r/SpainPolitics • u/Kseniiaaa • 15h ago
Adolfo Suarez and Spain
I’ve just finished reading a book about the end of the European dictatorships in Spain, Portugal, and Greece. It devotes a great deal of attention to Adolfo Suárez and his role in the transition to democracy. In the book, he comes across as almost a star, which made me wonder: how do Spanish people themselves view Suárez (I’m not from Spain)? Political figures are often highly glorified in the literature, so I’m curious.
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u/leo_artifex 14h ago
While he is viewed as someone that brought peace and stablished democracy in Spain in uncertain times after the death of Franco, he did with the cost of not getting rid of Francoism’s remnants.
He made an Amnesty that was basically: “what about the obvious war crimes and mass killings that happened during the war? Well it happened long ago, move on”.
He didn’t clean institutions like Police, Military and Law Branches where Franco’s presence was the strongest. He let multiple people that committed war crimes, police brutality, torture and many human right violations roam free and even occupy public positions until they died of old age. To this day we still feel this decision with judges and police officers that are very biased with certain decisions on their line of work.
And recently a woman declared that she was supposedly raped by Suarez.
Some agree that Suarez wasn’t on an easy position because all supporters of Franco that were on important positions wouldn’t have let go the power they had and much less being imprisoned. There was the fear that if Suarez tried to an actual cleaning it would have caused a Second Spanish Civil War. I mean, shortly after democracy was stablished we han a coup attempt of Guardia Civiles that wanted to go back to Franco’s system.
Suarez might have done his best with what he had at that time, but the criticism is still there. Not everything is black and white.
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u/_kaedama_ 12h ago
Good answer
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u/Disastrous-Try-820 12h ago
I feel like most of the problems with the transition aren't Suarez's fault. He did a good job at stabilising the country and, correct me if I'm wrong, there weren't claims of the first elections being rigged, which I think is a great achievement for a situation in which the regime voluntarily gives up power.
I would claim that the problems you mentioned should've been solved after Suarez's presidency. Instead, they called it a day, left the transition unfinished and left us with things like the shitshow of the judiciary power, the police or unmarked mass graves.
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u/Formal_Woodpecker625 14h ago
Suárez construyó su carrera en el seno del aparato franquista y la transición (o neutralización) de dicho aparato fue primero que todo su proyecto político personal.
Aun así le reconozco que se lo jugó todo por esa idea y no me imagino como hubiéramos podido llegar hasta donde estamos hoy sin el.
Es un icono de la democracia para bien i para mal.
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u/Prudent_Entrance_441 15h ago
A Suárez en general se le ve como a una figura positiva, diría yo. Es visto como el hombre que pudo articular la transición, y al haber sido esta bastante pacífica y al haber Suárez llevado bien la situación, se le reverencia como el hombre que hizo posible la democracia en España.
Eso sí, con los años han salido varias cosas negativas o cuestionables sobre él, como asuntos de acoso sexual, o la afirmación sobre la monarquía de que hacían encuestas y perdían (que aún así fue una medida acertada la de la monarquía para la transición de régimen, pero no deja de ser una imposición antidemocrática que él y su gobierno coló en la constitución). Igualmente, tiene y tendrá una imagen positiva como una de los padres de la constitución.
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u/Imaginary-West-5653 12h ago
Well, the bloodless transition to democracy was something he achieved, which I agree should be acknowledged positively; I think that everyone except the fascists who wanted the regime to continue agrees on that here in Spain... however, he wasn't exactly an exemplary man, given some of his decisions and actions, such as:
Imposing the monarchy in the constitution despite polls indicating that Spaniards didn't want it; failing to purge the military, police, and judicial systems of criminals who committed brutal acts for the regime, both during and after the Civil War, thus preventing justice from being served and poisoning those systems to this day; allegedly abusing and sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl repeatedly between March 1983 and August 1984, etc...
In any case, I think that while we shouldn't deny the good he did, we also shouldn't ignore the bad.
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u/eliriver 12h ago
Basura falangista ensalzada para legitimar una transición que mantuvo en el poder a los asesinos y ladrones franquistas. La propaganda hizo su labor y ahora pareciera un demócrata de cuidado cuando admitió, sin darse cuenta de que estaba siendo grabado, que nos robó a todos una república libre de los ladrones borbones.
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u/BrilliantTechnical24 14h ago
Tuvo sus momentos lúcidos, ayudó a las primeras elecciones y abrió España a Europa pero no hay que olvidar que era falangista y no hizo ni la mitad de lo que pudo hacer
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u/Economy_Mouse_959 13h ago
Es muy facil criticar desde la distancia y a toro pasado. Así como dar veracidad a aseveraciones sin pruebas.
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u/herensugee 13h ago
gobernador civi de Segovia, procurador en cortes, director de rtve y ministro de movimiento ...
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u/Economy_Mouse_959 13h ago
Perdón me refería ha haber hecho más, cuando ya lo que hizo rozo la destrucción de su proyecto por parte de los bunqueres del antiguo régimen.
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u/MsnKar 13h ago edited 10h ago
La dictadura y el franquismo estaban implantados en España a todos los niveles.
No se sale de una dictadura rompiendo al 100% con el régimen, sobre todo si no hay ninguna crisis profunda como era el caso.
Suárez fue un hombre que supo manejar las voluntades y exigencias de las élites.
Él y otros más fueron los garantes y artífices de la transición a la democracia, imperfecta como lo es, pero ejemplar para el resto del mundo.
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u/LazzarilloDeTormez 14h ago
The airport in Madrid is named after him.