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1994-05-02
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<text>
<title>
Spain: History
</title>
<article>
<hdr>
Background Notes: Spain
History
</hdr>
<body>
<p> For centuries, the Iberian Peninsula was the scene of
successive invasions and warfare. From the ninth century B.C.
to A.D. 700, Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, and Moors
entered the peninsula from the Mediterranean. The Celts, who
had considerable influence in northern Spain, and the Romans,
who arrived in the second century B.C., came by the land route.
The present Spanish language, religion, and laws stem from the
Roman period. The Visigoths arrived in the fifth century A.D.,
but the last Roman strongholds along the southern coast did not
fall until the seventh century. In A.D. 711, North African
Moors sailed across the straits, swept into Andalusia, and,
within a few years, pushed the Visigoths up the peninsula to
the Cantabrian Mountains. The Reconquest--efforts to drive out
the Moors--lasted for more than 700 years. The Moors were
expelled from the peninsula in 1492, the year Columbus made his
voyage to the New World, and by 1512 the unification of
present-day Spain was complete.
</p>
<p> In the 16th century, Spain became the most powerful nation
in Europe, due to the immense wealth derived from the Americas
and the power of the Hapsburg Empire. Subsequently, a series of
long, costly wars and revolts, capped by the defeat by the
English of the "Invincible Armada" in 1588, caused the steady
decline of Spanish power in Europe. The death in 1700 of Charles
II, last of the Hapsburg rulers, brought about the War of
Spanish Succession and the installation of a member of the House
of Bourbon as the Spanish monarch. A century later, Spain became
embroiled in the Napoleonic wars, during which Napoleon's
brother, Joseph, was placed on the Spanish throne (1808-14).
After the long campaign of the peninsular war, known in Spain
as the War of Independence, the Bourbon monarchy was restored.
</p>
<p> In 1812, during the French occupation of Madrid, the
progressive Constitution of Cadiz was drawn up, embodying
principles that were disputed by liberals and conservatives for
another 100 years. The 19th century saw the revolt and
independence of most of the American colonies; three Carlist
wars over the succession issue; the institutionalization of the
military pronunciamiento as a call to insurrection in the name
of protecting the national interest; the brief ousting of the
monarchy and establishment of the First Republic (1873-74);
economic stagnation; and, finally, the Spanish-American War
(1898), in which Spain lost Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the
Philippines to the United States.
</p>
<p> Neutral in World War I, Spain subsequently suffered from a
lack of governmental authority and experienced economic,
political, and social crises. A period of dictatorial rule
(1923-31) ended with the establishment of the Second Republic.
It was dominated by increasing political polarization,
culminating in the leftist Popular Front electoral victory in
1936. Pressures from all sides, coupled with growing and
unchecked violence, led to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War
in July 1936.
</p>
<p> Following the victory of his nationalist forces in 1939,
Gen. Francisco Franco ruled a nation exhausted politically and
economically. Spain was officially neutral during World War II
but followed a pro-Axis policy. The victorious Allies isolated
Spain at the beginning of the postwar period, and the country
was not allowed to join the United Nations until 1955.
</p>
<p> Spain's economy began to recover in the 1950s, but
large-scale modernization and development did not occur until
the 1960s.
</p>
<p>Current Political Conditions
</p>
<p> Upon the death of Gen. Francisco Franco in November 1975,
Prince Juan Carlos de Borbon y Borbon, Franco's personally
designated heir, assumed the titles of king and chief of state.
Dissatisfied with the slow pace of post-Franco liberalization,
in July 1976, the King replaced Franco's last prime minister
with Adolfo Suarez. Suarez entered office promising that
elections would be held within 1 year, and his government moved
to enact a series of decree laws to liberalize the new regime.
Suffrage was extended from family heads to all citizens over 21
(lowered to age 18 by the constitution of 1978), freedom of
assembly was recognized, all nonviolent political prisoners were
freed, and political parties were legalized--a process
completed by the legalization of the Communist Party of Spain
(PCE) in April 1977. Labor unions--merely tolerated at first
under the new government--eventually were legalized and
granted the right to strike.
</p>
<p> Spain's first elections to the Cortes (parliament) since
1936 were held on June 15, 1977. Prime Minister Suarez' Union
of the Democratic Center (UCD), a moderate center-right
coalition, won 34% of the vote and received 165 of the 350 seats
in the Congress of Deputies. The Spanish Socialist Worker's
Party (PSOE), a democratic socialist party, finished a strong
second, polling 29%. The PCE finished third with 9%, and the
Popular Alliance finished fourth with 8%. Suarez remained as
prime minister of the new administration.
</p>
<p> The new Cortes set about drafting a democratic constitution
amidst a consensus among Spain's major political parties that
the consolidation of Spanish democracy was the foremost
political goal. After months of negotiation, the Cortes
overwhelmingly approved a draft constitution. A December 1978
national referendum approved the new constitution by a vast
majority.
</p>
<p> The democratic constitution establishes Spain as a
parliamentary monarchy, with the prime minister responsible to
the bicameral Cortes. Human and civil rights are protected, and
due process is guaranteed. The constitution establishes an
independent judiciary and a constitutional court. It also
provides for the creation of autonomous regions within the
Spanish state. Many details of government practice were left to
subsequent enabling legislation, but the constitution provides
the legal and institutional basis for Spanish democracy. After
the constitution entered into force at the end of 1978, Prime
Minister Suarez called for new national elections. The
elections of March 1979 gave Suarez' UCD a large plurality, with
35% of the vote and 168 of 350 seats in the Congress of
Deputies. The PSOE again received 29% of the vote, while the PCE
gained slightly and picked up almost 11%. The reorganized
Conservative Coalition (CD) shrank from 8% to 5.5%. The Congress
reconfirmed Suarez as prime minister.
</p>
<p> In January 1981, Suarez resigned, and the King nominated
Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo to replace him. On February 23, while the
Congress of Deputies was voting on the Calvo Sotelo nomination,
rebel elements among the security forces seized the Congress
and tried to impose a military-backed government. The great
majority of the military forces remained loyal to the King,
however, and the bloodless coup attempt was over in 18 hours.
On February 25, the Congress of Deputies reconvened to approve
Calvo Sotelo's nomination as prime minister.
</p>
<p> Leadership conflicts within the UCD and increasing
defections from its parliamentary ranks led Calvo Sotelo to call
new national elections in October 1982. The PSOE, led by Felipe
Gonzalez, swept both the Congress of Deputies and Senate,
winning an absolute majority, 202 seats, in the Congress. The
conservative AP, headed by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, came in a
strong second with 106 congressional deputies. The communists
plunged from 23 to 4 deputy seats. Moderate regional parties,
such as the Basque National Party (PNV) and the Catalonian
Convergence and Union (CIU), registered significant gains. On
December 1, 1982, the Congress of Deputies approved the King's
nomination of Felipe Gonzalez as prime minister.
</p>
<p> The ruling PSOE did not serve out its term, preferring to
call early elections, which were held on June 22, 1986. The
PSOE renewed its absolute majority, winning 184 deputy seats and
44% of