50 years since Juan Carlos I’s trip to the US that sealed international support for the Transition

Eduardo González In June 1976, King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía visited the United States, a trip that helped consolidate international support for Spain's still fledgling Transition, especially after the historic speech before US Congress in which the Monarch publicly used the word "democracy" for the first time. The trip actually began on May 31 with a stopover in the Dominican Republic. That was the first time in history that a Spanish head of state had set foot on a continent—the Americas—so closely linked to the country's global history. Later, the King and Queen arrived in Washington, where they were received by President Gerald Ford at the White House. There, the King met with the most influential American economic and journalistic representatives, both in Washington and New York, and with the UN Secretary-General, Kurt Waldheim. This marked the beginning of a trip that took place between June 2nd and 6th, 1976, and which, with the benefit of hindsight, was undoubtedly the most important of all those undertaken by Juan Carlos I during his 39-year reign. The trip was especially significant due to the historical moment in which it occurred, a time marked, above all, by strong internal and international pressure to end the Franco regime. The first warning came on April 26, 1976, barely a month and a half before the trip to the United States, when the American weekly "Newsweek" published off-the-record statements by the King to journalist Arnaud de Borchgrave in which he described the Prime Minister, Carlos Arias Navarro, as an "unmitigated disaster" due to his "inaction" and his inability to distance himself from the most reactionary sectors of the regime, the so-called "bunker." Later, while the King's trip to the United States was underway, the weekly magazine "Cambio 16" published a caricature of the King dancing "like Fred Astaire" over New York City. That drawing, the first caricature of a Spanish head of state since the Second Republic, deeply outraged Arias himself, who immediately ordered the magazine to be seized. Finally, the operation was halted by the Minister of Information, Adolfo Martín-Gamero, who argued that the caricature was merely a “journalistic liberty” that could even help improve the image of the Monarchy. Arias's intransigence could not have been more inopportune (or more opportune, depending on one's perspective), as it coincided precisely with Juan Carlos I's efforts to present himself in the United States as the “Monarch for democracy” and, in fact, served as the catalyst that finally convinced the King of the need to get rid of Arias. Indeed, according to documents declassified by the US administration, on June 4, 1976, shortly before leaving Washington for New York, the King met with US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, during which he reportedly confessed his intention to rid himself of Arias Navarro. The dismissal was officially announced on July 1, less than a month after the visit to the United States. The King's speech In any case, the most significant moment of the trip was the King's speech before the Capitol in Washington. The United States was then celebrating the Bicentennial of his birth, and the King of Spain was one of only three heads of state invited to speak in a joint session of both Houses of Congress on that occasion. The other two were French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing and Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. The speech, prepared with great care and the utmost secrecy to prevent interference from a regime that, for all intents and purposes, was still dictatorial, was received from the very first words with enthusiastic applause for the Monarch from the members of Congress. The text, entirely in English, contained 2,190 words and 33 paragraphs and consisted of two parts: the first of a historical nature and the second of political content, drafted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José María de Areilza. After elaborating on Spain's past in America and its contribution to the struggle for American independence, alluding to "the intimate and indestructible ties that bind Spain to the countries of this hemisphere of the same race and language," the King moved almost imperceptibly to current Spanish politics. Without making any explicit reference to the Franco regime, Juan Carlos I recalled the economic development and the "immense effort undertaken in recent decades" in Spain and acknowledged the "tensions, difficulties, and even violence" that the country still experienced. It was at that moment that Juan Carlos I uttered the most significant words of that speech. "The Spanish Monarchy has been committed from day one to being an open institution in which all citizens have ample opportunity for their political participation without discrimination of any kind and without undue pressure from sectarian and extremist groups," he affirmed. “The Crown protects the entire nation and each and every citizen, guaranteeing, through the law and the exercise of civil liberties, the rule of justice,” he continued. “The Monarchy will ensure that, under the principles of democracy, social peace and political stability are maintained in Spain, while also guaranteeing the orderly access to power of the various governing alternatives, according to the freely expressed wishes of the people,” he proclaimed. It was the first time the King had publicly uttered the word “democracy.”

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