SPAIN: The Voters

Early Sunday morning, under a slate-grey sky, Madrileños lined up in silent queues outside a thousand polls in schools and public buildings. In the capital, as all over Falangist Spain, the election of municipal councilmen went on without any of the dash and urgency of truly free elections. There had been no posters, no slogans, no handbills, no last-minute soapbox speeches, no discussions, no parades, no cheers or boos for candidates.

The Franco government had screened and selected all candidates. Voters (i.e., heads of families) were not even free to stay away from the rigged poll. Lest the people express disapproval by abstaining, the government reminded them of an old electoral law: whoever fails to fulfill his duty to vote is liable to such penalties as a raise in his taxes, a cut in his salary—even disqualification for life from public office. Another, even more compelling, warning was given on the radio: those who fail to vote risk loss of the two most treasured documents that Spaniards possess: food and tobacco ration cards. Despite such pressure, only about 70% of the eligible heads of families turned out at the polls last week.