SPAIN: Freedom under Franco

After two and a half years of elaborate preparation, Generalissimo Francisco Franco last week put a Bill of Rights for Spaniards on display. In democratic eyes, it seemed hardly worth the trouble. The bill ostensibly guaranteed equality under the law, sanctity of the home, life, liberty and property. But each liberty was tied to a legalistic string, each right offset by a duty. The six most important articles could be canceled by the Government at will.

The bill recognized “man as bearer of the eternal voice in the national community.” But it permitted that voice to speak only in favor of the present regime—i.e., “so long as [ideas] do not illegally attack the fundamental principles of the state.” On the very day Franco issued his decree, Madrid was swamped by royalist leaflets. Promptly, the city buzzed with rumors of widespread arrests. Freedom under Franco was still a castle in Spain.