3.2.1 Franco regime  (1960-1973)

The change in the economic pattern and the fast extent in which it takes place, imply relevant consequences for our society.
On the other hand, from a population and social point of view, industrialization means an urban society in front of the rural society in the 60's.
This change from rural to urban is due to the lack of work in the country. People get away from villages and medium towns to go to work in the industries placed in the outskirts of big cities.
In that period, cities grow dizzily. The metropolitan areas are created: worker class areas -with no facilities except for tall buildings- grow around a historical city centre, i.e. Leganés and Getafe near Madrid; Cornellà, Hospitalet, Santa Coloma, Badalona near Barcelona. Gradually, population gets grouped in the urban nuclei of each province.

3.2.1.1. Migration processes

The process of immigration has important effects in some parts of our country, i.e. in Catalonia where population grows up from 3.900.000 in 1960 to 5.300.000 in 1974.
This enormous growth caused by a huge movement of population from poorer regions is done without any sort of planning. Immigrants have to live under very poor conditions: defective housing within none facilities areas. The ones with more benefits are speculators who become rich thanks to the high demand of housing. As far as Catalonia, with a different language and culture, nor institution or organization help the new-comers to become integrated, to feel at home.
As far as the emigration going abroad, it implies negative social effects too: broken families, unqualified jobs to be done and no root feeling towards the new country.

3.2.1.2 The standard of living

All these economic changes develop into an important social transformation: the birth of a new middle-class. From 1960 to 1973 the private income doubles its value, thus we can speak about the beginning of a consumer society.
The above mentioned fact is possible because many people use to work in two or even more different jobs. At the same time, the number of illiterate people lows down and the level of education in Spain increases a great deal: the number of secondary and university students rises considerably.
On the one hand, tourism becomes very important to the Spanish society, not only because of its economic benefits but it also develops many changes in every day life. Spanish society adapts to some ways of living from other Western European countries.
On the other hand, tourism means an excess of building on the seaside resorts. This lack of control will imply an environmental agression and damage, which sometimes has irreversible consequences
(Document 10)

3.2.1.3 Social and institutional reforms

The most spectacular change produced during the 60’s was not only  economic but a change in mentality. The new generations had to thank the mass media such  as TV and also urban life and tourism  which helped to create a new and much more open concept of the world.
The Franco regime tried to improve the standard of living but without allowing a corresponding  increase in political freedom or basic human rights. Taking into account the change in the social situation, created by improvements in the standard of living, the government had no choice but to carry out a succession of institutional reforms sometimes contradictory. Among them, The Press Law, The General Education Law, The Basic Laws for Social Security System, The Organic Law   (mentioned in the Political Evolution section).

3.2.1.4  The opposition and the protests of workers and students.

The level of social and political conflicts rose rapidily during  the 60’s. The opposition, in view of the advanced age of Franco, started to coordinate better as the approaching change grew closer.
While  the regime prepared for its continuity, the real social situation and the opposition parties were going in a different direction. Their actions became more daring  and more  unified. The opponents of Franco increased their rank and file, presaging the fall of  the regime.
The repression of Franco regime continued to be harsh but the citizens did not feel so frightened about taking the street and  demanding political freedom.

The opposition
The opponents of Franco were divided in the 60’s. From among all the parties preceding the civil war, only the political parties PCE and PSOE, had an active presence  in labour and student fields.
The repression of the regime against the social forces in the opposition still continued, though with less violent methods. However, the comunist leader Julián Grimau  was executed in 1963. This event  provoked a protest campaign in Europe.

Labour conflicts

The Law of Collective Agreements (1958) allowed a direct collective bargaining of wages and labour conditions between employers and workers, so that worker committees and trade unions were established. Illegal trade unions made the most of this opportinuty to infiltrate in the official sector and to organize several protests at that time.
New workers trade unions appeared, these were: “Unión Sindical Obrera (USO)” and “Comisiones Obreras (CCOO)”. The last one was founded in an assembly and  had created a unified platform because of  social conflict. Other trade unions, such as “UGT” and “CNT” stopped being the majority as they had been in the Republic period. The new workers’ movement underwent a change in mentality because they did not feel so connected to those unions which controlled the work force before the Civil War. At the beginning, the new movement was concerned only with salary demands but later these iniciatives became much more political.
Protests and demonstrations  were focused in the most industrial areas such as Barcelona, Madrid, the Basque Country and Asturias. In the mid - 60’s, the spread of the conflict and strikes forced the regime to declare a state of emergency. This step allowed them to increase the number of arrests and there were sometimes clashes between workers and police which caused the death of a large number of workers.
(Document 11 & document 12)

The University
 
Another social group who joined and strongly supported the anti- Franco struggle were the University students. The 60's was a especially repressive decade for them. The students claimed for the legalization of the independent Trade Unions and with their protests they managed to stamp out the SEU (The Official Falangist Union ). The claims were answered with actions of law and order ejection, arrests, torture and prison for students and teachers . The presence of the secret police in the University campus became one of the most important repressive elements under Franco's dictatorship.

