Page 8 - Garda Journal Summer 2019

Whatever strength the Guardia Civil had began to build was obliterated by the Spanish Civil War when it began in 1936. The corps split almost perfectly in half between those who remained loyal to the Republic and those who favored the rebel forces. Sebastián Pozas, who was Inspector General at the time, pledged allegiance to the Republic and urged others to do the same. The corps efforts were crucial to the Republican side, but the Nationalists, led by General Franscisco Franco, ultimately triumphed. By the end of the war, there had been a total 2,714 dead and 4,117 injured on both sides of the Guardia Civil. With 20 percent of its initial power gone, the corps was in a precarious state. During General Franco’s rule, the Guardia Civil struggled to regain its once-trusted identity amongst the Spanish people. Since more than half of its members had served on the opposing side during the war, the new government was sceptical of the corps and believed it had caused the failure of the coup in crucial cities like Madrid and Barcelona. Guards were relegated to investigations of rural theft, outdated weaponry, and a lack of supplies for reports. In fact, General Franco was so distrustful that he considered disbanding it entirely. If its 175 year anniversary was not a clear enough indicator, the Guardia Civil did not meet that fate. Instead, it was later reinforced with members from the Carabineros, the “Royal Corps of Coast and Frontier Carabiniers,” after the carabinier corps was disbanded.
Further structural changes occurred in 1940 as officers and chiefs from the Army were ascribed to the Guardia Civil, and the Guardia Civil itself became fully integrated into the Army when it was configured as
an Army corps in 1942. The following decades saw the rapid advancement and widening in the responsibilities of the institution. In 1959, it became responsible for surveilling road transport and traffic, creating the Traffic Group. The sixties saw the development of the Mountain Service, diving services, the Air Service, and TEDAX (responsible for defusing bombs). These developments paved the way for the modern-day corps to also take on gender violence, computer crime, airport security, and prison safety, and more.
During General Franco’s rule, the Guardia Civil struggled to regain its once-trusted identity amongst the
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Spanish people.”
As Spain began to embrace democracy in the seventies, the Guardia Civil underwent more marked changes as well. It was assigned to the State Security Forces and Corps after the ratification of the 1978 Constitution, allowing it to maintain its militaristic nature without being fully part of the country’s Armed Forces. That same year, the Police Law stated the corps would be responsible for overseeing fiscal protection, the control of explosives and weapons, traffic and transportation, and the remaining national rural territory. It reinstated its actions as an international presence in the 1980s and has subsequently participated in a multitude of peace operations and missions. In 1988, there was the first Royal Decree regulating women’s entry into the armed forces, paving the way for the first women to join the ranks of the Guardia Civil.
FEATURE | Guardia Civil 175th Anniversary