The forbidden opinion polls of the Spanish Transition. Access to public information and Digital History

Abstract

The goal of this research is to analyse the role played by social media, the periodicals library and access to public information when revisiting collective memory on the Spanish Transition. The analysis is carried out based on an unpublished interview to Adolfo Suarez in 1995. During the interview, and off-the-record, former Spanish president Adolfo Suarez confessed to journalist Victoria Prego that the monarchy was not subjected to referendum because the opinion polls suggested they would lose. Those statements came to light 20 years later, after a special TV program broadcast by La Sexta Columna that turned Adolfo Suarez into a trending topic for several days. Between 1955 and 1972 at least six opinion polls were carried out - perfectly documented and censored or silenced at the time - asking Spaniards about their preferences on the best government system for Spain.