In Spain, Francisco Franco was called, El Caudillo, or El Generalisimo. Around the world he was called a dictator. He was the last surviving Fascist leader. In 1936 he led a rebellion against the legally elected leftist government of Spain. The Civil War ended in 1939 with Franco as the victor. Franco led Spain until his death in in 1975. The death of Franco frightened the Spaniards. In Germany, I could feel the apprehension of Spaniards. Under Franco Spain had been a very stable county.

With his death Spain faced a was very uncertain future. Perhaps Franco expected his dictatorship to continue after his death. His right-wing bureaucracy was still in control. Franco's designated successor was Prince Juan Carlos. Upon Franco’s death Juan Carlos became king. The future of Spain lay in the hands King Juan Carlos. It was Juan Carlos who would transition Spain from a dictatorship to a constitutional monarchy.

I visited Spanish clubs in Germany and took vacations to Spain. Something I had done since the early 60’s. I played cards with Spaniards in bars many times and I never felt the tension of living in a dictatorship. I was admonished once that I was not a Spaniard therefore, I was isolated from the political repression in Spain. From a distance, I could hear the cacophony in Spain. People were yearning for both a democracy and a return to dictatorship. A coup de etat was attempted by the Civil Guard but King Juan Carlos was having no part of it. He squelched it.

The eventual first prime minister of Spain would be Adolpho Suarez. He and Juan Carlos wiggled their way through Franco’s bureaucracy to garner support for a constitutional monarchy. A prime minister would be elected by the Spanish people, it is ironic that the Spanish people would elect a Socialist as prime minister almost 40 years after a civil war that killed thousands of Spaniards. Many Spaniards knew of the Civil War. They could see Pablo Picasso’s Guernica at the Prado Museum in Madrid. They also could see the huge cross at the Valle do los Caidos, honoring all the fallen soldiers of the Civil War. It was rumored that thousands of slaved leftists' civil war veterans were used to build the monument.

I was studying for my college degree in Spain while all this was happening. I was interested in the politics. I heard and read Felipe Gonzalez. He would be the third prime minister of Spain and he too was a Socialist. I was interested in his politics and that of his deputy Alfonso Guerra.

I could glean from their writing that Socialism coexists with capitalism. Much like capitalism coexisted with the monarchy in England. You can read Adam Smith author of The Wealth of Nations for a better understanding. You cannot have Socialism, a Monarchy, or a Republic without capitalism. A state cannot exist without capitalism. Another word for capitalism is money.

Spain under Franco was a dictatorship. After Franco's death there was a constitutional monarchy. Power shifted from the left to the right based on the will of the people. Much like England and the United States. The people decide the direction of the country.

Socialism, Monarchy, and a Republic are like triplets each with a different name. I see Republicans trying to instill fear of Socialism on the American people and I shake my head in disbelieve that educated people do not know the systems of government around the world. So, I ask myself, what kind of idiots are we choosing?

Felix Alvarado