Franco’s Regime: Political and Institutional Landscape
Political and Institutional Background of Franco’s Regime
The most significant feature of the regime was the dictatorial, personal, and lifelong power of General Franco, who held the posts of Head of State, Prime Minister, Head of the single party, and Generalissimo of the armies. Other features were:
- The concentration of all state powers in the hands of Franco. In addition to exercising executive power, he controlled the legislative branch and intervened in the judiciary. His figure was surrounded by a series of symbols and slogans designed to highlight his leadership, such as “Francisco Franco, Caudillo of Spain by the Grace of God.”
- The lack of a constitution. There was never a basic code, but rather fundamental laws. Franco thus sought to avoid the existence of institutions that would limit his personal power.
- The denial of political pluralism. Only one political party was recognized: the Traditionalist Spanish Falange and the Juntas of the National Syndicalist Offensive (FET y de las JONS).
- The existence of ideological families. Under the Franco regime, various ideological currents existed, each with different attitudes when dealing with political reality.
- The lack of individual freedoms: Freedom of expression, demonstration, assembly, association, the right to strike, and elections were banned. In 1966, while the new press law abolished prior censorship, it maintained strict control.
- Rejection of popular sovereignty and representative democracy.
- Development of a high degree of centralization.
- Militarization of the regime. Military personnel were deployed in important political functions of the state apparatus, including civilian government ministries and other levels of government. They were also assigned police and judicial work.
- Control of the workplace. The fascist concept of the Nationalist State denied the existence of conflicting interests. In practice, that common ideal was reinforced by the institutional violence of the regime.
- Strong repression focused on the elimination of the political enemy. The will to crush dissent was enforced through various laws, such as the Law of Political Responsibilities. The first year of peace would actually be the “Year of Victory,” which implied the rejection of any reconstruction project advocating for reconciliation. The hardness of the victor over the vanquished prevailed.
- Establishment of an official culture underpinned by values of traditional Catholicism and anti-liberalism.
The regime’s own vision of the history of Spain emphasized the exploits of the imperial glories, the concept of Hispanidad, and criticism of any heterodoxy. It outlined a unilateral nation where the Manichaean duality of Anti-Spain versus Spain was employed. This was conveniently dressed with extraordinary confidence.
Political Families Within the Regime
Within a framework of complete subordination to the Leader, there were different families or groups with varying political sensitivities, never parties, as political parties were banned under the Franco regime. The Falange was the only one allowed, but defining it as a party was prohibited, so it was renamed the National Movement. Each family tried to influence Franco’s decisions, and his ability lay in conveniently entrusting measures to one family or another as appropriate at all times. He moved those who became uncomfortable for internal or external reasons away from the foreground, thus ensuring his unchallenged presence in power. When a scandal broke out that could in some way be attributed to disagreements among the families, Franco opted for speedy and decisive solutions.
1. The Military
Many of the rebel leaders were collaborators of Franco after the war and remained at his side the entire time. They were, until the last moment, defenders of the regime and its legal system. Their activity was confined to the defense of Spanish territory, but they had jurisdiction over political crimes through the “councils of war.” Most, especially senior officers, shared the ideology of Franco’s victory in 1939: anti-communism, anti-separatism, and a hardline stance on public policy issues.
2. The Falange
Transformed into the National Movement, the Falange of the Franco era had little to do with the party founded by José Antonio Primo de Rivera. With its leader dead and its old leaders marginalized, the statutes gave Franco leadership of the single party, which became a large pool of leaders for the regime. Its members were known as “national syndicalists,” “blues,” or simply “Falangists.” Their ideology was close to that of German Nazism or Italian Fascism. They sought to establish an authoritarian dictatorship, centralized and controlled by a single party, the Falange. In the early years, Falangists occupied many posts within the regime, but the defeat of the totalitarian powers in World War II gradually reduced their presence in the government.