In the small story we are in, in the early days of the board of directors of El País, PRISA, we met very frequently in the preparations to launch the newspaper. By election, the director was voted in, in the person of Juan Luis Cebrián, a promising young journalist.
For the rest, everything was speculation about whether our efforts would be authorized by the Government. Having as a PRISA partner the Minister of the Interior: Manuel Fraga Iribarne. On the other hand, we had a counselor who everyone knew was a member of the PCE, Ramón Tamames.
Within the PRISA Council there were soon important changes. With Jesús Polanco, who was appointed CEO, the main founder, Ortega Spottorno, became president, and almost only honorary.
The businessman – said Don José, in some asides – is the one who really rules. He has paid the bill for the rotary press with a bill.— It was around then that Don Jesús began to be called by the Great Power.
What I will certainly never forget was the day the newspaper came out, May 4, 1976. We were in Carabanchel prison, as if in Minister Fraga’s custody, for the crime of leading with other citizens of the Democratic Junta a demonstration in favor of freedoms and amnesty.
They are my prisoners – said Fraga with pretended pride.
Carmen, my wife, was a special guest that day at the launch of the press. And from El País they sent us a good number of copies to the prison. We received them with joy, and we had a special joint reading session, chaired, honorably, by Marcelino Camacho, the great leader of CC.OO., who said:
More than a newspaper it looks like a magazine, with long political, economic, literature articles… I don’t know, I don’t know.
To be continued.