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"Spain at Liberty" -

In January 2025, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez delivered a speech in Madrid during the "Spain at Liberty" event to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Francisco Franco, the authoritarian leader who ruled from 1939 to 1975.

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Far-right resurgence -

Spain's prime minister was presiding over the first in a year-long series of events to commemorate the country's transition to a parliamentary democracy 50 years ago. In his speech, Sanchez warned that the far right was once again ascending in Europe.

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Franco chooses a successor -

General Franco had in 1969 designated Prince Juan Carlos, grandson of Spain's most recent king, Afonso XIII, as his official successor.

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Death of a dictator -

On November 20, 1975, Franco died.  His death was mourned by millions of conservative Spaniards, but the mood after his passing was of uncertainty and fear. Inevitably, perhaps, a period of significant political instability and violence followed.

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Franco's funeral -

Franco's funeral took place at the Royal Palace in Madrid on November 23. His passing marked the end of one of Europe's longest dictatorships. It also signaled the first step for Spain towards a complex democratic transition. .

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Proclamation of King Juan Carlos I -

On November 27, the Proclamation of King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia had taken place amid great pageantry at Madrid's Palacio de las Cortes.

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Nascent government -

Juan Carlos did not initially appoint a new prime minister, leaving in place the incumbent head of government under Franco, Carlos Arias Navarro, seen here on the right of the king during the monarch's first cabinet meeting.

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The Atocha massacre -

Far-right terrorism surged in Spain after Franco's passing. In Madrid on January 4, 1977, five Communist Party and Workers' Commission labor activists were assassinated by right-wing extremists in the hope of provoking a violent left-wing response. Instead, the attack generated mass popular revulsion of neo-fascism and accelerated legalization of the long-banned Communist Party. Pictured is the funeral procession for three of the victims, attended by up to 100,000 people.

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Adolfo Suárez elected prime minister -

In June 1977, Adolfo Suárez was chosen as Spain's first democratically elected prime minister since the Second Spanish Republic. He became a key figure in the country's transition to democracy after the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.

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ETA and far-right terrorism -

Between 1975 and the early 1980s, dozens fell victim to attacks blamed on far-right terrorism. Meanwhile the Basque separatist organization ETA, which was founded in 1959, maintained a campaign of bombings, assassinations, and kidnappings throughout Spain right up until its dissolution in 2018.

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Attempted coup -

In 1981, elements of the Civil Guard and the Spanish military attempted a coup d'état. On February 23, Lieutenant-Colonel Antonio Tejero (left), along with 200 armed coconspirators, stormed the Congress of Deputies chamber in Madrid in a bid to revert Spain back to a Francoist government.

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Overthrow thwarted -

The effort to unseat the government failed. Shortly afterwards, King Juan Carlos I appeared on national television to condemn the coup attempt against him.

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Spain joins NATO -

Spain joined NATO in May 1982. Its ascension occurred during a period of international unrest and considerable domestic opposition. Demonstrators took to the streets in many cities protesting full membership in the Alliance and the permanence of US military bases on Spanish territory.

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Transition to democracy -

The transition to democracy is said to have concluded after the landslide victory of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) in the October 1982 general election—the first peaceful transfer of executive power. The PSOE, led by Felipe González, won 48.1% of the vote.

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Spain joins the European Union -

The liberalization of Spain was completed after González signed the accession treaty to the European Communities (European Union) on June 12, 1985, in Madrid. Spain also reinforced its commitment to integration by signing the Schengen Agreement in June 1991.

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Barcelona hosts the Summer Olympics -

Spain's hosting of the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona was a landmark event. The capital of the autonomous community of Catalonia used the Games to transform the face of the city and boost the local economy.

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Return of terrorism -

Terrorism returned to Spain in 2004 when 10 explosive devices were detonated on four commuter trains in Madrid, killing 191 and wounding hundreds more. Prime Minister José María Aznar blamed the Basque militant group ETA, but, in fact, al Qaeda-inspired terrorists were behind the atrocities.

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The Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing -

ETA did admit to bombing the Terminal 4 parking area at Madrid–Barajas Airport in 2006. The attack killed two people and injured 52.

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Spain win the World Cup -

Spain's soccer stars followed their UEFA European Championship win in 2008 by hoisting the FIFA World Cup trophy in 2010. This remarkable double established the squad as an international soccer power house. They hoisted the Euro trophy again in 2012.

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Another tragedy -

Tragedy again visited Spain when 13 people died and over 100 were injured when a van a ploughed into crowds in Barcelona's famous Las Ramblas area. The outrage was part of a wider campaign of terror carried out across Catalonia in August 2017 by a cell of the so-called Islamic State (IS) group.

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Catalonia calls for independence -

Later that year in October, an unconstitutional referendum of independence called by the Generalitat de Catalunya was followed by a declaration of independence. Madrid considered the move illegal and dismissed Catalan politician Carles Puigdemont. He subsequently fled to Belgium, chased by a European arrest warrant.

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Abdication of King Juan Carlos I -

The Spanish constitutional system was left reeling in June 2014 when King Juan Carlos I announced his abdication after 39 years on the throne.

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Constitutional crisis -

Juan Carlos I abdicated in favor of his son, Crown Prince Felipe, after becoming embroiled in a corruption investigation involving his daughter's husband and a controversial elephant hunting trip the monarch took during Spain's financial crisis.

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"Pact of Forgetting" -

Spain had largely avoided confronting the legacy of Francoism after the death of the fascist dictator in 1975. An unspoken "Pact of Forgetting" was adopted by Spaniards in an attempt to move on from the civil war and subsequent repression, and to concentrate on the future of the country.

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Dismantling Franco's legacy -

By the early 2000s, though, Francoism and its effect on the Spanish people was being reassessed. Questions were being asked openly about how Franco had been memorialized since his death. Statues dedicated to him began to be dismantled.

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Exhumation of Franco's remains -

In June 2018, within days of taking office, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced his government's intention to exhume the remains of Francisco Franco from the Valley of the Fallen, a colossal memorial built by the forced labor of political prisoners ostensibly to honor the casualties of both sides of the Spanish Civil War.

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Reinterment -

Franco's coffin was removed from the memorial's basilica in October 2019. His remains were ultimately reinterred at Mingorrubio Cemetery in Madrid.

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The Valley of the Fallen -

The Valley of the Fallen has always been seen as symbolic of Francoism. The remains of more than 33,000 people from both the Franco Nationalist and the opposition Republican sides are interred here. However, only the Nationalist dead were labeled with names and surnames. Republicans buried here remain anonymous and were entombed mostly without the consent or even the knowledge of their families.

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Unearthing the 'disappeared' -

The civil war left 500,000 people dead. It's estimated that around 114,000 bodies of Spanish citizens are still missing, having 'disappeared' during Franco's period of power. Today, mass graves are still being discovered of those killed in battle or executed.

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Far-right threat -

In Spain and abroad, the legacy of Franco remains controversial. And while the country still counts many as admirers of Franco and Francoism, Pedro Sánchez hopes that the commemorative events taking place throughout 2025 will prevent the younger generation from being "seduced by the siren calls" of far-right ideologies.

Sources: (El Páis) (The Guardian) (Reuters) (Euronews) (Foreign Policy) (NATO)

See also: The tragedy that was the Spanish Civil War

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