Spain from the 1980s

November 20, 1975- Franco dies

February 23, 1981 failed Tejero coup

At first PSOE had to deal with economic crisis and getting Spain back into European community. Modernisation of Spain economically, industrially, and socially.
ECONOMIC: transition from a corporate capitalist dictatorship to a market economy.
basic social
SOCIAL: services such as health, education, pensions and social benefits were made universal. Also the outreach of Spain to other countries, like the entry into the EEC.
1993 narrow victory- in a climate of political and press tension
1996 lost to PP

December 14, 1988
Disagreements on economic policy with the UGT led to a general strike that was followed massively, but the PSOE ignored it

Name changed from Alianza Popular to Partido Popular
José María Aznar became head of PP
Aim to put PP in the center of the political spectrum

Bad for PSOE- deepened the break with their grass roots, the outbreak of corruption scandals and lawsuits related to GA

Creation of the EU:
1) strengthen the democratic legitimacy of the institutions
2) improve the effectiveness of the institutions;
3) establish economic and monetary union;
4) develop the Community social dimension;
5) establish a common foreign and security policy. (info from http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/institutional_affairs/treaties/treaties_maastricht_en.htm)

Aznar won the election in 1996 due to:
The deterioration of the social support of the PSOE, the withdrawal of parliamentary support by the Catalan party
the media harassment, and the journey to the center of the PP
Spain sees economic growth between 1996-2000 and and end to political tentions around 2000
Anti-terrorist campaign. Aznar launched an
entire political strategy to introduce an increasingly Spanish nationalist discourse, with roots in the old Spanish nationalism. This was relevant because the ETA was at large

June 20, 2002

strike against the Employment Decree marked a turning point. Social dialogue with trade unions was damaged
Government didn't ask the people, need more dialogue between government and people
first major political defeat of PP, turning point in the beginning of the recovery of PSOE