Many of the details of how the Transition was forged came from the journalistic investigations of a professional who arrived in 1963 to the historical editorial of the Madrid newspaper, for which he covered wars, interviewed heads of state of the half world and wrote editorials until he passed in 1969 to direct for a few months the newly created agency Colpisa. It was then that he received the call from Laureano López Rodó to manage the Presidency's relations with the press, during the years in which the technocrats prepared their second development plan. After the promotion of Carrero Blanco to the presidency of the Government in July 1973, he returned to the tasks of the job he knew best, and it was the murder of the admiral by ETA in December of that year that gave him the opportunity to publish in Sedmay publishing house, which would be its first bestseller, just four months later. In the crisis details were hitherto unknown about the attack, in the same way that in the following books some of the secrets of the Transition process underway, with the King as the protagonist, and on Holy Red Sabbath , published In 1980, he related how the Suárez and Carrillo conversations that led to the legalization of the PCE were forged. In recent years it has focused on the prequel to the Transition, that is, on Franco. With Justino Sinova he published a kind of encyclopedia, Todo Franco (Plaza & Janés), and a few years ago a biography of the Caudillo, The Kingdom of Franco (Editions B).

Did Franco leave his funeral planned? The only reference was given by Daniel Sueiro in his book on the Valley of the Fallen. On one of his visits, upon arriving at the place between the altar and the choir, Franco told the architect: Méndez, I here. But we don't know anything else. What we do know is that he himself supervised the construction of the pantheon of El Pardo, which, due to its size and sober sumptuousness, resulted from his taste and that of his wife, and was close to his residence and barracks, where he thought that I would be buried. Not in Cuelgamuros, a place destined to fallen in the Civil War or killed by its consequences. He did not meet those requirements. Will he be taken out of the Valley of the Fallen? Following the decision of the Supreme, his family will exhaust the available resources to prevent it or to decide its next location, although everything seems to indicate that his remains will end up in El Pardo, place where he spent his last 35 years of life. But we have been with this issue for more than a year, because, instead of having tried to carry with discretion between the parties involved, it rose unexpectedly as a political challenge, a flag was raised and a victory was raised. Most of the Spaniards find it a controversy that was almost 45 years after Franco's death. Bury yourself with dignity where it is due and let's go to what we are: elections on November 10. Will you go to vote or is one of the disenchanted? Yes, yes, I will go to vote. I'm not from the PSOE, I'm more central, but I think the PSOE is a historically sensible party, which is closer to Cs and the PP than to Podemos. The pact with the right center will have to be imposed in case the vote is again very fragmented. Does Rivera have to give in? I think that Cs, if a situation like the current one is repeated, is not going to have I have no choice but to agree with the PSOE, even I would say that if it were not for ideological itching, the PP would not have to have many objections to also agree with the PSOE. Does this new reality require a reform of the electoral law and even of the Constitution? The reform of the electoral law is necessary, because as it is now it does not satisfy anyone, even if it suits PP and PSOE. But in the short term, the return of bipartisanship is impossible and this week there has been another game, that of Errejón. The multi-party system has caught us with the changed foot and it will take us a few years to get used to it. And as for the constitutional reform, it is also necessary, after 40 years, because I do not say that it is badly done, but it was done with precipitation, it was written in less than a year and there are gaps to correct. The truth is that he has not wanted to touch the Constitution, among other reasons in case the debate on monarchy or republic was raised and that fear has existed in the Royal House. Even now, I think so. Besides, there are no emotional monarchists in Spain and yet there are emotional republicans. Although Felipe VI enjoys a good image, the Monarchy does not excite enthusiasm, that the power is hereditary, although it is not power, but its representation, does not make much sense. If it is there it is for historical reasons and if it is in Spain it is because Franco established it. In the end, what remains of Francoism is the monarchical installation (not restoration). Until the PP eliminated it, the spirit of labor relations, heir of the vertical union, persisted that the unions, both the socialist and the communist, did not want to touch in any way, because that marriage between the employer and the worker in the Fund was a social achievement of Franco. With the labor reform the difficulties that were present for the dismissal are eliminated. Were the Juanists, among those you were, were monarchists by conviction or opposition? What we knew was that the republic was impossible and that the only two exits were the monarchy or the regency, which was what the Falangists wanted. In any case, I don't know for others, but for me it was pragmatism. In the end, what was imposed was the Monarchy, but not in the figure of Don Juan, for historical reasons of his enmity, since Don Juan signed in 1945 the famous Lausanne Manifesto, where he offered to replace Franco, thinking that the Allies were going to intervene in Spain. In addition, in the end don Juan is already delivered to a democratic opening and Franco knew it. That is why he opts for his son, not because he thought exactly that he would be a continuist, Franco was not stupid either and was aware that the King would not be able to govern like him and that the regime had to change. Franco without Franco could not be understood, Franco was not, as they say, fascist, Franco, and made a regime to suit him. Well, until the replacement of Serrano Suñer, the regime was very close to Nazism ... Franco, when he begins to govern as head of state in Salamanca, does