01. spanish transition. short version without video

The Spanish Transition

Definition:

It was the peaceful step forward from a dictatorship to a democratic system in Spain .

Chronology: The Transition began with the Franco´s death in 1975 and it finished betwen 1977-1982.

Milestones of the end of transition

.- 1977: the first democratic and fair election was called since 1936

.- 1978: A democratic constitution was passed

.- 1982: the left reached the political power through fair and democratic election

After some months of political uncertainty, the king Juan Carlos chose Adolfo Suárez as Prime Minister. In July 1976.

This election was controversial because Suárez was a man of the Old Regime. He was director of the public television and a member of “Falange”(a pro-Franco political movement)

Adolfo Suárez, Spanish prime minister (1976-1981)

Despite the general distrust towards Suárez, he proved to be engaged with a democratic Spain.

Suárez began to speak with political leaders of the opposition in order to implement a democratic regime in Spain

The Spanish Transition was not a revolution, but a reform that respected the Francoist laws (for example the law of referemdum that allowed to organize a referemdum to consult people)

An unexpected event:

The “Harakiri” of the Francoist Parliament.

Usually politician make all the posible thing to keep themselves in power, but the Francoist deputies voted in favor of the “Political Reform Act” that meant the end of their political careers.

Maybe they understood the Francoism was the past and democracy the future

This new Political Reform Act was passed by the Spanish people in a referendum called in 1977 with a wide majority

This Political Reform Act allowed to call a general election (the first one since 41years ago)

This election was done in a peaceful environment

Another brilliant political idea was to make a constitution which gave expression to all the political options. It was a way to assure the satisfaction of the bigger possible number of citizens and political parties with the new political regulation.

The disadvantage of this option was the ambiguity of the constitution. In some subjects such as the abortion, the private property, the expropiations, the unity of the nation, etc. the constitution says, at the same text, an idea and the opposite one

The “Constitution parents” a group of seven politicians from different political trends who drew up the constitution.

They had a lot of meetings an exchanges of ideas to make a common body of laws.

Each one did cessions to make a general arrangement

The new changes brought by the Spanish Transition and the constitution were:

.- A parlamentary regime

.- Political pluralism

.- Free election to choose people who hold public offices

.- Freedom of.- Press.- Opinion.- conscience.- worship.- expression.- assembly.- etc

.- Rigth to divorce

.- Legal equality for women (a slow process)

.- A decentralization (asked by many people in some regions such as Catalonia and Basque Country)

etc., etc.

Was it all nice in the Spanish Transition?

Unfortunately it was not.

Some terrible problems affected the Spanish people in this time:

.- Terrorism (nationalist, extreme right-wing and extreme left-wing terrorisms)

.- Inflation

.- Economic crisis

.- Unemployment ( a recurrent problem in the recent history of Spain)

.- Attempted coups made by the military linked with the extreme right, fortunately failed.

.- Separatist tensions

.- Etc.