Francoism: what it is, stages of the regime and characteristics

We explain what Francoism is, the objectives of this authoritarian regime and its general characteristics. Stages and end of Francoism.

Francisco Franco was dictator of Spain between 1939 and 1975.

What was Francoism?

The period of Spanish history in which the country was governed by Francisco Franco is known as “Francoism”. It was a dictatorial government that began in 1939, at the end of the Spanish Civil Warand ended with the death of the dictator, in 1975.

It was characterized by being a regime of ultranationalist, Catholic and militarist ideology which carried out measures such as censorship of the media, the elimination of opposition parties and the creation of a single party: the National Movement. He also banned labor unions and co-official languages, such as Catalan and Basque.

Franco assumed power after defeating the Republicans in the civil war. Because he was in charge of Spain for almost 40 years, his government had different stages that varied according to the internal and global context.

Origin and emergence of Francoism

Franco consolidated his power during the Spanish Civil War and later became dictator of Spain.

Francisco Franco Bahamonde had a military career and from his first years of service stood out in the Moroccan War, a conflict in which he participated for more than fourteen years between 1912 and 1926. For his discipline and tactics in the war, he was given the position of brigadier general at the age of 33.which earned him great prestige within the army.

After his return to Spain, Franco was appointed leader of the Military School of Zaragoza and later given the position of Chief of the General Staff. In 1934 he was in charge of containing the Asturian Revolution, a strike carried out by socialist groups. In 1936, the Popular Front (a coalition of left-wing parties) won the elections and, fearing his involvement in a possible military coup, Franco was sent to the Balearic Islands.

A coup d’état to overthrow the left-wing government was planned in the ranks of the army and General Franco was reluctant, so he did not accompany it from Spain but from Africa.

The coup against the Second Republic (which was called the “National Uprising”) took place in July 1936 and, although it failed in many of the main Spanish cities, it began the Spanish Civil War. In the conflict, the republican side (made up of republicans and left-wing parties, popular forces and part of the army) faced off against the rebellious side, which proclaimed itself the “national side.”

On the national side, the military man José Sanjurjo was proposed as leader of the uprising, but on July 20, 1936 he died in a plane crash and, after his death, Franco was offered the position of generalissimo. After the siege of the Alcázar of Toledo, he was also given the position of Head of State. (although there was still territory in the hands of the Republican side).

From there, Franco He established a war plan to confront the Republican side and had the support of German and Italian troops. For the next three years he stalked Republicans and leftists, who were aided by the Soviet nation. At the same time, Franco began a prestige campaign through the media and He proclaimed himself Caudillo of Spain.

The successive failed attempts by the Nationalist side to take Madrid required greater external help. The battle of Guadalajara, one of the greatest failures of the Nationalist side, and the bombing of Guernica, an attack on the rights and lives of innocent people that earned the Nationalist side worldwide repudiation, were some of the main milestones of this war.

With the fall of the last cities, Barcelona, ​​Madrid and Valencia, On April 1, 1939, the national side led by Francisco Franco was victoriousAt the head of the only political party and the army, Franco established a personalist government throughout Spain.

Characteristics of Francoism

During the dictatorial regime, education was controlled by Catholic institutions.

Some of the main characteristics of Francisco Franco’s government were:

• Authoritarianism. All the power, control and execution of what was happening in Spanish territory was under the command of the figure of Franco. He had executive and legislative powers: for this reason, his power was totalitarian.
• Anticommunism. A fundamental feature of Franco’s regime was the repression and fight against socialist and communist movements within Spain. Under the motto “Sentinel of the West”, Franco obtained the international support of the Western Bloc during the Cold War.
• Unipartidism. During the Spanish Civil War, the national movement was created, also called FET de las JONS (Traditional Spanish Falange of the National Union Offensive Boards), which was the only official and permitted political party during the Franco regime. The rest of the political parties were banned and had to maintain their activities clandestinely.
• MilitarismDuring Franco’s regime, the army was one of the main and most important power groups. Many of Franco’s collaborators came from the army and were the owners of political power by directing the main state organizations.
• RepressionDuring Franco’s regime, all those who were considered to be on the Republican side were persecuted, so many had to go into exile from Spain. In addition, left-wing militants and Catalan and Basque nationalist groups were persecuted.
• Ultra-Catholicism. Catholicism was restored as the official religion of Spain, controlled educational matters and governed as a moral parameter of public and private life. Franco allied himself with the high ecclesiastical hierarchy, obtained the support of the Pope and proclaimed himself as an envoy from God to save Spain.
• UltranationalismDuring Franco’s regime, there was an exaltation of the homeland and the figure of Spain, with symbols that characterized the regime, such as anthems and the use of a blue shirt, uniform and red beret. The Spanish national unity was supported and the political autonomy of other national identities, such as the Basque and Catalan, was denied. Castilian was imposed as the only Spanish language.
• Censorship. The press, radio and television were controlled by the military in command. By having control of the mass media, an attempt was made to regulate public opinion by suppressing any attempt at revolution or thoughts against the regime. In addition, opposition parties and unions and co-official languages ​​such as Catalan and Basque were suppressed.
• Slogans and propagandaThe government and the media tried to instil and highlight religious and nationalist values, promoting the unity, greatness and independence of Spain. This could be seen in a slogan of the time: “Spain, one, great and free.”

Social bases of Francoism

At its origin, Franco’s dictatorial government was supported by different sectors of Spanish society:

• The landowning and financial oligarchy that regained its social hegemony and was the great beneficiary of the regime’s interventionist economic policy.
• The rural middle classes of the North and Castile, who were under a strong influence of the Catholic religion.

In contrast, most of the urban middle classes and the working classes were against the dictatorship. However, due to the repression and extreme poverty experienced in the first years of the regime, these groups were unable to consolidate an opposition to the regime.

Political foundations of Francoism

Franco’s regime structured its political system around a strict ban on political parties and the repression of any opposition activism. During the Spanish Civil War, a single-party government known as the FET de las JONS (Spanish Phalanx of Traditionalist and Offensive Juntas of National-Syndicalist Unity) was established in 1937 in the areas controlled by the rebels. Later, it began to be called the National Movement.

On the other hand, within the regime, there were different subordinate political groups that supported the Franco dictatorship:

• Falangists. Of fascist origin, they were members of the right-wing party Falange Española. Within the Francoist government, they exercised control over social and economic life through various institutions such as the Youth Front, the Women’s Section, and the Trade Union Organization.
• Military. Especially during the first years of the regime, the ministries and different government spaces were occupied by soldiers sympathetic to the dictator.
• Catholics. The dictatorship was supported by high-ranking ecclesiastical officials. The Catholic Church had a great deal of control over education and other social institutions. Throughout the regime, different organizations…