1977
Massacre of Atocha
Democracy in Spain had ended in the 1930s with the triumph of the Right in the Spanish Civil War and the beginning of the rule of General Francisco Franco. When Franco died in 1975 the country entered a period of transition led by the king of the restored monarchy, Juan Carlos, who hoped to work within the existing Francoist structures to bring about a democratic state. During this era of uncertainty, far-left groups which had long been banned began to re-emerge and far-right groups pondered what to do when they would no longer be favoured.
On January 24, 1977 a group of gunmen entered the Madrid offices of a radical trade union allied with the outlawed Communist Party and shot nine men and women, all left-wing lawyers. Five of these died. The killers were members of a neofascist group, Alianza Apostolic Anticommunist (Apostolic Anticommunist Alliance) who were clearly expecting to be protected by their allies in government because they did not flee and were soon arrested. They were sentenced to long periods of imprisonment but most did not serve their full terms, again leading to suspicions that wires in the judicial system were being pulled on their behalf.
As is so often the case, the massacre had unintended consequences. Sympathy grew for left-wing groups and the government decided that it was safe to end the ban on the Spanish Communist Party. The transition to democracy continued.