Spain Under Franco: A Historical Analysis

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Franco's Dictatorship in Spain: 1939-1975

The Rise of Franco

From 1939 to 1975, Spain was a dictatorship led by General Francisco Franco. In the last year of the Civil War, Franco made a political restoration and managed the new regime. Franco was named Chief of the Army and held other positions. With this, many pretended to be doing a series of reforms to achieve an authoritarian dictatorship. At the end of the Civil War, a new stage began with a number of characteristics:

  • Propaganda making it clear that Franco was only responsible for his actions.
  • Fighting liberalism with the negation of party systems.
  • A large repression as a leader sits politically.

Franco's Ideology and Policies

Franco imposed the political and ideological bases of his dictatorship. The first thing he did was remove the opposition against him. This dictatorship was a set of principles that gave it national identity. The signs of patriotism defended the territorial integrity of the homeland as its main objective of the government and rejected any unions that defended national autonomy. Totalitarianism, national and military traditionalism were promoted, and the substitution of labor unions by trade unions was proposed.

Catholicism and the State

The common national standards and practices of Catholicism were the Spanish Catholic Church during the tenure of Franco, who joined a close relationship with the state and controlled education, culture, and other areas of social life. The status with the national production was to self-supply, avoiding imports, which led to economic hardship.

Post-War Recession and International Relations

After a sharp recession following the war, Spain was initially marginalized. It was not admitted to the newly created United Nations and was excluded from the Marshall Plan. The opposition to the regime was marked by the political opposition and the monarchy, the latter barely having any influence.

Consolidation of the Regime in the 1950s

During the 1950s, the consolidation of the regime was aided by rehabilitation. Spain started talks with the U.S. to establish a bilateral treaty. An agreement was signed which established U.S. military bases in Spain in exchange for economic aid. With this agreement with the USA, Spain entered UNESCO, the UN, and the International Monetary Fund. In 1953, the Concordat with the Holy See was signed.

Economic Changes and Internal Opposition

In the early 1950s, food rationing and high prices were prevalent. Franco changed part of the government, with Luis Carrero Blanco, the dictator's confidant, entering. The arrival of the first aid coincided with economic liberalization. The importation of industrial products was favored, and government intervention in the economy was reduced, reaching the income level of 1935, but not exceeding the deficit or inflation. In 1956, a university crisis occurred. Franco was forced to make a government reshuffle to fix this internal opposition problem. The dictatorship gained a role, and the attitude of the church appeared to change. ETA emerged in 1959 in the Basque Country to achieve the unification of the Spanish Basque provinces. In this year, the Plan of Economic Stabilization was approved, marking a new phase in Franco's rule.

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