King and Queen during their visit to Guernica by pro-ETA groups fueled the fire. On February 23, during the investiture debate for the new Prime Minister, Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo, a group of Civil Guards led by Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Tejero stormed Congress and held its members hostage. Simultaneously, in Valencia, troops under the command of General Jaime Milans del Bosch took to the streets and seized control of the city. Tense moments gripped military barracks across Spain until the King’s televised address, urging adherence to constitutional order, convinced those who were undecided about the low probability of a successful coup.
The coup’s failure resulted in the revitalization of democracy, marked by mass popular demonstrations and a renewed spirit of political consensus.
In 1979, the Spanish economy entered a negative phase characterized by rising prices, low GDP growth, a balance of payments deficit, rising unemployment, and other issues. This economic downturn contributed to the self-disintegration of the UCD. In response to this situation, Calvo Sotelo called for early elections in August 1982, which resulted in a landslide victory for the Socialists.
The Government of the Socialists (1982-1996)
The Socialists’ victory was attributed to several factors, including party unity, the popularity of their leader, Felipe González, a progressive and innovative electoral program that included a promise to create 800,000 jobs, the ideological renovation of its leaders (who now accepted the monarchy as a form of state), the disintegration of the UCD, and the Communists’ failure to secure a significant number of votes, even when allied with other leftist groups in a coalition called the United Left.
The Socialists implemented a series of economic and political reforms aimed at addressing the economic crisis, integrating Spain into the European context, and consolidating democracy. Their economic policies included measures to control inflation and public spending, the restructuring of large public companies, and the closure of unprofitable industries, leading to early retirement for many workers, despite the resulting social unrest. They also increased public expenditure to expand state services and implemented programs to promote employment, although unemployment continued to rise.
From 1986 onward, the economy began to recover, aided by Spain’s accession to the European Economic Community and the reduction of trade barriers to attract foreign investment. Trade unions (CCOO and UGT) agreed to wage restraint and contained labor unrest in exchange for greater investment in public spending. However, when these investments were not forthcoming, the unions organized a massive general strike in 1988, effectively paralyzing the country. This was a social response to the government’s employment and economic adjustment measures.
The government’s commitment to creating a welfare state led to a focus on pensions and healthcare. They expanded health coverage to all citizens, increased healthcare charges, and streamlined healthcare administration. Pensions were universalized, their value was increased, and unemployment benefits were linked to them. In Andalusia and Extremadura, the implementation of the PER (Rural Employment Plan) was particularly significant.
The government also sought to reach agreements on issues such as education reform, with the aim of improving university degrees in teaching and promoting public-private partnerships. They also expanded compulsory education to the age of 16 (LODE and LOGSE laws). In terms of public works, the most notable achievements included the development of the motorway and expressway network and the improvement of infrastructure in Barcelona and Seville for the 1992 Olympic Games and World Expo, respectively.
Despite the government’s efforts, counterterrorism policies failed to eradicate ETA’s criminal activity. Although the number of attacks decreased, they became more deadly, with car bomb explosions such as the attack on the Hipercor supermarket in Barcelona, which killed 21 people (1987). France cooperated with the Spanish authorities in the fight against ETA, while the Ajuria Enea Pact, signed by all political forces, aimed to isolate the violent group.
However, the GAL (Anti-Terrorist Liberation Groups) operated with impunity, murdering people linked to ETA. On the international stage, Spain joined the EEC (1986) and NATO. The Socialist administration reached its peak with the celebrations of 1992, during which the new democratic Spain gained international recognition.
However, the country soon faced a serious crisis. Jobs were lost, the economic criteria for economic convergence with Europe were not met, and the first corruption scandals emerged (Filesa case, Bank of Spain scandal, Banesto case, reserved funds scandal). The GAL case revealed that the Interior Ministry had been involved in illegal activities, and CESID (Spanish intelligence agency) documents came to light, demonstrating that politicians, journalists, and even the King himself had been subjected to illegal wiretapping.
In the 1993 elections, the Socialists won again, albeit with a reduced majority. They sought pacts with moderate nationalist parties (PNV and CiU) in exchange for concessions on the autonomous decentralization process. Meanwhile, the Popular Party, born from the renewal of Alianza Popular (a right-wing group led by Manuel Fraga Iribarne) and with a new president, José María Aznar, gradually gained control of areas of power that had been held by the Socialists for over a decade, including European Parliament seats, municipalities, and autonomous communities.
The Government of the People’s Party (1996-2004)
In the 1996 elections, the Popular Party (PP) narrowly defeated the PSOE by just 300,000 votes. José María Aznar, with the support of the PNV and CiU, became Prime Minister. His government began by granting 30% of income tax revenue to the autonomous communities and implementing an extensive program of privatization of public companies (CAMPSA, Telefónica, Endesa, etc.). The priority was to meet the Maastricht criteria for joining the eurozone: controlling the public deficit and inflation.
From 1996 onward, the economy began to recover, unemployment figures improved significantly, the political scandals of the previous era faded, and the threat of a return to power by an intransigent right largely vanished. The Popular Party moderated its image and presented itself to the Spanish people as a center-right party based on neoliberal ideas. Their efforts paid off, and among other achievements, they secured Spain’s entry into the eurozone. The single currency came into circulation in January 2002. All these factors contributed to the People’s Party’s comfortable majority in the 2000 elections.
However, the period from 2000 to 2004 was not as fruitful, mainly due to the implementation of a series of unpopular measures that eroded the government’s popularity. In particular, the strong support for the US-led war on terror and Spain’s participation in the Iraq War, under the pretext of addressing the threat posed by Saddam Hussein, provoked a backlash from leftist parties, who organized smear campaigns against the government and criticized its actions in the media. Nevertheless, Spain’s economic performance remained strong, even reaching unprecedented levels that were acknowledged by other European Union member states.
The government intensified its strategy against ETA, signing the Anti-Terrorist Pact with the PSOE. This pact led to the outlawing of pro-ETA groups, increased cooperation between security forces and their French counterparts, the suppression of Herri Batasuna’s political leadership, and the application of stricter measures against ETA prisoners by the judiciary.
However, on March 11, 2004, a major terrorist attack shook Spain. Several bombs exploded on commuter trains near Madrid’s Atocha station, killing over 200 people and injuring more than 1,000. The government’s handling of the situation in the hours leading up to the general elections, scheduled for two days later, was widely criticized, and their credibility was severely damaged.
The Government of the Socialist Party (2004-2008)
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The March 2004 elections give victory to the Socialist Party, at the hands of a new leader, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, building on IU, the moderate nationalists (PNV, CiU, CC) and other more radical (ERC). The Socialists get a return on creative and original advertising campaign around the slogan ‘ZP = President Zapatero’, while capitalizing opinions contrary to the Iraq War and the terrorist attack in Madrid, Asserting in his favor starring discredit Ministers Aznar to the general public. The Zapatero government started an ambitious program of social reforms (legalization of gay marriage, abortion, gender parity in all areas), regional (statutory reforms of Catalonia, Valencia and Andalusia) and educational (LOE), while in economy maintains a continuity with previous test stage. The contacts with ETA endanger the political consensus among the majority groups to break the Anti-Terrorist Pact and forced interpretations of the Parties Law (release of ETA de Juana Chaos and political participation of left-wing nationalism in the 2007 municipal elections with the party ANV).
In March 2008 elections are held, with new victory of the PSOE (42,87%). They are not involved nearly 40 lists from ANV, losing strength Izquierda Unida (only 2 deputies). The period was characterized by measures of the important economic and financial crisis international context.