Pact of El Pardo

The Pact of El Pardo was an informal agreement which supposedly took place on 24 November, 1885,[1] in the face of King Alfonso XII's imminent death.

It confirmed a system of party alternation ("turno") that lasted until General Primo de Rivera's coup in 1923.

The aim of the pact was to provide stability to the regime, which was thought to be in jeopardy due to the proximity of the King's death.

The pact established a system of alternance for the two major political parties, effectively ensuring that both would "take turns" governing the country within a democratic framework.

Instead, it was merely a meeting between the two major leaders in which they both recognized the necessity of a will to achieve consensus in a critical juncture for the country's political destiny.