History of Spain (1975–present)
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The history of Modern Spain may be viewed as beginning with the death of Franco on 20 November 1975, and the accession of King Juan Carlos. This began the parliamentary monarchy now established in Spain. Subsequently, the Spanish Constitution of 1978 was produced, and Spain's map of autonomous communities was configured.
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[edit] Road to elections (1975-1977)
After Franco's death, there were a number of political possibilities:
- Continuing the previous system. This was supported by the main leaders of that regime, (the bunker) higher military officers, and numerous oligarchs and falangists.
- A complete break with the previous system. This was supported by sectors of the opposition who created the Junta Democrática. However, other members of the opposition, fearing the reaction of the military, supported some agreement with the previous regime: these created the Plataforma de Convergencia Demócratica.
- A reform of the previous system with a constitutional monarchy. This was supported by a minority led by the King.
The King had opened possibilities for these reforms in his coronation speech. For the reformation to be possible, high-ranking personalities which supported continuity were to be displaced from power.
The first action the King took was to name Torcuato Fernández Miranda, his old teacher, the president of the Cortes and of the Consejo del Reino. This helped him control the Cortes and provided him with crucial assistance to make the transition in a legal way. Torcuato Miranda was hated by the falangists and was a staunch supporter of the reform. The new government included "reformists" like Manuel Fraga, who was the visible head of the government. However, he argued with the opposition (even imprisoning the leaders of the Platijunta, the current coalition of the Junta Demócratica and the Plataforma de Convergencia Democrática) which he wanted to keep out of the way. He wanted slow evolution into democracy, unlike the King. The King kept trying to convince Arias of the need to accelerate reforms, but he did quite the opposite of what the King requested. So the next step became getting rid of Carlos Arias Navarro, as he had become excessively pressurised by the bunker.
The King could not dismiss him according to francoist laws. In an interview with Newsweek on 26 April 1976, the King expressed his discontent with Arias, and soon after, in June 1976 Arias signed his resignation. In his place, Adolfo Suárez was named President of the Government on 3 July 1976. Coming from franquist backgrounds, he was not well received by the opposition, by the bunker or by the reformist, so his government was formed with minor personalities after Fraga declined to take part in it. Suárez supported the King's reform plans.
During this time, a small amnesty was proclaimed to political prisoners. The next step was reforming the Cortes and establishing the legal system for elections. Suárez's new government wrote the Political Reform Act, which called for the Cortes to become bicameral, consisting of a 350-member Congress and a 201-member Senate. This was approved by the Cortes, signing their own demise, and later put on referendum, and approved by a huge majority (94% in favour).
This Law forced the government to call general elections, but it had to legalize political parties first. They were legalized soon after; the sole limitation was that their political program had to be completely legal. On 23 March 1977, the laws which regulated elections were published in the BOE. A wide amnesty was also proclaimed on 17 March.
This was a time of violence in the streets. The most significant event was the Atocha Massacre, where seven lawyers belonging to Comisones Obreras (the syndicate of the Communist Party) were killed by extreme right-wingers. There was also left-wing violence by groups like ETA or new groups like GRAPO, a Maoist group; or MPAIAC, a Canarian independence group. The Communist Party of Spain was legalized on Holy Saturday (9 April) to prevent any military movement which could oppose it. This caused the resignation of the Minister of Navy and the general repining of the army. This was after Santiago Carrillo renounced republicanism and the three-colour flag. During this time, the King's father, Don Juan de Borbón, renounced his rights to the throne in favour of Juan Carlos in la Zarzuela on 14 May. After this, Rodriguéz Torcuato Miranda resigned due to political differences with Adolfo Suárez. Torcuato Miranda wanted to create a similar system to the one in the USA, with a centre-left and a centre-right party alternating in the power.
Elections took place on 15 July 1977 which gave the following results for the Congress of Deputies:
- UCD (Unión de Centro Democrático), Centre-right formation led by Suárez obtained 166 seats.
- PSOE (Partido Socialista Obrero Español), Centre-left formation, a descendant of the Second Republic's PSOE, obtained 118 seats.
- PCE (Partido Comunista de España), Left wing formation obtained 20 seats.
- AP (Alianza Popular), Right wing formation, formed by ex-franquists and led by Fraga, obtained 16 seats.
- PDC (Pacte Démocratic per Catalunya), centre-right Catalonian formation obtained 11 seats.
- PNV (Partido Nacionalista Vasco), centre-right Basque formation obtained 8 seats.
- Other parties, including left-wing Basque and Catalonian independentists, democristians, and extreme left-wing parties obtained 11 seats.
Main article: Spanish general election, 1977
[edit] The Spanish Constitution (1978)
Main article: Spanish Constitution of 1978
After the elections, it was necessary to write up a Constitution for the new Spain. The pre-constitutional project was written up by a commission consisting of deputies of all main political groups except PNV. After several months of discussion, a consensus was reached between several parties, and the Constitution was sent to the Cortes for approval. After this, it was put on a referendum on 8 December 1978 and was approved by 58% of the total census, with an 8% negative vote and 33% abstention. It was signed by the King on 12 December, and took effect from 1 January 1979.
