(Re)negotiating Freedom of Expression in the Spanish Transition: The Case of El Papus (1973-1987)

Juxtaposing documents from judicial and administrative archives with material published in the satirical magazine El Papus (1973-1987), this essay examines the confrontation between national-Catholic discourse and new modes of visual and textual expression in late Francoism and the early years of the democratic transition in Spain. The present study represents a survey of some 44 state-produced documents and 124 journalistic pieces, applying a two-pronged methodology rooted in discourse analysis with a special focus on the content and themes deemed unfit for publication in the pages of El Papus. The results will show that a loosening of erotic and sexual mores, particularly those related to…