In Spain, a marketing campaign started to rename the streets of the cities named after King Juan Carlos I, who since 1975 was the top of the Spanish state, and in 2014 ceded the throne to his son, King Philip VI. True, this marketing campaign doesn’t concern all 637 municipalities the place there are such streets, however solely these the place radical left forces or regional nationalists – Basque, Catalan, Valencian and Galician – are in energy. They clarify their actions by accusations of corruption, which have lately been voiced towards the ex-monarch. Both the accusations themselves and the associated renaming are controversial in Spanish society.
King’s Avenue renamed in honor of March 8
The pioneer of the renaming was Vitoria, the capital of the Basque autonomy. Here, due to the efforts of nationalists – supporters of Basque independence – Juan Carlos I Avenue is now named in honor of International Women’s Day. One of the central highways of Gijón, crucial metropolis of Asturias, has additionally been renamed Street 8 March. The final change was initiated by the left-wing populist Podemos celebration. She additionally carried out an identical resolution relating to the avenue within the oldest metropolis within the nation – Cadiz.
At the initiative of the Valencian nationalists, the previous road names disappeared in cities akin to Puerto de Sagunto and Vila Hoyosa within the Valencian Autonomy, in addition to in some smaller cities. The press stories that within the coming weeks MPs from Podemos and nationalists in Santiago de Compostela, Logroño, Mostoles, Segovia, Vigo, Murcia, Zaragoza and so forth will give you the thought of the identical renaming.
Juan Carlos – not prosecuted, however already responsible?
Meanwhile, Juan Carlos, who’s now 82, has not been formally charged, mentioned Carlos Pozo, professor of political science on the University of Madrid, in an interview with DW. And he recalled that the “newspaper reproaches” of corruption are primarily based on the supplies of the case of the previous king’s mistress, citizen of the Federal Republic of Germany Corinna Larsen. The Geneva prosecutor’s workplace took an interest within the origin of her capital of $ 65 million, positioned in one of many Swiss banks. Larsen claims that the cash was donated to her by Juan Carlos, and the king inherited from the Saudi monarch.
Juan Carlos I, now 82, fled Spain beneath a hail of criticism
The accusations circulated within the press that the previous king allegedly acquired this cash as a bribe for a contract for the development of the Medina-Mecca railway, in line with Carlos Pozo, are “absurd.” After all, the Saudis didn’t have to bribe somebody – the Spaniards achieved a profitable contract in the middle of a contest with building firms from different international locations.
And the cash, in line with the entourage of the previous Spanish monarch, was introduced to him by the late Saudi King Abdullah “as an indication of brotherly friendship”, furthermore, lengthy earlier than the development of the railway. This model, in line with Poso, seems to be believable, given Juan Carlos’ longstanding ties with the Saudi dynasty.
The logic of supporters and opponents of renaming
However, such arguments don’t persuade supporters of renaming. “The former king doesn’t deserve any respect, not to mention the streets in his honor,” mentioned DW Vicente Diaz, a member of the management of the Podemos Party department within the province of Madrid. In his phrases, “the conduct of Juan Carlos as head of state was not moral, he used his place for private enrichment.” So Podemos intends to hunt additional renaming, Diaz assured.
Professor Poso disagrees with this place. He famous that the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSWP) is against the renaming, to not point out the main opposition events: the center-right Citizens, the conservative People’s Party and the national-conservative Golos celebration. Pozo additionally defined the place of regional nationalists – supporters of the division of Spain, for whom the monarchy is “a logo of the hated state unity.” As for Podemos, the professor added, “professing radical leftist concepts, it doesn’t settle for the monarchy as such.”
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Spain – the trail from Franco’s dictatorship to democracy
Spain between previous and future
The distinctive expertise of Spain reveals how this nation has handed from dictatorship to democracy in a quite brief time. The Spaniards have been capable of shortly dismantle totalitarian constructions, perform reforms, get out of the worldwide isolation through which the nation discovered itself through the reign of Franco, and stand on a par with developed democracies.
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Spain – the trail from Franco’s dictatorship to democracy
Prison as a logo of Franco’s dictatorship
The dictatorship of General Francisco Franco took over in Spain after the army mutiny and civil conflict of 1936-1939. A peculiar image of the repressive regime, which existed for nearly 40 years, was the Madrid Carabanchel jail, which occupied 20 hectares. After the collapse of the dictatorship, its ominous image was additionally destroyed. Only the so-called “Gates of Hell” remained from the jail – the previous central entrance.
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Spain – the trail from Franco’s dictatorship to democracy
Path to freedom
The fundamental process of the authorities of the transitional interval, which started after Franco’s dying in 1975, was the restoration of democratic establishments, the rights and freedoms of residents, destroyed in due time by the dictatorship. This course of was not supported by everybody. In the photograph – a monument in Madrid to 5 leftist activists who have been killed in 1977 by Francoists.
