Dismantling the Dictatorship

Even Communist Party Secretary-General Santiago Carrillo called it "a step toward national reconciliation." Social Democratic Leader Antonio Garcia Lopez went further. He described it as "the first dramatic step toward dismantling the dictatorship." Both men were referring to King Juan Carlos' decree granting amnesty to political prisoners in Spain, which was formally promulgated in Madrid last week. Although less sweeping than leftists and moderates had hoped, the decree could affect more than half of the 1,600 Spaniards who have been imprisoned for political crimes or have otherwise been penalized for illegal, quasi-political acts.

Among the beneficiaries:

> Prisoners guilty of "all crimes or failings of political intention or of opinion." Chief among these are scores of imprisoned Spanish Communists, whose party is still illegal despite a recent thaw in relations between the government and the democratic opposition. Among the first to be released were Simon Sanchez Montero and Santiago Alvarez, two leading officials in the party hierarchy who were jailed earlier this year.

> Persons convicted of "crimes of rebellion or sedition" under Spain's rigid military code. This clause will free, among others, nine officers convicted in March of membership in the illegal Military Democratic Union, a moderate group dedicated to democracy and the reform of the military establishment.

> Military deserters and conscientious objectors.

> Civil servants and other workers who lost jobs or were imprisoned or charged under the late dictator Francisco Franco for trade union activities. In all, some 1,000 people may be reinstated or released.

Military and civilian courts immediately began applying the amnesty, and by week's end some 100 prisoners had been freed. How many more will win release depends on how individual judges interpret the decree's terms. The amnesty is considerably broader than a limited pardon granted by Juan Carlos last December, when more than 600 political prisoners and thousands of common criminals were set free (although their convictions remain on the record). By specifically excluding people convicted of violent crimes, the amnesty fails to benefit some 200 prisoners, most of them Basques, who were jailed under last year's decree law against terrorism, which led to the execution of five left-wing guerrillas in September. Nonetheless, most opposition leaders chose to emphasize the amnesty's positive aspects. As one Socialist leader put it, "This moment offers great hope. It would be a tragedy to waste it."

Even as terms of the long-awaited amnesty were being thrashed out by government ministers, negotiations between the regime and Spain's political opposition were off to a positive start. New Premier Adolfo Suarez Gonzalez has so far met with leaders of virtually all Socialist, Christian Democratic and Social Democratic groups, and there have apparently even been indirect government contacts with the Communists. These exploratory talks are intended to pave the way for government and opposition agreement on a number of pressing national problems. Among them: 1) legalization of the Communist Party, which has an estimated 50,000 members, 2) the nature and content of a national referendum this fall on the shape of Spanish democracy, and 3) impending constitutional reforms that will pave the way for national elections to be held before next June.

Unfortunately, Suarez seems to have considerably less freedom of movement than his conservative predecessor, Carlos Arias Navarro. As one highly placed official put it, "The government is young, and the older generation does not trust it." Last month, for example, the Suarez government's liberal public statements caused a swing to the right in the Cortes (parliament) and led to a close vote on reforming the penal code to legalize political parties. The lack of maneuvering room could well prevent the government from making sufficient concessions to opposition groups--and thus scuttle chances for full participation in whatever regime emerges from the transition period. As a result, Spain seems to be approaching a critical juncture at which either a new democratic order will replace the post-Franco state or Spain will lurch backward, at least temporarily, into the past.

Potent Weapon. Left-wing parties and clandestine labor unions have a potent double-barreled weapon at their disposal: Spain's most serious economic crisis in more than a decade. After years of uninterrupted boom, inflation is running at more than 25% and unemployment is nearly 7%. The government faces a round of year-end salary negotiations in key industries. The groups promise to use their clout to press for full union freedom and full participation in the political process. Says Economist Ramon Tamames: "The economic problem cannot be solved until the political problem is solved."

Meanwhile, political momentum is picking up. The second wave of bombings in two weeks swept through Spain after the amnesty was announced. In yet another reaction to the amnesty, Communist Leader Carrillo, 61, who has lived in exile in Paris for 40 years, applied for a passport to return home. * Carrillo reportedly made his request to the Spanish ambassador in France--the first time he has spoken to a Spanish envoy since the Civil War. As his party's leader, Carrillo is theoretically subject to immediate arrest in Spain, and his request for a passport was obviously a test of the spirit of the amnesty. At a meeting in Rome, the Spanish Communist Party went even further and announced that it will begin organizing publicly throughout Spain very soon.

-* Another likely applicant: Communist Dolores Ibarruri, 81, the legendary "La Pasionaria" of Civil War fame, who is in exile in Moscow.

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