The 'Economic Miracle'

• During the 1960s, the Spanish economy experienced a despegue or take-off. Spain's economy grew at a rate of 7% per annum, which was faster than any non-communist economy with the exception of Japan.
• With the abandonment of autarky, countries like the USA were more willing to invest in Spain's economy. Foreign investment in Spain during 1960-74 amounted to $7.6 billion and a further $1 billion of loans. The USA accounted for 40% of this investment and Germany and Britain accounted for a further 20%. By 1970, Spanish car, electronics and chemical industries were all attracting significant sums of foreign investment.
• The ending of autarky and the opening of Spain's borders encouraged a free market of labour. This allowed more Spaniards to work abroad and send money back to their families in Spain. In 1959 many Spanish workers emigrated to take higher-paying jobs in countries like Germany. By 1973, 500000 Spaniards were working in Germany and 250000 in France.
• The Spanish government made agreements with Latin American countries, which allowed Spanish workers to live and work in South America. Deals were concluded with Peru in 1964, with Argentina in 1966 and with Brazil in 1969. Emigration reduced unemployment within Spain.
• Although large numbers of Spaniards left the country to find work, most returned. By 1980, fewer than 20000 Spaniards left Spain for good.
• Ending autarky also meant migrants could enter Spain. For example, in the 1960s, large numbers of well-off Peruvians arrived to study at Spanish universities. These students paid tuition fees, rented accommodation and bought local goods, boosting the Spanish economy.
• Spain's new wealth encouraged the emergence of a consumer society. Lopez Rodo, a prominent technocrat, hoped that an emergence of a consumer society would solve Spain's political problems. He believed social tensions would disappear once Spain achieved an annual income of $2000 per person.
• During the 1960s, many Spaniards were living in unprecedented luxury. During the decade, the number of households with washing machines increased from 19% to 52%, those with fridges increased from 4% to 66% and those with cars from 1% to 10%. Average incomes also almost tripled.
• Franco's propaganda machine presented Spain's economic growth as an 'economic miracle', which was the result of the government's policy of Desarrollismo (developmentism), a series of development plans to stimulate the economy.
• Free market policies led to an increasing gap between the richest provinces of the north and the poorer south. Provinces such as Badajoz and Granada had per capita incomes which were less than half of the Basque province of Vizcaya. By 1970, 70% of homes in Madrid had television sets, compared with only 11% in Soria.
• From 1959, mass tourism led to significant growth in the Spanish economy, as well as social change. More than 4 million tourists arrived in Spain in 1959, contributing $128 million to the Spanish economy. The 1960s continued to see a rapid rise in the number of tourists and by 1965, over 14 million tourists were holidaying annually within Spain. This contributed more than $1 billion to the economy. By 1975, more than 30 million tourists spent approximately $3.5 billion.
• The Costa Brava was the first destination for tourists, but by the early 1960s tourists, attracted by sun, sand, sangria and cheap accommodation, were visiting all locations all along the Spanish Mediterranean coast.
• The tourist industry helped to rejuvenate parts of Spain that had been trapped in extreme poverty by injecting foreign money into areas that had seen little economic growth since before the civil war. It also increased female employment rates. In 1950, the number of women in the workforce stood at 16%, but this had grown to 30% by 1974.
• By the 1970s, there was an increase in tourists arriving by car and a new major highway was constructed along the Mediterranean coast.
• The tourist industry created jobs in a variety of different sectors. Construction boomed as hotels and restaurants were quickly built along the costas from the Pyrenees to Gibraltar. Thousands of young men left their conservative, inland villages to work on construction sites. Similarly, young women left villages to work as maids in Spain's booming hotels.
• During the 1960s, the Spanish tourist industry was keen to move away from Spain's image as a conservative Catholic country. In an effort to increase package holidays, advertisements promoted a more liberal image. The influx of tourists also exposed Spaniards to western culture. Many Spaniards were originally shocked by the clothing of tourists, such as bikinis, but by the early 1960s, restrictions against wearing bikinis were not being enforced.