Before going on with the Kings affairs in Spain´s recent History let us review a little the "glorious" history of the party that holds the reins of our country nowadays to have a broader skope so as to understand what can the King´s favourite political party be able to do.
No other political party has such a long record in Spain´s History of intrigues and coups d´etat like the PSOE (Spanish Worker Socialist Party) that currently governs our country.
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In 1909 PSOE was involved in the "Barcelona Tragic Week" a time of revolt and indiscriminate crime that forced the government to declare the state of war. Thousands were killed and the main motto was "long life to dynamite", among other crimes several members of the clergy were killed and graves were desecrated. Pablo Iglesias first condemned this revolt and years after he admitted that the PSOE was also in the plot.
It is something really striking how many people do still see this party as a champion of freedom and democracy bearing in mind its totally rotten history. PSOE´s founder Mr. Pablo Iglesias who has several streets accross Spain named after him said in the parliament in 1910:
"We must, in view of the the tendency caused by Your Lordship to the present political system, commit to overthrow this regime. Such has been the outrage over Mr. Maura Government's policy in the proletarian elements that we've come as far as to consider that before Your Lordship rises to power again we must go to the personal attack"(p. 439-443 Parliament Daily Record 07/07/1910).
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This is what the founder of PSOE had to say in the Parliament to the President of the Government. He was urged by the President of the Parliament to withdraw those words 3 times and he refused to do so.
Fifteen days later Manuel Posa shot Mr. Antonio Maura who was seriously injured, the next day a protest was formulated in the Congress, a protest Mr. Pablo Iglesias did not subscribe.
In the same session of the Congress where he threatened to kill the President of the Government Mr. Iglesias also said:
"...we are in (subjected to) the law while the law allows us to acquire what we need, outside the law when the law will not allow us to realize our aspirations"
In the light of events in which the PSOE has been involved that went on in the years after this statement was spitted, Mr. Iglesias could be considered a really sharp prophet.
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In 1917 the PSOE supported the Revolutionary General Strike, an attempt of revolution inspired in the Soviet 1917 revolution in Russia.
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In 1923 they took part in the Primo de Rivera dictatorship despite the huge political differences between PSOE and the general and in the next years the PSOE was in charge of the State Council and they also were part of various other councils and other government agencies. King Alfonso was kindly asked to remain seated and not mess in politics which he obediently did...
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In 1929-1930 they abandoned Primo de Rivera and began to work against the establishment of a parliamentary republic proposing the establishment of a revolutionary republic instead.
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In 1931 after April´s municipal elections where the monarchist forces obtained more councillors than the republicans, but that the republicans won in the larger cities, the PSOE was among those who urged the King to go before 7 pm on April 14th on the grounds that if he did not do so they would not be able to guarantee his safety and that of his family.
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Those elections were intended to vote over the townships representatives not to change the political regime, however it became yet another de facto coup d´etat and Juan Carlos´ grandfather packed every thing quick and left for Rome...always serving Spain.
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Interesting to highlight that all leftist parties in Spain consider nowadays this coup d´etat as an example of legitimacy as opposed to General Franco insurrection against that same republic offsetting the fact that the advent of that idealized republic was a completely illegal change of regime that was not voted by the Spaniards.
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In 1934 the PSOE organized yet another coup d´etat. The reason for doing so was no other than the fact that the conservative party (CEDA) won the general elections in 1933. The left wing parties told the CEDA leaders that they would not accept a government ran by this party (CEDA). Sounds incredible, doesn´t it? Incredible but true. CEDA conceded and the centre radical party led by Mr. Lerroux conformed a government, when finally CEDA got to enter in the government holding only three ministries the revolt broke.
The coup included the kidnapping of the President of the Republic and establishment of a Government of People's Commissars. By that time, Luis Companys declared the Catalan State within the Spanish Federal Republic.
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The coup collapsed throughout the country except in Asturias, where 30,000 men, socialists and other groups were picking on priests, guardia civil and some civilians. The Socialist deputy Ramón González Peña blew the safes of the Bank of Spain. The government managed to maintain control by sending the army, but still nearly 3,000 lives were lost. Largo Caballero (PSOE leader) was several months in prison.
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During this revolt in Asturias among other military that were sent by the government to fight down this revolution there was a young officer named Juan Rodríguez Lozano to the orders of a young general named Francico Franco. The first happens to be Zapatero´s grandfather. A man our president prides himself on being his grandson fought under Franco military command against those socialists that were killing and revolting.
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Mr Lozano ended up being murdered by Franco military as Zapatero has told several times but although he went to Asturias to shoot PSOE militants down under Franco´s command his grandson seems not to remember those events although as Secretary General of PSOE nowadays he should have something to say.
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In 1936 a PSOE militant murdered Calvo Sotelo (leader of the opposition), and this event was the stroke that broke the camel and the already on its way military uprising took place shortly after.
During the Spanish Civil War Largo Caballero (PSOE) who was President of the Government for several months answered in this way to Stalin´s recommendation to keep some form of parliamentary activity in order to gain the sympathy of Western democracies for his cause:
"Whatever the fate the future preserves to the parliamentary institution, it (parliaments) has not among us, even among Republicans, enthusiastic advocates" Sounds so democratic!!
"Whatever the fate the future preserves to the parliamentary institution, it (parliaments) has not among us, even among Republicans, enthusiastic advocates" Sounds so democratic!!
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A statue of Largo Caballero was built in Moscow and a huge one of Stalin presided the "Puerta de Alcalá" in Madrid not far from the torture center installed in "Círculo de Bellas Artes" (The Circle of Fine Arts) where red commissars interrogated suspects that were arrested on the grounds of wearing a hat or going to church.
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When Franco won the war in 1939 the PSOE practically vanished into the air and the exile government and the scarce resistance (mostly operating in France and Spanish America) was almost completly carried out by the Spanish Communist Party (PCE)
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In 1975 Felipe González (now one of the wealthiest Spanish persons) who had been elected Secretary General two years before in Suresnes (France) walked freely accross Spain shortly after Franco´s death. Police had instructions not to arrest him under any circumstances and he was already in talks with King Juan Carlos who was, family traditions, intriguing as usual.
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It is said that either Mr. González contacted the CIA or it was this agency that got in contact with him but the reason for these talks would be that by supporting PSOE the CIA would prevent the Communist Party to have a more relevant role in the transition to a parliamentary democracy. This does make sense specilally given the cold war scenario and the strategic importance that Spain has for the US for geographical and obvious reasons.
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Furthermore, in those years Spain could either become a rear front enemy allied with the Soviets or the strategic second line of defense in the case of a Soviet successful "blitzkrieg" assaulting Western Europe.
First general elections were won by the Adolfo Suárez lead UCD (Democratic Center Union) and in the 5 following years Mr. González and the PSOE opposition was ruthless and mercyless with bawdy insults spitted on and on and the constant threat of a revolutionary general strike.
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Anyone can imagine that King Juan Carlos was contemplating how his grandfather story could repeat again on himself making him run away same as King Alfonso did in 1931. He wanted the socialist to be in office as soon as possible so that after having a grip of Power they would become less revolutionary and somehow more easy-going.
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In part 4 we shall see how tight they (PSOE) squeezed the udders of democracy and how they became factical allies to the King in the building up of what we can call the Spanish Establishment although it would be more precise to call the Ruling Club or the Wise Guys Lodge...Yet another couple of coupes d´etat for the long record of PSOE "epic" history.
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Soon part 4
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