Berkley Center

Before arriving in Madrid, I had little idea of what to expect. This was precisely part of the reason I wanted to study abroad in Spain. I have studied Latin American language, culture, and politics for most of my academic career, so felt I ought to explore the country that played such a crucial in role in Latin American society. It was not until July that I was reminded of the complex, and very recent, political history of Spain when the former king abdicated in favor of his son, King Felipe IV (who also happens to be a Georgetown graduate). With this transition of power, many Spaniards called for the end of the monarchy and the beginning of a “Third Republic,” following the uncovering of political scandals and a difficult recovery from the financial crisis.

My preconceived notion of Spain was that as a modern, developed Western European country that would not be vastly different than the United States. On the surface, this is very true, beyond minor cultural traditions. What I was neglecting to consider, however, was the way Spanish society arrived at its current socio-political reality. Before arriving, I knew Spain had once been ruled by the fascist dictator, Francisco Franco, but figured this had little to do with the current state of the country. I thought of Western Europe as largely having moved past the era of WWII and launched into the twenty-first century, despite recent economic troubles. While it would certainly be absurd to claim Spain has not forged a path into modernity, it must be noted this movement takes a very different form than that of similar states.

This semester, I am in a course focusing on Franco era propaganda and film that bridges Spanish history with its implications for today’s popular culture. In this class, we have discussed how Spain is still very much affected by Franco’s dictatorship, mostly because it has never been explicitly discussed. After WWII, most European countries held trials or investigations to recognize perpetrators and attempt to extract some justice for those “wronged” by past events, such as Germany’s Nuremberg trials. The countries then rebuilt themselves both literally and ideologically, having addressed the past. Spain, having not participated in WWII, missed out on much of this healing.

Franco seized power after the bloody Spanish Civil War from 1936 to 1939. As the rest of Western Europe began recovering from WWII, Spain remained closed off and subject to a fascist regime until 1975. During this regime, those who participated in the losing side of the Civil War and supported the brief Second Republic from 1931 to 1939 were suppressed or made to flee the country. The country lived through a long period referred to as “the years of hunger” before rapid economic growth that still could not compare to the rest of Europe and left many Spaniards frustrated by what they could not or were not allowed to do. During the Franco regime, censorship was so extreme that no message reached the public until it had been thoroughly reviewed by la censura.

Following Franco’s death in 1975, the monarchy returned and Spain moved towards democracy, but very little was done to come to terms with the trauma of the past. Families of those killed or kidnapped in the Civil War were conditioned not to speak about the conflict, and it was mostly “forgotten.” This idea of forgetting is interesting because in a way it ensures Spain will never truly move beyond what happened. In 2006, a liberal government passed the the “Law of Historical Memory” aimed at investigating the tragedies of the Civil War and recovering victims to provide peace of mind. Unfortunately, the government has essentially stopped funding this effort, and it has been continued only through private organizations.

This is an attempt to launch into the modern age among other Western European powers while habitually disregarding a still very cutting social wound. I found it odd such a recent social issue gets little attention in popular media, and that is because it is still not socially accepted to discuss, as the descendants of leaders on both sides are often those who run the parties on both sides of the political spectrum today. In such a forward-thinking, successful Western state, it soon becomes clear that some crucial political discourse is missing from everyday life. Spain is unable to move beyond many of the social taboos left behind by the Franco regime because Spanish society has not yet come to terms with them.