The constitution granted the right for historical communities to form autonomous regions in Spain. The first regions to do this were the Basque Country and Catalonia, and soon after other regions joined, making up the modern map of Spain. This was widely criticised by the army and by right wing groups which thought the unity of Spain was compromised, and it is still a source of argument today.
[edit] The dissolution of UCD and the 23-F (1979-1982)
On November 1978, information services had been alerted to a possible coup d'etat whose objective was to form a "National Salvation" government and arrest Suárez. This was called Operación Galaxia. On March 1979 new elections were called with the following results for the Congress of Deputies:
- UCD: 168 seats
- PSOE: 121 seats
- PCE: 23 seats
- CD: 9 seats
- CiU: 8 seats
- PNV: 7 seats
- Others: 14 seats
Main article: Spanish general election, 1979
CD was the new name for Fraga's Alianza Popular, and CiU was a coalition of conservative Catalonian parties. UCD was a conglomerate party with many factions, as it was built from the existing government by Adolfo Suárez. This conglomerate started showing divisions with the arguments about laws on divorce and especially in the autonomous statutes. The pressure from opposing factions and from the opposition wore down Adolfo Suárez until he resigned from the party and also resigned from his position as President of the Government. Suárez publicly announced his resignation in TVE, on 25 June 1981. This was a surprise for most people, as it was a completely unexpected move from Suárez.
The next UCD congress in February took place amongst great tension. Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo was voted candidate for the Presidency of the Government for UCD and was to be invested President on 23 February.
Main article: 23-F
On the day of his investment, Antonio Tejero broke into the Congress and held all deputies at gunpoint. The army's discontent was caused because of the autonomous statutes which they thought compromised Spain's unity. However, this coup d'etat failed because the King called for the military powers to obey legal civilian authority. The next morning, Tejero surrendered, and the democracy was saved.
On June 1981, entry to NATO was approved in Congress with the open opposition of left-wing groups. The Socialist Party PSOE, the main opposition party, promised a referendum on NATO if it (PSOE) got into government. New elections were called in which the UCD suffered a heavy loss, giving PSOE a huge majority in both the Senate and the Congress of Deputies. PSOE during this time also abandoned Marxist ideology in favour of more moderate tendencies. The massive gain of CP, led by Manuel Fraga, was caused by the disappearance of UCD from the political spectrum.
Results for Congress of Deputies:
- PSOE: 202 seats
- CP: 106 seats
- CiU: 12 seats
- UCD: 12 seats
- PNV: 8 seats
- PCE: 4 seats
- Others: 6 seats
Main article: Spanish general election, 1982
The PSOE was the first party to rule over Spain with a majority in the history of Spain's democracy. The transition to democracy was said to be completed here because a centre-left party took over the government from a centre-right party with no consequences.
[edit] Spain under Felipe González (1982-1996)
Felipe González became Prime Minister (Presidente del Gobierno in Spanish) after PSOE's victory in the elections. PSOE at that time, though it had renounced to its Marxist ideology, still had a populist current, led by Alfonso Guerra, as opposed to a neo-liberal one, led by Miguel Boyer. This would cause divisions in the party which would not show up until years later.
In González's first term, several measures were adopted, but with moderation – something that contrasted with their program, which was much more radical. The main bills passed in this period were legalized abortion, increased personal freedoms, and a reorganization of the education in Spain. In addition, however, this period marked the appearance of the GAL, counter-terrorist forces led by the government which assassinated various terrorists, and the expropriation of RUMASA, a trust operated by a shady member of Opus Dei. Also during this period, Spain joined the EEC, and a referendum (as promised by PSOE) was called on Spain remaining in NATO on 12 March 1986. This time, however, the socialists campaigned in favour of NATO, the parties to the left of PSOE campaigned against NATO, and the right, led by Fraga, campaigned for abstention. In the referendum, the Spanish population opted to remain in NATO with a 52.2% vote in favour, but with considerable abstention.
Elections were called on 28 June 1986 for both chambers.
Main article: Spanish general election, 1986
- PSOE: 184 seats
- CP: 105 seats
- CDS: 19 seats
- CiU: 18 seats
- IU: 7 seats
- PNV: 6 seats
- HB: 5 seats
- Others: 6 seats
PSOE maintained its majority in both chambers, but it lost some seats, and CDS, the new centre party led by Adolfo Suárez, became the third party. Izquierda Unida (IU) is a conglomerate of left-wing parties led by the PCE. Lastly, Herri Batasuna (HB) is a Basque separatist political party, recently banned for its ties to ETA.
PSOE's majority meant it could pass laws without the need for consensus between all the political parties. So, there was great stability, but there was no real parliament debate. There was practically no political opposition, but a social opposition started growing in the end of the 80s, consisting of two fronts: the student front, and the syndicalist front. This last front exerted a great amount of pressure, even calling for a general strike on 14 December 1988, due to the liberalizing of the economic policies. On this day, eight million Spaniards did not go to work, which accounted for 90% of the total work force in Spain. Faced with these problems, PSOE had to call for elections one year earlier, on 29 October 1989.
