Juan Carlos: a quarter century of change

By William Myers

MADRID, Spain -- King Juan Carlos, who celebrates 25 years on the Spanish throne on Wednesday, has played a key role in transforming his country and restoring democracy.

He was a driving force behind reforms and developments that saw Spain evolve into an open, prosperous and modern European state.

Juan Carlos was the hand-picked successor of a general who seized power in a military uprising, which was followed by a drawn-out civil war. His mentor, "Generalismo" Francisco Franco, ruled as a right-wing dictator for almost 40 years.

Yet Juan Carlos de Borbon y Borbon came to the throne with very different political ideas.

He wanted to be "the King of all Spaniards," including those who fought on the "wrong side" during the civil war. After years of Franco's iron-fisted rule, Juan Carlos wanted his country to be admitted to the community of democratic nations.

"I knew from the beginning that the only way there could be a monarchy was if it were to be democratic," the king said in an interview broadcast by the state television network TVE this week.

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"I knew it would not be easy at that time, but I believe it was achieved. Over the years it looks as though it hasn't turned out badly," he added. An overwhelming majority of Spaniards agree with the king. An opinion poll published earlier this week showed that 88 percent approve of Juan Carlos and his achievements.

The poll by Sigma Dos shows that the king is highly regarded by a vast majority of all Spaniards, even though only 43 percent consider themselves to be monarchists.

Most Spaniards will be happy to see crown prince Felipe take over from his father when the time comes.

"The king knew what people wanted," commented a 78-year-old widow, Rosario Iñiguez. Twenty-five years ago, "everyone was fed up with 40 years of Franco -- not just people on the left, but everyone."

"The king brought everyone together and encouraged a spirit of tolerance," she said. Similar remarks can be heard on radio talk-shows, where the king's 25th anniversary has prompted reflections on Spain's evolution since 1975, when Juan Carlos acceded to the throne.

A little over 22 percent of all Spaniards still think well of Franco, but only 4.6 percent would like to return to that era, according to recent polls.

And little wonder. Except for the recession at the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s, Spain's economic growth has been enviable, bringing its per capita income up to more than 83 percent of the European Union's average.

Rising prosperity has been reflected in the people's lifestyles -- higher levels of education, better housing, better public and private transportation, more travel abroad, and, most of all, a sense of belonging to the developed world.

As a 50-year-old radiation therapist, Miguel Melchor, recalled: "About 30 years ago, when I spent a summer in London learning English, I was embarrassed to admit that I was from Spain, it was a place where there was a dictatorship, executions, and repression."

"Certainly, these past 25 years have been much more positive than the 25 previous ones, and the king was part of that change, although it was not just him, but many people." Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar had no hesitation when asked how he would evaluate the first quarter century of the restored monarchy.

"It has been a success story," he stated in a separate interview with state television. The king, in his own interview, recalled that success was not guaranteed back in 1975.

After Franco's death, he wanted to move quickly, but not so brusquely as to provoke the diehard supporters of the old regime.

He gives himself credit for having "picked the right people," especially Adolfo Suarez, who was to take over the government in early 1976, legalise political parties and, in the spring of 1977, hold Spain's first democratic elections since the civil war.

Suarez, having been secretary-general of the National Movement, the sole legal political grouping in the country, "had worked within the old regime, but had the desire to create something new," the king recalled, explaining his choice.

Juan Carlos admitted that carrying out the democratic transformation of Spain was made easier for him by Franco himself. In his will, known only to his wife, Carmen Polo, he had named Juan Carlos as his successor not only as head of state, but also as commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

"It was Franco who handed over to me his powers with respect to the armed forces, which meant an enormous responsibility but also made everything I had to do easier," said the king.

Those powers were crucial in putting down the attempted coup d'etat by supporters of the old regime, who took over the parliament on the 23rd of February 1981 when Suarez was handing over the government to Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo.

The king's role in convincing the military to return to barracks won over the doubters who still had their suspicions of him due to his ties to the Franco regime.

After the fateful event, Spain's democratic transition was seen as irreversible.

The country was admitted into NATO in 1982, and a socialist government won the elections in October of that year by a vast majority, bringing the left to power for the first time since the civil war. Then, on January 1, 1986, Spain became a member of the European Union -- a long awaited step seen as official recognition of the break with the Francoist past.

"We are Europeans," Spaniards chanted in the streets during those New Year celebrations.

Thousands of Spaniards remember Franco
November 18, 2000
Police break up anti-Franco march
November 19, 2000

Spanish Royal Household
Spanish Government

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