Plan de Estabilización

The Plan de Estabilizacion (literally: "Stabilization Plan ") was the name of an economic reform that was carried out in Spain in 1959 .

prehistory

After the Spanish Civil War , the economic and budgetary situation in Spain was extremely poor. The economic crisis was caused on the one hand by the consequences of the war itself. The situation was exacerbated by the Francoist economic policy aimed at self-sufficiency . The massive state influence on the economy and the prevention of a free market through traditional class rules prevented growth and innovation.

Between 1953 and 1958 the economy began to grow again. The high growth rates of around 5% were accompanied by a massive devaluation of the peseta , high inflation and a rapidly growing black market . The national budget was unbalanced and the central bank's currency reserves were largely exhausted in 1959.

Plan de Estabilización

The population increasingly compared the situation with that of neighboring countries and called for economic and political reforms. The regime responded with the "Plan de Estabilización". It was introduced by the ministers appointed by Franco Laureano López Rodó , Alberto Ullastres and Mariano Navarro Rubio , who were also members of Opus Dei .

This plan was intended to modernize the economy of Spain, which at that time was one of the poorest countries in Western Europe. The previous Francoist economic policy was replaced by economic liberalism . The goal of self-sufficiency was abandoned. A liberalization of capital movements as well as (foreign) investments was created and the population was granted freedom of travel. Inflation was successfully combated, free trade was promoted, the state stayed out of the economy more clearly, and more personal responsibility was propagated for the population.

Effects

As a result of the reforms, foreign investment in Spain (especially in tourism ) increased massively. More than half a million Spaniards left the country to work as guest workers in Western Europe . The transfers from the guest workers led to a further inflow of investment funds.

Spain now also wanted to work in international organizations. Accession to the EC and EFTA was not possible as a dictatorship . But Spain became an associate member of the OECD in 1958 . In 1959 Spain joined the IMF and the World Bank .

In 1960, Spain was still an agrarian developing country, but by 1974 it developed into the 10th largest industrial country in the world.