History of Galicia: Encyclopedia II - History of Galicia - Contemporary Galicia

History of Galicia - Contemporary Galicia

Galician nationalist and federalist movements arose in the nineteenth century, and after the Second Spanish Republic was declared in 1931, Galicia became an autonomous region following a referendum.

Socialists and anarchists attempted a coup d'état on 6 October 1934 in Asturias and Catalonia. That day Catalan politician Lluís Companys i Jover proclaimed Catalonia a free and independent republic. Miners in Asturias revolted, occupying Oviedo, leading to the death of about 40 people. The attempt of rebels to seize the government offices in Madrid was defeated and it's been thought that the most severe fighting occurred in Catalonia and Galicia. By the middle of October, however, the revolt had been completely suppressed by General Francisco Franco. This uprising and its suppression divided the nation.

During the 1936–75 dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, a Galician from Ferrol, Galicia's autonomy statute was annulled (as were those of Catalonia and the Basque provinces). The Franco regime also suppressed any official promotion of the Galician language (although its everyday use was never proscribed). During the last decade of Franco's rule, there was a renewal of nationalist sentiment in Galicia.

Following the transition to democracy following Franco's death in 1975, Galicia regained its status as an autonomous region within Spain. Varying degrees of nationalist or separatist sentiment are evident at the political level. The only nationalist party of any electoral significance, the Bloque Nacionalista Galego or BNG, advocates greater autonomy from the Spanish state, and the preservation of Galician heritage and culture. Other factions advocate total independence from Spain, while some smaller groupings aspire to integrate with Portugal and the Portuguese-speaking world. However, the nationalist parties have hitherto obtained only minority electoral support at election time.

From 1990 to 2005, the region's government and parliament, the Xunta de Galicia was presided over by the Partido Popular ('People's Party', Spain's main national conservative party) under Manuel Fraga, a former minister and ambassador under the Franco regime. However, in the 2005 Galician elections, the People's Party lost its overall majority, while just remaining the largest party in the parliament.

In the event, power passed to a coalition between the Partido Socialista de Galicia (PSdeG) ('Galician Socialist Party'), a regional sister-party of Spain's main socialist party, the Partido Socialista Obrero Español ('Spanish Socialist Workers Party') and the BNG. As the senior partner in the new coalition, the PSdeG nominated its leader, Emilio Perez Touriño, to serve as Galicia's new president.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Contemporary Galicia", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki