.mw-parser-output .hidden-begin{box-sizing:border-box;width:100%;padding:5px;border:none;font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .hidden-title{font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .hidden-content{text-align:left}You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Spanish. (June 2023) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the Spanish article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 5,179 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Spanish Wikipedia article at [[:es:Pactos de Madrid de 1953]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template ((Translated|es|Pactos de Madrid de 1953)) to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

The Pact of Madrid, signed on 23 September 1953 by Francoist Spain and the United States, was a significant effort to break the international isolation of Spain after World War II, together with the Concordat of 1953. This development came at a time when other victorious Allies of World War II and much of the rest of the world remained hostile (for the 1946 United Nations condemnation of the Francoist regime, see Spanish Question) to a fascist regime sympathetic to the cause of the Axis powers and established with the Axis assistance.^[1] The 1953 accord took the form of three separate executive agreements that pledged the United States to furnish economic and military aid to Spain.^[1] The United States, in turn, was to be permitted to construct and to utilize air and naval bases on Spanish territory^[1] (Naval Station Rota, Morón Air Base, Torrejón Air Base and Zaragoza Air Base). The US Joint Chiefs of Staff saw these bases and the resulting military alliance with Spain as a necessary military option to allow an orderly retreat of its troops from Central Europe in case of Soviet attack on Westen Europe.^[2]

Although not a full-fledged military alliance, the pact did result in a substantial United States contribution to the improvement of Spain's defense capabilities.^[1] During the initial United States fiscal years 1954 to 1961 phase, military aid amounted to US$500 million, in the form of grants.^[1] Between 1962 and 1982, a further US$1.238 billion of aid in the form of loans (US$727 million) and grants (US$511 million) was provided.^[1] During the period 1983 to 1986, United States military aid, entirely in the form of sales under concessional credit terms, averaged US$400 million annually, but it declined to slightly more than US$100 million annually in 1987 and in 1988.^[1] The military credits were scheduled to be phased out in the fiscal year 1989, in keeping with Spain's growing self-sufficiency in national defense.^[1] More than 200 officers and NCOs of the Spanish Armed Forces received specialized training in the United States each year under a parallel program.^[1]

See also

References