The media in the Spanish transition to democracy (1975–82)

The transformations in Spain from the 1960s onwards in relation to communication resulted in a new legislation that allowed a certain liberalization to try to legitimize the Franco regime. Despite the information repression, some media outlets (especially magazines) became channels for the dissemination of democratic ideas and spaces for debate. In addition, the lack of consolidation in the socialization of the values of the ‘18 of July’ in the first stages of the dictatorship led to a more successful technocratic socialization to favour the depoliticization and demobilization of Spanish society. The interpretations on how this communication pseudo-space was decisive, during the last years of the Franco regime, for the formation of public opinion in democratic Spain have not taken into account a significant factor that allows overcoming the opposition between the emergence of civil society and the persistence of some values from Francoism. This factor is the enormous disparity in culture and media consumption, with its reflection in education and, more generally, in economic inequality.