Word: franco
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...dashed whatever remained of the hopes generated by Prime Minister Carlo Arias Navarro's 1974 promise to begin inching Spain toward political liberalization. Although Arias is credited with serious intentions of introducing reforms that would have permitted the growth of embryonic political parties, he was apparently overruled by Franco hardliners, alarmed by the leftward turn of events in Portugal. The promised "freedom of political association" never materialized. Almost inevitably, muted anti-Franco opposition turned to violence. Separatist movements in the four northern Basque provinces and in Catalonia gained momentum, and this summer FRAP emerged, gunning down policemen in Madrid...
...great extent, the protests seemed to stem not from deep convictions about the terrorists' guilt or innocence but from an emotional, almost automatic hostility to the Spanish dictatorship. But it is one thing to urge liberalization of the Franco regime; it is something else again to expect that regime to tolerate terrorists. Spanish officials were dismayed at the outcry. They note that while Spain has had eight executions since 1960, France has had ten (admittedly nonpolitical) since 1964. The Madrid government is torn between its desire to win European respectability and its response to public opinion at home, which...
...carrying out the executions, Franco apparently placed the morale of the Guardia Civil, his 65,000-man security-police force, above considerations of foreign reaction. Since January, twelve security policemen have been killed in shootouts with terrorists...
Awaiting Trial. Franco responded to the terrorism by increasing security forces and setting up strict border watches to prevent infiltration of political dissidents from France and Portugal. In recent weeks there have been elaborate roundups of suspected terrorists in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Bilbao, with as many as 82 arrests in a single day. An estimated 200 now await trial by military tribunals...
Despite the severity of the repression, the Franco regime does not see the current increase in political opposition as a serious threat to its stability, at least not while the Generalissimo is alive. More worrisome in the short run are economic problems, which include a 16% annual inflation rate and a 9% drop in industrial production in the first four months of this year. The two issues, however, are ultimately linked, and the executions may cost Spain more than moral opprobrium. While Franco's regime was being denounced in Western Europe last week, Spanish diplomats in Washington were negotiating...