Francoist Spain: Ideology and Social Support
Francoist Spain: Ideological Foundations and Social Supports
Since Franco’s triumph after the Civil War, many historians have discussed the characteristics of the Franco regime and its similarities and differences with other contemporary dictatorships. All agreed to establish key features as:
- The lack of incorporation (although over the years a cumulative process of basic laws would be produced: the Fundamental Laws)
- The absence of political parties
- The concentration of power in the hands of one person, the ex-general
- Legislative power granted to the head of state to issue legal norms
- The existence of political families around different forces: Falange, Catholics, Carlists, monarchists, the technocrats of Opus Dei, and the military.
The end of the war meant the end of widespread violence. The new political system was based on a division between winners and losers. The most rigorous studies estimate that 500,000 violent deaths occurred during the Civil War and its aftermath. Another key element was the Republican Exile (450,000 persons). This loss was a major demographic blow, as it included young and active people from the more developed areas of the country, including much of the scientific, literary, and artistic elite.
The state of war officially ended in 1948. Strict censorship was imposed, and any type of political, religious, or ideological dissidents were persecuted. Without a clearly defined ideology, Franco initially acted as an arbiter between the different political families. In 1939, Ramón Serrano Suñer steered the regime towards fascism, following the Italian model.
The statutes of FET de las JONS were approved, the University Students’ Union and its youth organization, the Youth Front, were tasked with the indoctrination of youth, and an economic policy inspired by Italian corporatism was imposed. This was a failed project, as the rest of the political families opposed this regime. The monarchists and the military sought the restoration of the monarchy. Franco always had the help of Luis Carrero Blanco.
Franco sought to maintain good relations with the monarchist supporters and Don Juan de Borbón as the future king (as he was aware of the great power they held in the army and the administration), and he was predisposed to dialogue. However, the pretender’s shift towards democratic attitudes in the Manifesto of Lausanne (March 1945) soured relations further.
Anarchists and communists launched guerrilla operations against the regime in the north. Nevertheless, Franco could give an institutional form to the regime through the Law of Succession and the Cortes, creating a false image of a democratic regime. The Falange as a party ceased to exist, to be included within the more general Movement. The former Falangists proposed the approval of laws that would solidify their ideas. Franco was hesitant, and the monarchists and the Church hierarchy expressed their opposition. The situation became unbearable, and Franco replaced 12 of his ministers. The new government sidelined the Falange and enshrined the power of Opus Dei.
After the defeat of the Falange’s projects, the institutionalization of the regime was left to Laureano López Rodó, a numerary member of Opus Dei. He presented the Law of the Legal System of the State Administration, which was based purely on administrative law and did not resemble the initial projects of the Movement.
In foreign policy, after the start of World War II on September 1, 1939, the new state’s position leaned towards Germany and Italy. On September 4, Spain declared neutrality, but Serrano, influenced by the Italian Fascist leader, achieved a rectification towards non-belligerency. This was when the Hendaye Interview took place between Franco and Hitler on October 23, 1940, to discuss the terms of collaboration, but no agreement was reached. Spain did not enter the war, but it did send the Blue Division to fight against the Soviets. In October 1943, Franco proclaimed a return to neutrality. However, from this point on, Spain was denied entry to the United Nations, and the regime was ostracized.
To alleviate this treatment, Franco tried to strengthen relations with Latin American countries. The emergence of communist dictatorships in Eastern Europe and the start of the Cold War began to weaken the policy of ostracism towards Spain. The U.S. initiated a rapprochement that materialized in the agreements that formed the Pact of Madrid in 1953. Negotiations with the Vatican bore fruit in the Concordat signed in August 1953, in which the Church recognized the Spanish state. Spain then granted independence to the Moroccan zone. At the end of 1957, incidents occurred in Sidi Ifni, which were quelled by Spanish intervention in the French territory.