30 years ago we didn't have freedom of speech, press, assembly and worship.
No divorce, no abortion, no political parties.
We didn't have a constitution and elections.
Catalan, Galician and Basque languages were forbidden.
We had the capital punishment and tortures. There were lots of political prissoners.
Women could not have a bank account without his husband consent. Women used to stay at home, only a few brave women studied at the universities.
Homosexuals were persecuted, 1000 gays were imprisoned in the 70's only for his sexual condition.

i fail to see how that makes for a very nice place. Spain under Franco was not, by all accounts, a very nice place to live!

I can't share that with you here sallyanne. And as I was a visitor to Spain some thirty years ago, I was there when the Constitution was "ratified?", perhaps it wasn't so nice for Spaniards during those times. But it was very safe and peaceful for visitors.

I would like to thank Valenciano who has had me thinking about a different aspect of democracy and freedom and progress, since yesterday, that is very insightful. I'm beginning to see why these ideas are so hard to take root in different parts of the world.

I agree with Gazpacho.
Spain was wonderful for foreigners coming from rich countries. As it is now for Cuba, tourism was the main source of incomes, so tourist were treated like kings by the submissive people (there were campaigns on mass media telling people to be friendly with them).
Moreover as foreigners from rich countries in a very poor nation you could eat in the best restaurants and stay at the best hotels.
Yes it was peaceful, people didn't have cars, traffic jams didn't existed.

Spanish people was craving for democracy for centuries. We did have some frustrated attempts in the past two centuries. So after Franco died democracy was the only way to avoid a civil war again.
In this ocasion the western governments supported the democratic winds of change here in opposition to the Spanish Civil War times when they abandoned the Spanish democracy.

The word democracy comes from greek language, it means demo=people and cracy=government, people's government. So democracy must be a people's claim and never can be imposed. Imposition is the dictator's way to do things.

Valenciano,

"Eating at the best restaurants and staying at the best hotels....", yeah, that sounds like me alright. I was living off of bocadillos de calamares and beer in cervecerias and staying in barracks at Torrejon. It only costs me about 35 cents back then and that and the metro costs me about $2 for a day in Madrid. I don't eat at the best restaurants and stay in the best hotels even now that I can afford it.

I suppose in your schools they teach you about how horrible it was to live in Spain under Franco. Yeah, what a mean ol' fascist. Do you think that if he didn't win, the other side, we both know who they were, well, I do anyway, wouldn't have been equally despotic or more likely totalitarian? Probably much worse?

You gave quite a laundry list of what you considered improvements but it seems to me that a lot of the things you now have were left off of this list. I'm so happy you have your constitution now and are proud of it, as you should be. But I know that things just weren't that bad before you did. Spain was an excellent country then and a very good one now.

Gazpacho,

I am very sorry if I my post sounded like if I was personalizing on you. That was not my intention.

I failed to explain how different are things from the two differents perspectives.
For example, all Spanish people that visit Cuba say that it is a wonderful country but some Cuban people living in Spain told me that people there are very unhappy with Castro.

I am against any totalitarian system.
Sorry again.

Okay! I think this thread has reached its end - before it goes off the edge. TOPIC CLOSED.

But do visit http://www.spaniards.es/ . Good site with good INsight.

Saludos, MadridMan