Explain the demise of the Franco and Salazar/Caetano dictatorships

In answering this question it is important to look at all factors concerning the two dictatorships going back for many years before the collapse of these regimes. In Spain’s case it was mainly economic factors that caused the downfall of Franco’s regime but there was also large scale opposition towards the party, particularly in later years. In Portugal, the main factors for its demise was the colonial wars in Africa and economic repression to name a few. However, the demise of these dictatorships were very different, with Spain’s process to democratisation being gradual with no abrupt break in the dictatorial process as was the case in all the other European dictatorships whereas the Salazar/Caetano regime was very immediate.
Franco’s economic policies of the late 1950’s and 1960’s were one of the principle reasons for the demise of the dictatorship. With the economy on the verge of collapse in the 1950’s through the inadequacy of the restrictive policies of autarchy t...