Spanish miracle

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This article is about an economic boom between 1959 and 1974. For more recent economic developments, see Economy of Spain.
The 142 m Torre de Madrid, built in 1957, heralded the "Spanish Miracle".

The Spanish miracle (Spanish: El Milagro español) was the name given to a period of exceptionally rapid and broadly-based development across all economic sectors in Spain from 1959 to 1974, during the latter part of the Francoist regime. The economic boom was brought to an end by the 1970s international oil and stagflation crises.

Initiation of boom[]

The "economic miracle" was initiated by the reforms promoted by the so-called technocrats who, with Francisco Franco's approval, put in place policies developed in Spain. The technocrats, many of whom were members of Opus Dei, were a new breed of politicians and replaced the old Falangist guard.[1] The implementation of these policies took the form of development plans (Spanish: Planes de desarrollo) and it was largely a success. Spain enjoyed the second-highest growth rate in the world, only slightly behind Japan[2] and became the ninth-largest economy in the world, just behind Canada. Spain joined the industrialised world and left behind the poverty and endemic functional underdevelopment that it had experienced after the Napoleonic Wars, the loss of most of its empire in the 1820s, and the century of political instability and civil wars that followed.

Industrialization[]

Nominal GDP per capita of Spain (black), Portugal and Mexico in the 20th century
A monument in Fuengirola, Spain for the SEAT 600, a symbol of the Spanish miracle[3]

The rapid economic expansion reinvigorated old industrial areas: the Basque Country and Ferrol northern coast (iron and steel, shipbuilding), and in and around Barcelona (machinery, textiles, cars and petrochemicals). It also drove an enormous expansion in refining, petrochemicals, chemicals and engineering. To help achieve the rapid development, there was massive government investment through key state owned companies like the national industrial conglomerate Instituto Nacional de Industria, the mass market car company SEAT in Barcelona, the big steel plant of Ensidesa in Avilés and the shipbuilder Empresa Nacional Bazán. With heavy protection from foreign competition in the domestic Spanish market, those companies led the industrialisation of the country, restoring the prosperity of industrial areas like Barcelona and Bilbao and creating new industrial areas, most notably around Madrid. Although there was economic liberalisation in the period, key enterprises remained under state control.

Automotive industry[]

The automotive industry was one of the most powerful locomotoras (locomotives) of the Spanish Miracle. From 1958 to 1972, it grew at a yearly compound rate of 21.7%. In 1946, there were only 72,000 private cars in Spain, but in 1966, there were over 1 million.[4] That growth rate had no equal in the world. The icon of the desarrollo was the SEAT 600 car, produced by the Spanish state company SEAT. More than 794,000 of them were made between 1957 and 1973. At the beginning of that period, it was the first car for many Spanish working-class families. However, at the end of the period, it was the second car for many more.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jensen, Geoffrey. "Franco: Soldier, Commander, Dictator". Washington D.C.: Potomac Books, Inc., 2005. p. 110-111.
  2. ^ Reuter, Tim (May 19, 2014). "Before China's Transformation, There Was The "Spanish Miracle"". Forbes. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  3. ^ Fernández, Fernando (14 November 2008) El coche como símbolo del declive ABC opinión.
  4. ^ J.L. García Ruiz, "Barreiros Diesel y el desarrolo de la automoción en España" (PDF).
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