The transition between reformism and respect for fundamentals that had lost all validity ran along a fine line in the death throes of Francoism. Carlos Arias Navarro, President of the Government by work and grace of the assassination of Luis Carrero Blanco at the hands of ETA, crossed that line on February 12, 1974, orally, with an opening speech before the Cortes Generales that could have been historic if it had not end up on wet paper.
Much has been said about the actual authorship of a text that originated what was called the Spirit of February 12, which opened the door, during Franco's lifetime, to the public appearance of political and union currents within the limits of the Movement. , with a reform of the election systems for mayors, councilors and members of provincial councils.
The fact is that just a few days later, a homily by the Bishop of Bilbao, Antonio Añoveros, positioning himself in favor of the identity of the Basque people and their right to receive care from the Church in Basque provoked an angry reaction from the Government, which threatened to expel him from the country despite the fact that both the Vatican and the Spanish Episcopal Conference came out in his defense.
Added to this case was the execution of the anarchist Salvador Puig Antich on March 2 despite internal and external petitions for clemency and the regime's reaction to the Portuguese Carnation Revolution on April 25 of that same year, which led to the censorship of information about what was happening in the neighboring country and an offer to the United States of a Spanish military intervention to stop the advance of socialism.
The pressures from the so-called bunker of the regime weighed too heavily in those days and continued to weigh heavily in the following months. To the point that Arias Navarro ended up becoming a champion of continuity and his television intervention to announce Franco's death on November 20, 1975, after reading the dictator's political testament, in the speech that we offer in its entirety, made him an element incompatible with the political transition towards democracy.
“Spanish: Franco is dead.
”The exceptional man who before God and before history assumed the immense responsibility of the most demanding and self-sacrificing service to Spain has given his life, burned day by day, hour by hour, in the fulfillment of a transcendental mission.
"I know that in these moments my voice will reach your homes broken and confused by the murmur of your sobs and your prayers. It is natural: it is the cry of Spain, which feels like never before the infinite anguish of her orphanhood; It is the hour of pain and sadness, but it is not the hour of despondency or despair.
“It is true that Franco, who for so many years was our leader, is no longer with us, but he leaves us his work, his example remains, he bequeaths us a historical mandate of inexcusable fulfillment. Because I witnessed his last day of work, when death had already taken hold of his heart, I can assure you that for you and for Spain it was his last thought, embodied in this message with which our leader bids farewell to this Spain to which He wanted so much and so passionately served:
"'Spanish people:
"'When the time comes for me to surrender my life before the Most High and appear before his final judgment, I ask God to welcome me benignly into his presence, because I wanted to live and die as a Catholic. In the name of Christ I honor myself and it has been my constant will to be a faithful son of the Church, in whose bosom I will die.
"'I ask everyone's forgiveness, as I wholeheartedly forgive those who declared themselves my enemies, without my having them as such. I believe and I wish that I had no others than those who were from Spain, which I love until the last moment and which I promised to serve until the last breath of my life, which I already know is near.
"'I want to thank all those who have collaborated with enthusiasm, dedication and self-sacrifice, in the great undertaking of making Spain united, great and free. Because of the love I feel for our country, I ask you to persevere in unity and peace and to surround the future King of Spain, Don Juan Carlos de Borbón, with the same affection and loyalty that you have given me and that you give him, in At all times, the same collaborative support that I have had from you.
"'Do not forget that the enemies of Spain and of Christian civilization are alert. You, too, must be vigilant and, for this, set aside all personal views before the supreme interests of the homeland and the Spanish people. Do not give up on achieving social justice and culture for all men in Spain and make it your primary objective. Maintain the unity of the lands of Spain, exalting the rich multiplicity of its regions as a source of strength for the unity of the homeland.
"'I would like, in my last moment, to unite the names of God and Spain and embrace you all to shout together, for the last time, on the threshold of my death, Up Spain! Long live Spain!’”
