The Spanish People's Union ({{langx, es, Unión del Pueblo Español; UDPE) was a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

and Spanish nationalist political party in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

History

UDPE was created in 1975, initially under the name of People's Alliance, on 11 February 1975. The group changed its name to Spanish People's Union the 22 May 1975. It was officially recognized and definitely by the

Movimiento Nacional The Movimiento Nacional () was a governing institution of Spain established by General Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War in 1937. During Francoist Spain#Francoism, Francoist rule in Spain, it purported to be the only channel of parti ...

on 28 July 1975. The "political associations" were the result of development of the Organic Law of the State of 1966, and sought to promote a very limited and controlled "pluralism" within

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

. The Spanish People's Union was led by the, then

Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

, Cruz Martínez Esteruelas and the general secretary of the

Adolfo Suárez Adolfo Suárez González, 1st Duke of Suárez (; 25 September 1932 – 23 March 2014) was a Spanish lawyer and politician. Suárez was Spain's first democratically elected Prime Minister of Spain, prime minister since the Second Spanish Republi ...

. The Spanish People's Union wanted to group the ruling politicians of

Francoism Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

, very attached to the bureaucratic apparatus of the Movement. On July 11, 1975 Adolfo Suarez become the president of the UDPE, until the 12 of December, when he left to be the secretary general of the

again. On 22 and 23 June 1976 the UDPE held its first congress in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, where the association decided to become a political party -which occurred on September 17, 1976- and Cruz Martínez Esteruelas was confirmed as the president of the party.«Voluntad de defender el legado que se creó en los últimos cuarenta años».
ABC. 25 de junio de 1976. UDPE joined the

People's Alliance People's Alliance may refer to: * People's Alliance ( ''Volksunie''), Belgian political party which split in 2001 into the Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie and Spirit * People's Alliance (Bulgaria), a Bulgarian party from 1921 to 1923 * People's Alliance ( ...

(AP) with other political forces on October 9, 1976. Its dissolution took place on May 4, 1977, to merge with Regional Action, Social Democracy,

Democratic Reform Democratization, or democratisation, is the structural government transition from an democratic transition, authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction ...

and the Social Popular Union.

References

Conservative parties in Spain Political parties established in 1975 Political parties disestablished in 1977 Catholic political parties 1975 establishments in Spain 1977 disestablishments in Spain