Was the assassination of Luis Carrero Blanco relevant?

Résumé du document

Luis Carrero Blanco has been Franco's shadow and his life is one of the most mysterious in the Spanish history of the twentieth century. He always seemed to be a minor figure. He was from the middle-class, had little ambition but had an important working capacity and above all, he was absolutely loyal to Franco. Without being Franco's friend, he was however more than a simple counsellor. After more than twenty years of working in Franco's shadow, Carrero Blanco had at last a political part as a key figure: he was nominated vice-president of the government in 1967 and finally became president in 1973. However, ETA assassinated Carrero Blanco in December 1973 on his way back from church. The exceptional violence of the attack would forever be engraved in every Spaniard's memory.

Extraits

[...] Despite such a will of change, the most extreme of these supports, such as the Opus Dei and the Falange, remained. I don't think that the majority of the Spaniards identified ETA with a terrorist organisation. The Spanish people wanted the regime to evolve and what ETA did gave new hopes for democratic prospects. Indeed, what ETA did with its attack on Luís Carrero Blanco was to give an impressive signal to the political sphere and to the Spanish people. [...]

[...] In short, the death of Carrero Blanco increased in the Spanish people the desire of change but it did not create any liberalisation. Moreover, what may seem a paradox is that when there was a liberalisation of any king under Franco, it was an economic one and in fact, it was Carrero Blanco who participated, in a certain way, in the Spanish economic development[14]. Furthermore, his main mission was to ensure Franco's succession to monarchy, and he was the main support of Don Juan Carlos. [...]

[...] In addition, before his death, Carrero Blanco was thinking about giving his resignation[18]. He was tired and he was not this energetic defender of Franco's regime anymore. Finally, it is indeed possible to say that his assassination shortened the post- Francoist succession by five years[19]. Even though the attack quickened the transition to a monarchy, it did not contribute democracy. It made, however, the weaknesses of the regime more evident. Maybe, did it even give the Spaniards a stronger will of change. [...]

[...] And in a second part, I will explain why Carrero Blanco's death was not completely relevant for Spanish democracy. Indeed, if we consider Teresa Vilarós's analyse of Carrero Blanco's death, ETA only executed what the people wished[4]. There was at the time a strong will of change and in 1973, this will become quite desperate. The political, social and economic situation was indeed very complex. Spain was at the top of the economic boom and will soon face the effects of the global economic stagnation. [...]

[...] Consequently, in this essay, the question of did ETA kill Carrero Blanco” will not be analysed. However, the study of the relevance of his death will give some answers. Luis Carrero Blanco was born in 1904 in Santoña. He joined the Escual Naval Militar (Military School of Marine) in 1918. He started a brilliant career until the Spanish civil war, during which he had to go to France because of not being a republican[1]. Carrero Blanco came from a military family (his grandfather, father and brothers went to the army). [...]