Just to give an example , in March 1966 some intellectuals and students illegally met in the Capuchin monastery in Sarrià to endow the Democratic Union of Barcelona University Students. As a result the police laid siege to all the participants for three days and eventually they were all arrested. This action had a great repercussion because the student protests spread to other universities.

3.2.1.5 Changing of the Church attitude

The Second Vatican Council made possible the entry of innovating and liberal tendencies into Church. Since that moment those members of the Church who were critical with Franco regime began to work in the' humble neighbourhoods, disapproving inequality and social injustice which was faced up to the of official catholic hierarchy.
The government built up a prison for the comunist priests. Criticism grew up in such a way that in 1970 the relationship between the Church and the State became really difficult.
(Document 13)

3.2.1.6 The role of women.

To women, the Franco's dictatorship meant the comeback to traditional values and losing all the rights and improvements they had achieved during the Second Republic.
The ideological statements were clearly set up: with the new regime, women had to be subject to men's will and their main aims in life were both motherhood and being in charge of their children and home.

A married woman had to be represented by her husband in any legal action, she had to obey him and if she wanted to work she needed her husband's permission. Adultery was only punished if committed by women, obviously this was the most clear example of the male-dominated society.
As far as education is concerned, coeducation was forbidden and housework had to be taught to women.
The access of women to work was also rather difficult due to the labour legislation. A woman could be dismissed if she got married, she was underpaid and she wasn't allowed to hold some of the posts in the Civil Service.
From the 70's on, some aspects of the Franco's legislation such as coeducation and the contracts of employment for single women began to be changed. The feminist demands grew in importance and this change meant a progressive liberalization of the maledominated habits during Franco regime.
Document 14 & document 15)

3.2.1.7 Terrorism

In 1959 ,in the Basc Country appeared a terrorist group (ETA) struggling for the independence. Some years later, another terrorist group increased the terrorist activity.
Terrorism grew up during the 60’s , becoming one of the worst factors for the social and political stability. Franco regime replied restauring the Martial Courts. In 1970, in Burgos, a Martial Court passed a death sentence against 16 ETA’s terrorists. A wide movement against the death penalty spread around the country. This movement and foreign pressures on Franco regime, obliged the government to commute the death sentence to life imprisonement.
At the same time, neofascists groups, supported by the regime, carried out terrorist campaigns in the most important cities of the Peninsula.

3.2.2 The regime’s dicline (1973-1975)

In the early 70’s  Franco regime became a fossilized political structure. As a result of the economic developement  in the last decade, the Spanish society turned into a dynamic and renewed one.
Some aspects of this transformation are:
-Population was concentrated on large cities. Middle and working classes became more important in the population structure. This urban concentration  favoured the birth and the coordination of opposition groups. The way of life was not so strict than in the previous period. Women started working and getting jobs with a lot of responsability. It was a breakdown with the traditional family’s model imposed by the regime.
-Trough tourism and mass media, new types of music, ideas,fashion and customs went into Spain specially among young people. In this way, the Spanish society adopted a new and open-minded scale of values in opposition to the traditional religious attitude.
-The access of the population, specially women, to the educational system ,made the mentality’s change easier than in the previous decade.
-New generations that have not took part in the Civil War looked at their future leaving the late war behind.
-Labour realtions imposed by the official Trade Unions (supported by the government) were not usefull anymore neither to workers nor employers. In a new competitive economic world, employers tried to stablish new relations based on the negotiation and the workers’ integartion into capitalism. The labour mouvement, opressed by the regime, became a bastion of political demands.
-The last Western European dictatorships had fallen in 1974. Spain remained as an exception in a democratic nieghbouring countries.

