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Neither the bunker nor the Communists, for instance, are thought to represent more than 10% of the population. But each can mobilize strength far beyond its numbers. The P.C.E., with between 20,000 and 70,000 clandestine members, is Spain's most organized political movement and has deeply infiltrated the unofficial labor movement and key bourgeois professional organizations. The bunker is solidly rooted in the military, the church, the government-controlled official unions and the Movimiento Nacional. It can also call its forces out onto the streets—old Civil War veterans for mass marches and youthful terrorists, such as the Guerrillas of Christ the King, to intimidate the left and reformers.
Life as Usual. Even the military, which ultimately may determine who rules and what policies will be pursued, remains a political mystery. Its oldest officers and the veterans of the Blue Division (the volunteers who fought alongside the Nazis in World War II) back the bunker. Other key officers like former army Chief of Staff Manuel Díez Alegría openly advocate gradual, democratic reforms leading to a politically pluralistic Spain. Several hundred radicalized young officers who call themselves the Democratic Military Union have circulated an ideario (statement of ideas) that demands "democratic freedoms, reforms leading to an equitable distribution of wealth and the convening of a democratically elected Constituent Assembly to draft a constitution for Spain."
Once all these political forces are unleashed, Spain could face a prolonged period of turmoil. Yet during the weeks of Franco's illness most Spaniards seemed determined to go on with business as usual—except for an unusual interest in radio bulletins and newspaper headlines. Last week the bullrings and soccer stadiums were packed, as were the tapas bars of old Madrid. Late-hour diners filled restaurants, feasting on steaming plates of garlic chicken and stuffed squid swimming in its own black ink. Long queues formed outside cinemas featuring The Towering Inferno, and a Beethoven concert series played to sellout houses. Traffic blocked the capital's streets and tourists swarmed through hotel lobbies. "The only people who are nervous are those across the Pyrenees, those who are abroad," said a government official in Madrid. "We aren't nervous." Not yet, anyway.