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Spain – the trail from Franco’s dictatorship to democracy
Spaniards gained the best to freedom of meeting
Under the dictatorship, everybody may solely participate freely in demonstrations in assist of Franco and his regime. Other actions have been harshly suppressed – their organizers have been despatched to jail. In fashionable Spain, the authorities can’t “sanction” or “not sanction” manifestations. Coordination is required solely in order that the police can block visitors in time.
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Spain – the trail from Franco’s dictatorship to democracy
Legalization of events
During the Franco regime, there was just one celebration, the National Movement. The relaxation have been banned: they have been underground or in exile. Founded again in 1879, the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party was legalized, like different events, in 1977. In the final parliamentary elections within the spring of 2019, 80 events took half.
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Spain – the trail from Franco’s dictatorship to democracy
Restoration of Spanish parliamentarism
In Francoist Spain, the legislative energy was with the dictator, and the parliament – the Cortes – carried out a purely ornamental operate. There have been no elections – the deputies have been referred to as “procurators” (managers) and have been appointed from amongst high-ranking officers. Since 1978, parliamentary actions in Spain have resumed. General elections for the decrease home (Congress) and the higher home (Senate) are held each 4 years.
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Spain – the trail from Franco’s dictatorship to democracy
Autonomy as a type of coexistence of the peoples of Spain
Spain is a multinational nation. Franco, a supporter of a tricky central authorities, didn’t acknowledge the nationwide identification of the Basques, Catalans and Galicians. And in democratic Spain, all of them acquired broad autonomy – political, financial and cultural. But a lot of them are preventing for his or her independence. In the photograph – Barcelona, the second most vital metropolis in Spain, the capital of autonomous Catalonia.
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Spain – the trail from Franco’s dictatorship to democracy
The Spanish Constitution – Achieving Democracy
Democratic transformation was enshrined within the structure. There was no such doc in Spain beneath Franco. Representatives of all political forces, from conservatives to communists, took half within the work of the fee for the preparation of the fundamental regulation. In 1978, the structure was put to a preferred referendum and adopted. Its observance is consistently monitored by the Constitutional Court of the nation (the constructing is within the photograph).
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Spain – the trail from Franco’s dictatorship to democracy
Under the rainbow flag
Under Franco’s dictatorship, homosexuality was punished in jail. Democracy has not solely ended this follow, however has additionally allowed same-sex marriage. In latest many years, the LGBT neighborhood has chosen to dwell within the Chueca district of Madrid. It yearly on the finish of June turns into the middle of the Madrid Pride pageant, which gathers friends from all around the world, together with Russia.
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Spain – the trail from Franco’s dictatorship to democracy
Monarchy is the guarantor of democratic transformations
After the dying of dictator Franco in 1975, King Juan Carlos I absolutely supported the need of his folks for freedom. The monarchy acted because the guarantor of democratic reforms, after which a brand new constitutional order. The father’s enterprise is sustained by the present king Philip VI.
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Spain – the trail from Franco’s dictatorship to democracy
Tanks towards democracy
The transition to democracy was sad with some nostalgic army males. On February 23, 1981, they revolted – they seized parliament, took tanks to the streets, and demanded the resignation of the federal government. The coup was suppressed by the “captain-general” (commander-in-chief) King Juan Carlos I. On the identical day, in a televised handle, supporting democratic freedoms, he ordered the troops to return to the barracks.
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Spain – the trail from Franco’s dictatorship to democracy
Knowledge is freedom
The dictator Franco was very distrustful of college professors and college students. He noticed universities as breeding grounds for “Masonic anarchism.” That is how the dictator referred to as all the things progressive and freedom-loving. In 36 years of his reign, solely 10 universities have been opened, and after the collapse of the dictatorship – 61.
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Spain – the trail from Franco’s dictatorship to democracy
To the heights of progress
Francoism was an impediment to the European integration of Spain. And not solely due to the rejection of democracy. The cumbersome public sector of the financial system additionally served as an impediment. Only in 1986, having accomplished the reforms, the nation grew to become a member of the European Economic Community, the present European Union. Cooperation throughout the EU has allowed Madrid to faucet into cutting-edge applied sciences, specifically within the discipline of inexperienced vitality.
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Spain – the trail from Franco’s dictatorship to democracy
Main department of the Spanish financial system
The main sector of the Spanish financial system is the overseas tourism business. More than 80 million foreigners go to the nation yearly. To serve so many overseas friends, it was essential to create the suitable infrastructure – to enhance the seashores, construct new lodges and eating places, airports, railways and highways. The photograph reveals vacationers within the heart of Madrid.
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Spain – the trail from Franco’s dictatorship to democracy
Spain is open to Russia
Under Franco, Spain was fully closed to residents of the USSR, with whom the regime had no diplomatic relations. The Russian diaspora was represented by a dozen emigrants who left Russia after the revolution. Today, as much as 1.5 million vacationers from the Russian Federation go to the nation yearly, and 80 thousand Russians completely reside in it. The Madrid spiritual and cultural heart of the Russian Orthodox Church is likely one of the largest in Western Europe.
Author: Victor Cheretsky, Madrid