The political events of this period (changes of government, the regency of prince Juan Carlos, the increasing political opposition, the latest death penalties, and Franco’s illness) speed up the end of the regime and the beginning of the transition to democracy.
(Document 16)

3.2.3 From transition till nowadays

The 1978 Constitution declares the new State as a social one. The new State accepts the citizen’s rights that have been abolished for 40 years.
The new Constitution guarantees the people’s physical and spiritual welfare and also recognizes:
-The right to education. Education is a State’s public service. Public Powers  have to try to assure the access to culture as well as the conservation and the respect to the cultural  and natural environement.
-The equality on rights  and no discrimination by reasons of sex, religion and race
-The right to health and public health assistance.
-The right to a decent housing.
-The right and the duty to get a job.
-The youth’s right to take part in the country’s political,social , economic and cultural development.
All these social changes modified the old structures and a period of transformations  started, lasting till nowadays. These transformations had a different realisation acording to the ideology of the government that ruled in each moment.

3.2.3.1. Changes and social challenges.

Women's social presence

Till 1975, women had to take a minor role in society, specially due to the traditions and the legislation. The massive arrival of women to the University and to the labour  permitted  a change on some social patterns. The progressive best accepted role of women, and a limited presence into the public life, helped the appearence of a feminist movement. This movement claimed for an equality of opportunities and also achieved to sensitize wide social groups, allowing a larger presence of women in public activities ,banned to them previously.
Even so, inequalities remain in society. There are less women in areas were political and economic decissions are taken than in less qualified working places. Women also suffer a higher tax of unemployement and precarious labour contracts.
 

Changes in the structure of the family

The changes produced by the new role achieved by women in society caused other important changes to the structure of the family. The traditional family pattern disappeared. There is a decrease in the number of children, and a growing number of single-parent families. It is also worth highlighting the new concept of couple relationships; people began to get married at a later age, a great number of couples began to get married at registry offices and many couples decided to live together without being married. Those changes have gone with greater freedom of habits and also more tolerance to ways of behaviour as the ones followed in other countries of the European Union.

Towards a more secular society

Once the important role that Church had under Franco regime was left behind, it spaced out from both lower social classes and intellectuals. In that way the religious topics could be kept apart from those concerning people's daily life.

New values and a new sensitivity

Right from the beginning of the transitional period, some social movements began to arise. Those movements set up new ways to solve the problems of relationship between people, their surroundings and nature. Ecologism, pacifism and antimilitarism were and still are clear signs of the new sensitivity and thus a way to show a change of attitude, which was more tolerant and with more solidarity.

The emergence of a growing consumer society also meant an increase of the importance of leisure time. Holidays became a mass phenomenon, the same as the practise of sports.

All these changes, which began during the 70's decade, underwent an important rise whereas the democratic system was consolidating and settling down.

3.2.3.2 The phenomenon of migrations and multiculturalism

The stop to migration that took place in Spain from 1975 is one of the definite facts which explains the demographic evolution. However, the immigration coming in the last years from North-African countries, from South America and from Far-East countries implies a new social aspect which has to be considered.
The new immigrants not only have problems with the language, but with the way they behave in society, and we also have to take into account that their human and social values are different. They practise different religions which hardly have Christian roots that is, different customs, festivities, the way they get to know each other. That's why the integration of these groups is not easy. On the other hand most of these people are illegal.
Spain, like other European countries, has tried unsuccessfully to set a limit to immigration through laws such as The Alien Status Law. These laws put the immigrants in very poor conditions: overexploiting them and letting them in subhuman living conditions.
In the last few years, racist and xenophobe attitudes have arisen but they have been answered by society. We should also highlight that recently some organizations have appeared. They are trying to improve the living conditions of these foreign workers and helping them to legalize their situation and guarantee a dignified receive
(Document 17)

3.2.3.3  Terrorism

Terrorism did not  decresase in the process of democratic transition but it became stronger. The pro-independence movement considered the changes undertaken in the democratic process worthless. The hardest terrorist offensive took place at the end of 70’s and beginning of 80’s. At first, terrorist attacks were aimed at the national security forces, mainly in the Basque Country. Later, the terrorist action was centered on the civilian population and  it was moved from there to other places in Spain with the purpose of accelerating the social destabilization. Finally, the strategy  was actions against politicians in the governing party  and also its own regional basque police.
These violent actions have been rejected and condemned by citizens for the last few years, who are in favour of peaceful demonstrations to show the political wish of people for a peaceful coexistence.
ETA (terrorist group) has kept a truce as far as assassinations are concerned since last year, although riots in the streets, caused by radical young people, indicate that violence still remains and has not finished in the Basque Country.