Spain’s Peaceful Transition to Democracy
Number of pages:
7
ABSTRACT:
This is a 7 page paper discussing Spain’s successful and peaceful transition to democracy.
Spain’s peaceful transition to democracy was a result of several elements which were in place during the time of Franco’s rule and the strategy and allegiances Spain’s new King Juan Carlos used after Franco to successfully navigate a peaceful move toward democracy. Franco had hand-picked Juan Carlos before he died as the next successor based on the 1947 Law of Succession. During the early days after Franco’s death, Juan Carlos felt that Prime Minister Navarro who was a former member of Franco’s National Movement was not initiating reforms quickly enough and after Navarro’s resignation, Prime Minister Suarez and King Juan Carlos successfully managed to make alliances with enough members of parliament in order to pass a referendum for a general election in accordance with Franco’s Law on Referenda written in 1945, another useful element left by Franco’s regime. The passing of the Law of Political Reform in 1976 saw the end of the traditional Cortes in government and the first national elections were held later in 1976. Juan Carlos’ allegiances with the military provided for an additional element of the peace during the democratic elections. The dedication of Juan Carlos and the prime ministers throughout the first twenty five years of the ongoing process of democracy has allowed for Spain to obtain a position in the European Community and retain its position in NATO, feats which were unimaginable in Franco’s day.
Bibliography lists 7 sources.
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File: D0_TJSpain1.rtf
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