Based on strictly historical criteria, the Transition can be defined as the period of time after the Franco regime in which the restoration of Spain's democratic institutions took place. Said period starts with the death of Franco on December 20, 1975, although as we will later explain, the phenomenon has deep roots that were established in the years of developmentalism and ended with the electoral victory of the Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE) in February 1982. It is supposed that this completes the historical circle, since the power theoretically returns to those who had lost it at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War (1936– 39). This approach continues to be nuanced, since neither literally nor metaphorically were those the same as these. It is worth remembering that the civil war began when a group of left-wing parties called the Frente Popular governed in Spain. The collapse of the Second Republic takes place between an amalgam of various, and often times leftist, forces. In addition, it is notable that the PSOE under Felipe González was not the same as that of Pablo Iglesias, or that of Largo Caballero, but he had renounced Marxist ideology and had become a center-left party interclassist at the height of 1981. Perhaps in that broader profile is the key to his great electoral victory of 1982. It was attempted, therefore, to shelve a key historical period by making use of the totemic date of 1936. Historiography shows results from a latent intention, which indicates not only the end of a previous stage but also the necessary national reconciliation to swiftly recover that effervescent era of the Republic.

As we will analyze below, the echoes, deep meanings and motivations of the much-talked about Spanish Transition are not so simple as to hide in the folds of history. One of the key characteristics that is always highlighted as exemplary in the Transition is the absence of violence that occurred. There is talk of a mature change, of an urban society willing and able to modify its political structures, and most likely it was so.