Law of Political Responsibilities (1939): A Deep Dive into Francoist Repression
Law of Political Responsibilities (1939)
Content
Introduction
Type: Primary source/As a legal form → law → legal text/Content → political text
Author: Francisco Franco Bahamonde (1892-1975)
Almost all his military career was conducted in Morocco in an ascending manner. He was chief of the armed forces and director of the military academy of Zaragoza. After the military coup (July 18, 1936), he took all powers of the state for 40 years.
Addressed to: to all Spaniards, but especially to all opposed to the National Movement →public text.
Objective: Impose responsibilities on the “enemies of Spain” and punish them, this law being a legal way to repression.
Location and Date: Approved – February 9, 1939, in Burgos (capital of the insurgents) and published on the 13th in the Official Gazette. The law was published in the last phase of the civil war (during the campaign of Catalonia, with the war about to end).
Main idea: Need to clean up against all against the National Movement.
P.1: Objective of the law: In Franco’s opinion, the time has come to request political and criminal responsibility against “those who contributed…..red subversion” (considered enemies).
P.2: Composition of the courts in charge of imposing the punishments: members of the Army + Magistracy + Traditionalist Falange.
3 Articles: Specify who the enemies are and the punishments they will have.
- Enemies: All people involved since 1934 until the national uprising on July 18, 1936 (A.1) “both legal and physical” → associations, political parties, unions… As a consequence of that article (retroactively) Popular Front and those who collaborated (A.2).
- Penalties: Popular Front would be outlawed (A.2). If a party or association is outside the law, it means: loss of all their rights and properties (A.3).
Context
Historical Context
The historical context of this text leads us to the emergence of the Francoist state, to the first stage of Francoism (authoritarianism and cruel repression).
Franco’s victory meant the elimination of democratic institutions and the establishment of Franco’s regime (fascist), where the national unity of Spain prevailed, around the figure of a head of state with absolute powers (Franco). Importance of symbols, state confession (Catholicism), prohibition of political parties and trade unions, etc.
One of the main characteristics (having a direct connection to this law) = repression = a structural, continuous, and planned element of Franco’s regime. On the other hand, the institutional apparatus (Army, Civil Guard, and Falange) was all led by a series of laws: ideological repression (social control and national-Catholicism) and political repression (execution, imprisonment, concentration camps, torture, expropriation… from this law of repression of Freemasonry and communism, law of state security, and law of political responsibilities).
Present Moment
Explain the law of political responsibilities.
Characteristics: In origin, the law consists of 89 articles, 8 transitory provisions, and a final disposition, gathered in 4 titles, published in the Official State Gazette.
Importance: Main legal object of repression.
Argument to impose the law: It was necessary to have a law that would allow Spain to cleanse rebels and traitors who were against the National Movement because they were part of the “Antiespaña”.
Consequences of those who suffered the law: Both physical and legal persons (associations, political parties, unions…) that were prohibited, as well as their activity, especially the Popular Front, and all those who collaborated with them, losing their property and all their rights.
Application of the law: A punishment would be imposed, such as the aforementioned loss of property and rights, which would be imposed by courts in the hands of the pillars of the Franco regime, the political apparatus (Falange), the military (the army and the Civil Guard), and religion (the Catholic Church), apart from the Magistracy.
This law would apply until 1945 (from 1945 Franco began to soften its application a bit to appear more “democratic” to the foreign allies, although some processes would last until 1966).
Consequences
In this context, the life of the vanquished was difficult, during the time that was known as “the years of fear” or “the dark years“.
The cruelty and violence suffered during these years were enormous: executions, expropriations, fines, forced exiles, and prohibition to hold public office were common punishments.
On the other hand, when applying the law, for the proper functioning of the regime, the involvement of the population was essential, and the spirit of scavenging and revenge of the people was increased. There would be many cases of false allegations, and many took advantage of the law for these types of complaints.
As a result of the political situation, the time would be enormously difficult, with an economic crisis (misery and reasoning) that would be aggravated.
This document must be understood as a fundamental element of repression of the Francoist regime used during the postwar period. In order to practice repression legally, it would be converted into law.
We must also mention the retroactive nature of the law, since all people who were amnestied in the Popular Front era (for having collaborated with them) would be judged again.
It is also a text that shows the militarist model of the time and the regime, applied by the Falange of Primo de Rivera and taken to the extreme by Franco, meaning the manipulative language of the dictatorship.