Jorge Edwards
THE CONSENSUS IN FAVOR OF
DEMOCRACY IN SPAIN
T hose who have lived in Spain durin g the las t few yea rs,
and espec iall y those of us who have come here from coul1lri es whose
po liti cal evo lution has been the oppos ite o f Spain 's, coul1lries tha t
have gone from pa rliamenta ry democracy to milita ry dictatorshi p,
have experienced a series o f constal1l po litical surpri ses ever since the
dea th of Franco- surprises and lessons in po litics. The peaceful
transition from the di cta torship of the Franco regime to democracy is
still going on after two years; and surprises still occur, even though one
has the impress ion tha t the dangers have become more acute, or, a t
leas t, more visibl e now. The economic cri sis, with its accompanying
evil s of inflation , recession, and ri sing unempl oymel1l, is beginning to
be felt in all aspects of everyday life. Strikes, a social phenomenon
forbidden under Franco, are an immedi a te and unavo idabl e conse–
quence. With annual inflation ra tes as high as thirty percent, strikes
a re, o f course, an indispensable weapon fo r the workers; but, in a
country unfamiliar with strikes, they also constitute a source of
irrita tion for the middl e classes,. especia ll y when essel1li a l public
services such as mail or gaso line supplies are affected.
The list of factors tha t irrita te the average Spani sh citizen a t the
moment is long: constantl y rising prices, poorl y fun cti oning publi c
services, an inunda tion of pornography in magaz ines and films,
po intless verbosity in parli amel1la ry deba tes, and excesses in some
regiona l na tiona lism, whi ch easil y go from dependence on the centra l·
ism o f Madrid , to a regional chauvinism. Add to thi s the frequent acts
of terrori sm. fo llowed by amnes ti es tha t seem scandalo us to a large
segment of public opinion , although the reason for these amnes ti es is
the la tent continua tion of the Ci vil Wa r in the Basqu e Country and the
government's a im to put an end to it fin all y th rough na tio na l reconcili–
a tion .
The po litics o f the Left in Spain , and es peciall y of the Commun –
ists, whi ch have proved so di sconcerting abroad, a re based on a full
