Spain Under Franco: Early Years and Autarky

The Francoist Period: Main Phases

First Stage: Early Francoism and Autarky (1939-1959)

Autarky (1939-1950)

The State

• Severe repression marked the early years of the regime, as Franco wanted to impose absolute political control. Repression and retaliation were approved by the Law of Political Responsibilities (February 1939) and the Law for the Repression of Masonry and Communism (May 1940). Many people went into exile, others were imprisoned, there were executions, and penal labor camps.
• These repressive measures engendered an atmosphere of fear.
• The military played a major role during the first years of the regime.
• The Falange's ideology and symbols played an important role in the new state.

Foreign Policy

• The need to strengthen the regime determined foreign policy. Franco declared neutrality in World War II, but his sympathies were openly with the Axis powers, and he signed a secret treaty of friendship with Germany in March 1939.
• Spain altered its policy of neutrality and adopted a policy of non-belligerency (permitting German submarines and airplanes to stay in Spain). This stance was interpreted as an entry on the side of the Axis powers (Germany), giving support to Hitler, until the war turned in favor of the Allies. When that happened, Spain remained neutral again and then allowed Allied aircraft to land in Spain. In spite of this opportunistic policy, Spain was ostracized at the end of the war by the victorious powers.
• In 1946, Spain was banned from the UN and was not allowed to participate in any of its specialized organizations. Spain was excluded from the Marshall Plan. Thus, Spanish isolation began.

The Economy

• In 1939, Franco initiated a program of reconstruction based on economic self-sufficiency or autarky and state interventionism.
• The state controlled wages and prices.
• The National Institute of Industry (INI) was created. Its objective was to increase national production, but it favored the established industrial and financial interests. It served to consolidate the wealth of large landowners and industrialists.
• Spain failed to become self-sufficient, and production fell drastically.
• The early 1940s was a period of the worst inflation in Spain's history.
• As the 1940s drew to a close, the regime had to modify its autarkic policies due to agricultural imbalances, labor unrest, etc.
• Spain needed to establish some link to the international economy. The US decided to seek political and strategic advantages from Spanish friendship against the USSR. With the infusion of American capital, Spain's economy revived.
• There was a degree of economic liberalization, and industrial production increased significantly. But there were tensions between groups within Francoist 'families'.

1950s: International Recognition

• Franco began to distance himself from fascism and started to introduce elements he called 'democracy' (laws), but Falange kept its influence.
• By the 1950s, the Church was the most powerful influence on the regime, and the term to describe its new philosophy was National Catholicism. This was stressed when a Concordat was signed between Spain and the Vatican in 1953.
• The period of isolation came to an end because the US began to recognize the strategic importance of the Iberian Peninsula. So, the US government took steps to normalize political and economic relations with Spain (1948-1950). President Truman provided economic aid to Spain.
• The Pact of Madrid (1953): It consisted of three separate agreements between Spain and the United States. It provided for mutual defence, military aid to Spain, and for the construction of American bases in Spain.
• During the first 10 years of the pact, the US sent $1.5 billion in aid to Spain.
• In 1955, the UN approved Spain's membership.
• In 1959, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower visited Spain, marking the end of Spain's ostracism, placing high value on Spain's relationship with the US and the Franco regime.