In Mallorca, during the Civil War, the joy of the business owners was summed up in the phrase, "If this is war, let there never be peace." In July 1936, the island suddenly fell into the hands of the insurgent forces, who did not hesitate to take advantage of its factories to cope with the war effort. At that time, all the important industrial areas of the State (Basque Country, Catalonia, and Valencia) were under the control of the legitimate government. In the first months of the conflict, Mallorcan factories suffered significant difficulties due to the disruption of communications and the lack of raw materials. However, by the end of 1936, trade relations were revived, and on January 19, 1937, the Balearic Industry Mobilization Commission was created. This body decreed the militarization of Mallorca's secondary sector for military production. The measure affected factories producing footwear, leather goods, and textiles, as well as metalworking foundations and mechanical engineering workshops.

"Spaniards: Franco... is dead." With these words, amidst tears, the then-president of the regional government, Carlos Arias Navarro, announced on television what everyone already knew: the dictator's death, in the early hours of November 20, 1975. It was the 'biological fact' of his passing, as it was called then. We remember how that event was experienced in the Balearic Islands 50 years ago.

"We want a Spain of property owners, not of proletarians." This is the famous phrase attributed to José Luis Arrese, the first Minister of Housing during the Franco regime (1957-1960), and is related to the one uttered in 1946 by Amintore Fanfani, the leader of the Italian Christian Democrats:Non tutti proletarian, tutti ownerIn the midst of the postwar period, many Spaniards abandoned their villages to live in the cities, which had become the new economic hubs. This exodus highlighted the country's housing crisis. The first law on affordable housing dated back to 1911, which ended up housing large families in quite unsanitary conditions. The government lowered the pre-war rents, simultaneously extending contracts indefinitely and promoting a plan for socially protected housing (VPO), but, in reality, this last plan was a tool to defuse any social unrest. The plan was drawn up in 1954, three years before the creation of the relevant ministry and one year after the Madrid Pacts, with which Spain abandoned self-sufficiency thanks to financial support from the United States. The housing could be repaid in a maximum of 10 years. Despite very high interest rates, the price of the apartments was reasonable.