Social control and discreet surveillance: The Ministry of Information and Tourism’s Liaison Office (1962-1977)

  • Matilde Eiroa San Francisco Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
Keywords: Ministry of Information and Tourism, Francoism, Transition to democracy, social control

Abstract

The article aims to analyse the structure, staff and functions of the so-called Oficina de Enlace, created in 1962 for informational purposes within the Ministry of Information and Tourism. To this end, the existing funds in the General Administration Archive have been used, to which qualitative techniques have been applied for the treatment offered by the documentation, as well as the Boletín Oficial del Estado. From its study we deduce that the office, renamed as of 1974 as Gabinete de Enlace, carried out tasks of surveillance, monitoring, espionage and social control of groups and individuals of a great ideological variety, thus exceeding the purpose defined in the moment of its creation, and acting as support of repressive organisms. Some functions continued to be performed in the first biennium of the Transition to Democracy until their subtle disappearance from 1977, thus confirming the maintenance of dictatorship institutions after Franco’s death.

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Published
2024-07-01
How to Cite
Eiroa San Francisco M. (2024). Social control and discreet surveillance: The Ministry of Information and Tourism’s Liaison Office (1962-1977). Historia y Política, 51, 367-393. https://doi.org/10.18042/hp.2024.AL.05