Franco's Dictatorship in Spain: 1939-1975

Item 15: The Franco Era (1939-1975)

Introduction

The rebel victory in April 1939 marked the establishment of a dictatorship that lasted 36 years. It evolved and adapted to new domestic and international situations.

Two main stages can be distinguished:

• The first, until 1959, was marked by the establishment of an authoritarian state, strong suppression that swept away liberal democratic achievements, and economic self-sufficiency that brought famine and hardship for most of the population.
• The second phase, from 1959 to 1975, was characterized by economic development and an attempt to institutionalize a regime that was intended to be a rule of law. With the 1973 oil crisis, the agony of the regime was accentuated, and its opponents multiplied.

The death of Franco in 1975 marked the end of the regime. Attempts to extend it after his death were unsuccessful, opening a new phase in the history of Spain: democracy, an end not foreseen by the dictator.

Ideological Foundations and Supports

Franco's dictatorship was not a fascist dictatorship, nor solely a military one; it was a personal dictatorship, with features of each of the above. There was no single political party, as with the fascists, that held total domination. While the military controlled the government, it was supported by different political families, over whom Franco exercised maximum authority. Franco also did not have a clear ideological body. He was a Catholic with little formal education who considered the traditional values of the military and the Catholic religion to be the essence of national values. Franco saw himself as chosen to save the country.

Various groups provided the ideological baggage. The preponderance of one or the other varied with the political circumstances. Francoism, then, had pluralistic ideological sources from all of the right.

The Army: National Patriotism

The army was the mainstay of the regime; it was controlled by Franco and subordinate to him. The military was always present in government and in senior and middle management positions. Military holdings (land, sea, and air) were always under their control.

The main contribution to the ideology of the regime from the military was a unitary and traditionalist vision of Spain. From the military spirit came the ideas of hierarchy, discipline, austerity, authoritarianism, repression, anticommunism, national unity, and public order.

The National Falange: Unionism

Franco opted for Italian fascism and, therefore, the Falange, the Spanish fascist party, provided a great deal of ideological background. From them came ideas such as hyper-nationalism, violence, machismo, the idea of Spain as an empire, the exaltation of the trade union leader in vertical unions, and the political indoctrination of youth (OJE) and women.