Main article: Spanish general election, 1989
- PSOE: 175 seats
- PP: 107 seats
- CiU: 18 seats
- IU: 17 seats
- CDS: 14 seats
- PNV: 5 seats
- HB: 4 seats
- Others: 10 seats
PSOE stood just on the border of the majority now (175 seats of 350), but it was able to pass laws because of the absence of HB's deputies. PP was the new name for CP, and it became consolidated as the second largest party. From 1991, PSOE started losing its urban vote in favour of PP, adding this to various scandals: the FILESA case, an organization built to illegaly raise funds for PSOE, influence peddling and prevarication cases, internal divisions between the populist and the liberal currents started showing up. Under these conditions, elections were called on 6 June 1993 with the following results:
Main article: Spanish general election, 1993
- PSOE: 159 seats
- PP: 141 seats
- IU: 18 seats
- CiU: 17 seats
- PNV: 5 seats
- CC: 4 seats
- Others: 6 seats
PSOE only managed to achieve a relative majority. It had to draw a deal with CiU, a Catalan centre-right party. This caused frequent tensions and accusations from the opposition that PSOE was giving more money to Catalonia in exchange for CiU's support. Coalicion Canaria (CC) was formed by a conglomerate of liberal Canarian regionalist parties.
This legislature was a failure due to the continuous attacks from the opposition and new corruption scandals – the most famous one was the Guardia Civil's director, Luis Roldán. Facing this, PSOE had to call for early elections on 3 March 1996.
Main article: Spanish general election, 1996
- PP: 156 seats
- PSOE: 141 seats
- IU: 21 seats
- CiU: 16 seats
- PNV: 5 seats
- Others: 7 seats
PP won these elections and was able to enter the government after acquiring support from the various Catalan, Canarian and Basque groups.
[edit] Spain under José María Aznar (1996-2004)
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José María Aznar became prime minister of Spain thanks to the support from CiU, PNV and CC. During his first term, his main objective was an economic policy to allow convergence with the euro, and several public enterprises were privatized.
Elections were held in Spain on March 12, 2000, and the PP obtained a majority of seats:
- PP: 183 seats
- PSOE: 125 seats
- CiU: 15 seats
- IU: 8 seats
- PNV: 7 seats
In his second term, without needing the support from the autonomic parties, Aznar was able to apply his party's program more freely but not without controversy.
Again, the government's focus was on economy, and some of its reforms were strongly criticized by the syndicates. The economic policy caused an increase in the price of butane, gasoline and tobacco, that led to an increase in the price of other goods that increased with the arrival of euro.
The most controversial aspects of this second term were:
- The 2002 general strike (due to the labour policies)
- The reform of university studies by decree
- The application of the National Hidrologic Plan (which included several transfers, being the most important the one from river Ebro to South-Eastern Spain).
- The ill-managed accident of the oil carrier Prestige, which caused a big oil spill in the Galician coast.
- The support to the US-lead Iraq war against public opinion, even sending soldiers there.
Aznar is also said to have had a more tense relationship with the King, unlike his predecessor, whose friendship with the King still lasts today.
One of the most peculiar events of his second term was when Spain and Morocco had some disagreements about Perejil Island, an island with an area less than a square kilometer near the coast of Morocco. Morocco brought some forces to that island. After some days of diplomatic conversations, Morocco didn't withdraw the few troops that were there. Finally, Spain brought a helicopter and some troops to the island and drove them back to Morocco.
Even though the Spanish laws do not limit the terms in office of a President, Aznar voluntarily decided to not run for a third term. Interior Minister Mariano Rajoy was elected by his party as new leader. While initial polls gave him good chances of winning, the Madrid train bombings on March 11, 2004, just three days before elections took place, changed the tide of the vote.
Internally, the attacks were seen as the result of Spain support to the US in the Iraq war.
- For more information, see Aftermath of the 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings#The Spanish general election
The election was held on March 14, 2004 and PSOE, led by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, won a plurality of seats in Congress of Deputies, and was able to form a government with the support of minor parties.
- PSOE: 164 seats
- PP: 148 seats
- CiU: 10 seats
- ERC: 8 seats
- PNV: 7 seats
- IU: 5 seats
- CC: 3 seats
- BNG: 2 seats
[edit] Spain under José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (2004- )
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Since he doesn't have a majority, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero became prime minister with the support of IU, ERC and CC. This is not a coalition, however, and any law must be individually negotiated.
As promised during the electoral campaign, Zapatero recalled all Spanish soldiers from Iraq. His government has also approved a same-sex marriage law, which has the support of most of the people but also the vocal disagreement of the Roman Catholic Church and some conservative sectors like former government party PP.
Unlike his predecesor, in the international arena Zapatero favors the United Nations and France and Germany within the European Union. His relations with the United States are currently between strained and uncomfortable.
- For more information on Zapatero's policies as President, see the José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero article.
