Politics and Las Chicas Del Cable have always danced together.  Our very first example was the girls’ effort to get their jobs at the Telephone Company. It was highly competitive and they had to fight because jobs for women was rare and experimental. At this time, women had recently won the right of their own salary.

Angeles and Marga struggled to divorce their husbands. This is a representation of the conservative views at the time.

Finally, Carlota and Oscar’s relationship is the biggest example. Homosexuality was outlawed because it was against Catholic belief. At the time, the Catholic Church influenced the State.

During the series, they drafted a new Constitution that enabled more human rights. This allowed women the same rights as men. Spain experienced a time where they tried 33 different democracies as an effort toward reform. This was reflected when Carlota ran for public office. Many others did to establish a democratoc foot.

Sadly, she lost. In every Cable Girls fight, they had to work around the law as well. There a many societal examples of a woman needing to remember her place with a man. We love Lidia because she breaks those rules.

Society was always against her, yet she always managed to keep fighting and win. Although the show focused on the character’s relationships, the political tensions in Spain increased over the years.

When the Civil War occurred, the women lost their rights for the entirety of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship.

Spanish Civil War Breakdown 

Duration : July 17, 1936 to April 1, 1939      In the series we are able to assume it’s 1939.

Reason :  It was a failure of Spanish democracy because the political parties and groups couldn’t compromise to respect democratic norms.

Sides :  Nationalists were the conservatives (usually middle class and elite) who owned most of the land and wealth.  They were supported by Germany and Italy.  Republicans were the democrats (usually working class and poor) who wanted a redistribution of wealth.  The Soviet Union and United States gave some support. Note: Carlota had to sacrifice wealth to be with Oscar.

Wants :  The Nationalists wanted to keep their power.  The Republicans wanted to practice more democracy like removing the influence of the Catholic Church from the State.

Winners : The Nationalists won.  In part due to what Carlos said in the series.  They had more money.  The Republicans, also known as the People’s army, were disorganized and less trained.

Cable Girls Context

They’re all fighting for the Republic (including Pablo). Julio is a Nationalist.  Carlos is not fighting for either side because he is a traitor.  He’s leading the Republic and betraying them to the Nationalists.  He’s proven to be loyal only to himself.

We see a few scenes in glamorus clubs. That was a sign they were middle class.  We get to see more of the poor and devastated during the wartime.  The Civil War started when the tensions graduated to street violence then war over years. The government failed to appease the people. 

In Real Life

One real thing we can take away from this Spanish drama is a little knowledge of Spanish women’s history and the Spanish Civil War.  Even today, the divisions in Spain still exist.  Dictator Francisco Franco died in 1975.  Many things, especially memories and tensions of his facist system still exist.  There are also many who fought in the civil war who are still alive in Spain. 

Check out this podcast for more insight on Spanish life.