Abstract

The historiography of the Spanish transition to democracy is going through exciting times. After years in which the importance of civic organizations has been relatively downplayed, we are witnessing a growing interest in their contribution to the process. The most important foci of social resistance to the dictatorship were the workers’ organizations, the student and nationalist movements. They contributed to the regime’s destabilization and pressured Franco’s successors to move towards liberalization. Nevertheless, this article argues that examining everyday areas of cultural practices reveals that social mobilization in Spain in the 1970s was more extensive than currently believed and had interesting cultural consequences in important social sectors. By analyzing the movements for pedagogical renovation, the article shows the intensity of a cultural campaign to influence the country’s future that was carried out in the workplace. Within a framework that sees democratization as a process of mutual transformation of state and society, this piece explores the channels through which these movements contributed to the transformation of Spain from an authoritarian society controlled by a dictatorial state to a pluralistic polity sustaining democratic procedures. The movements for pedagogical renovation initiated a quiet, yet determined endeavour to modify workplace practices and procedures in order to ensure the democratization of the everyday lives of citizens. If, from the outside, it seemed the Spanish public was not actively involved in bringing about Spanish democracy, entering the classrooms reveals the struggle was at its height.

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