not have very clear ideas. We know that he was subscribed to Acción Española, a very fundamentalist movement that comes from the Action française of Charles Maurras, but he had no ideology. The one who brings him the new ideas is Serrano Suñer, when he escapes from Madrid dressed as a woman, he goes to national Spain and settles with his family in the Archbishop's Palace. Next, Serrano, who is very ambitious, realizes that Franco had no idea in politics and begins to convince him that the State must be given a structure. Thus, Serrano remains with the civil power and Franco with the military. The first thing he does is the Unification Decree, between Falangists and Carlists, to dissolve the militias and integrate them into the Army in a single command. That is also understood by the Republic, but late. And on the other hand it elaborates the Jurisdiction of Work, very inspired by the Mussolini Lavoro Charter, the first fundamental law of the regime. Six fundamental laws were made, because the regime is permanently constituent, something strange but that is so. That fascist temptation that Serrano Suñer gives to the State, Franco did not understand, and he got rid of him. In the end, when he sees that in Europe he is repudiated, he relies on the Church and the United States. What opinion does the Historical Memory deserve? The legal status of the Law seems disproportionate, discrete humanitarian provisions would have been preferable for those who feel affected by the disappearances and on financing for the rescue of remains, benefits to descendants of exiles, etc. The Law is from 2007, 68 years after the end of the Civil War, and grant, for example, Spanish nationality to international brigades who requested it, give that prize to some gentlemen they would have when the Law was published at least 88 years, It could be considered without excess a sarcasm. It is also an inappropriate law, to advertise with pomp, raising a formidable controversy. But unfortunately, this is what was sought. Do you cut criticism of the Transition in the sense that it was made from oblivion? One of the figures that personifies the Transition was Santiago Carrillo. That a hard communist and with his political career, with a past in Stalinist principle, accept the bicolor flag and the Monarchy, which was against what he had fought in the Civil War, and the rest of his life, is an example of reconciliation. That is why the King, when he died, went to say goodbye to the burning chapel at the CCOO headquarters in Madrid, because it was very important to carry out the Transition. I treated him a lot when I published Holy Red Saturday, about the legalization of the PCE. Did Carrillo talk about the past? He made historical references, but he didn't like it. Less still of Paracuellos. The point is that after the war nobody talked about Paracuellos or Carrillo is sought to judge him. Only from the end of the 50s and especially when they appoint him general secretary of the PCE do they begin to go against him. I investigated, spoke with prosecutors and police of the time and found no background, because Carrillo's responsibility was coral, he was part of the Defense Board, which is responsible for civilly governing Madrid after the departure of the Republican Government to Valencia and He had to decide what to do with the prisoners when it was thought that the nationals would enter the capital in two days. He had to know what was happening, although I believe that the decision is not made by Carrillo, but Orlov, of the Soviet political police. It was easy for him to find minions to mass murder in Paracuellos and Torrejón. What can be blamed on Carrillo and others is that they will not try to prevent the horrible slaughter. But of course, who would have tried to oppose it, most likely had been shot. Are the resignation of Suarez and the coup of 23-F behind the legalization of the PCE? No, I believe that enough time had already passed and was digested by the Armies. The coup of 23-F has a lot to do with the tremendous bloodletting of the military in the 79s and 80s by ETA. It was a terrible thing. Communism has nothing to do with it, the military thought that there was not enough done and they thought that perhaps the Army had to be sent to the Basque Country. As some ultras now say with the problem of Catalonia. That is very serious, because the Army, if attacked, can only defend itself by firing, it lacks other defenses than weapons. And in addition, the problem in Catalonia has been of public order. What solution could there be for the situation of Catalonia, political, police or judicial? What of Catalonia will have to be solved in a political way, but always with the Constitution on the table. Obviously the problems that there have been of public order, have to remain problems of public order, not military. The Mossos have already been reinforced with riot control materials. That means they must have some autonomy, because I don't think that the current Generalitat would like the Mossos to be prepared to fight precisely against independence. On the other hand, the prosecution, yes, that has alerted many people, has put things in place, if you have committed the crime, you will have to pay it. Perhaps they will be, within the range of penalties, the most benevolent, but they have to pay it, it is safe. If not, there is no rule of law. There is an added problem, and that is that the preventive detention has been excessive, first because the trial has been very long, but above all, for the escape of Puigdemont. But even if it is within the Constitution, dialogue with secessionists is possible, of course, through uncompromising positions such as Torra's, it is impossible. What is likely is that it will end again in 155. There are approaches, not yet very clear, that are those of ERC, which think that a long-term strategy must be proposed, because they have realized that the idea of an independent Catalonia does not fit in Europe, as the Basques have realized. Does the problem of Catalonia have its origins in the Constitution? No, the Catalan problem is old and manifested itself virulently during the Second Republic. The problem is that the Transition was very precipitous, in less than a year it was passed from the dictatorship to democracy, and that situation is very well used by the Basques and the Catalans.

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