Political dissent in Spain (1979-82) according to Equipo de Coyuntura Económica in the Newspaper "El País"

Abstract

This paper is focused on a set of articles published in the newspaper El País by the Equipo de Coyuntura Económica under the direction of Professor Enrique Fuentes Quintana during the Spanish political transition, from 1978 to 1982. An intense monitoring of the economic situation was made in these articles, when the country was still immersed in the serious oil crisis, with a critical vision of the economic measures applied. At the same time, the articles were intended to raise awareness and involve citizens in the resolution of economic problems. Consensus policy inherited from the Moncloa Pacts was interrupted by the new political situation as a result of the general elections of 1979 that led to the so-called period of political dissent, according to Fuentes Quintana. From abroad, the arrival of the second oil crisis that year and the turbulence in the international financial market aggravated the Spanish economic situation. Inside, wage pressure, deterioration of business surplus and an increasing budget deficit demanded robust solutions from economic policy, that were insistently claimed from that press tribune by this economics team.