Overall; he would no longer need the support of the Falange or
the monarchy, propaganda represented Franco as the saviour of
Spain.
The Carlists (a right wing party created in 1833, they were against the modernisation of the country and the economy)
were little threat to Franco as he joined the Carlists and the Falange together, consequently most of the Carlists joined
the falange and the Fascism idea.
Franco capitalised on their support by giving them important roles in the economy and the
management of the media, This strengthened Franco's power in 2 ways; the loyalty of the Falange and
denied access to the monarchists to disrupting propaganda.
Although the Falange (a political party founded by Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera in 1933 during the Second Spanish Republic) did not
support the monarchy but lent there support to Franco. As they thought that he would bring back the fascist state that they desired.
However Franco said that due to the effects of the Civil
War and the outbreak of WW2 meant it was to have an
experienced military leader in charge.
In 1947 he passed a new law called the Leadership Succession which
declared Spain as a monarchy, however it didn't state who the king
would be.
Franco stated that he would form the monarchy 'at a right time', he contacted
Don Juan (Spanish king who was exiled) and said he would be king in due course.
One of the biggest threat to Franco was the monarchy.
There was widespread support for the restoration of the
monarchy as a way to unite Spain after the war.
The Church
More over the church supported the idea of Franco's conservative of that men would
govern families, marriages and the poor and rich would come together on a Sunday to pray.
The Clerical Law gave independance to the church, Franco could do this as he knew that they supported him due to the fact
that Franco was against atheists and Marxists, therefore the church kept silent about the violence committed by Franco.
There was an
unofficial alliance
with Franco and the
Catholic Church due
to the fact that the
Republicans
prosecuted the
Church during the
Civil War. This alliance
was created by the
1938 Clerical Law
which gave the
church an important
role in the State. This
law gave a monopoly
to the church over
education and
allowing them to
create youth groups
and finally it outlined
that other religions
were outlawed.
Censorship and
propaganda
The strict control of the press began during the Spanish Civil War, the Press Law of 1938 meant that
government authorisation was required to publice anything and it also gave the power to shut
down any publication. Finally it gave them the right to appoint the editors of Spain's 45 newspapers.
From 1942, the propaganda department created small films celebrating Franco's
achievements and reminding the horrors of the Red Terror.
Economic Policies
Corporatism
Result: Franco's economic policies were a SUCCESS in terms of pleasing the Falange and preventing challengers, but
for the economy it was a DISASTER. Corporatism failed to inspire economic innovation and this policy led to the decline
of standard of living for workers as fixed wages couldn't keep up with increasing price. In the 1940s wages +30%
compared to almost +600% increase in price./
Corporatism benifited Franco in 2 ways; It helped to control the working class as it replaced independent trade unions
and therefore it stopped workers, ALSO it won the loyalty of the Falange as they believed it was a step closer to Fascism
Is a policy that advocated by the Fascists as a middle way between capitalism ( favoured big
business) and communism (supported the workers and they hoped that it would balance both.
Autarky
3RD; Autarky meant that Spain would never benefit from foreign investment or trade and during
the 1940s international trade played a crucial role in bringing about economic growth, however
Spain missed out on these benefits.
2ND; Some goods that were not imported and could not be synthesised e.g. fertilisers. Without this, food
production declined; in the 1940s Spain produced only a 1/4 of the amount of cereal each year that had
been produced in the 1935. As a result 200,000 people died from malnutrition and the year was known as
'THE YEAR OF HUNGER'
AUTARKY CREATED PROBLEMS: 1st; Spain made synthetics substitutes for materials it did not possess e.g.
replacing cotton with synthetic fibres. The synthetic was low quality, but expensive to make, it would been
cheaper and more efficient to import these materials. In many ways Autarky wasted resources.
This was also a popular policy with the Falange, Franco believed that this policy would grow Spain and
make everything that the people wanted, economic control were created so that it was impossible to
import or export goods. With this policy Spain owed 5% of its GDP to trade.
Overall; the
Spanish
economy also
suffered as a
result of
Franco's
commitment to
the military,
between
1939-1945
around 50% of
governments
spending was
devoted to the
military. This led
to a drop in
agriculture and
industry.
Terror
This Law operated within a new military framework which placed the police and the Falange under
military control. The police were tasked with arresting suspects then they would hand over the suspects
to a military court, these courts had a wide range of power to using the DEATH sentence or to prison.
Very little evidence was needed and 500,000 were convicted by 1945 and 200,000 were executed
Franco had no desire to make peace with those who who were against him during the war, rather he wanted to
'purificate' society, so in February 1939 he created a law called the Law of Political Responsibilities, this meant that
any political activities going back to 1934, this meant that any old scores from the civil war were sorted out.
This law targeted those who were 'Un-Spanish', and it affected urban workers, peasants, people
who campaigned for regional rights, liberated women and middle-class supporters of the Republic
The new state was born from the Spanish Civil War
and it maintained a war like character for some
afterwards. The war's legacy was evident in Franco's
two main domestic aims; to establish control and to
root out opposition by the use of terror.
The Second World War
On 23rd October 1940 Franco met with Hitler as they made an alliance with each other during
the Civil War, by this time Hitler had conquered France and only Britain was standing
Franco said that he would join Germany and Italy if he gained French territory in
Morocco, however Hitler was unwilling as Italy too wanted it and Italy did help with
conquering France with Germany. This agreement failed and Spain stayed neutral.
In the early part of the war Franco sent 18,000 volunteers (Blue Division) to fight
alongside Germany from 1942. As well he sent raw materials, sent workers to the
German factories and allowed U-Boats to refuel in Spanish harbours.
Franco was very aware of the western allies and therefore to avoid anger he sent
Spanish volunteers to fight against Russia on the Eastern front rather then sending them
to the western side to fight against the British. He thought that him contributing would
win Hitler's side then the British wrath.
By 1943 Franco was convinced that Germany would lose the war due to
the fact that America had entered the war, therefore Franco brought back
his Spanish volunteers to distance himself from Germany.
In the short run, neutrality for Spain was beneficial for Franco, however it led to him to a difficult position as the two most powerful groups within the government disagreed with each other. The
monarchists stated that Spain should side with Britain as they had strong links with the British monarchy. On the other hand, the Falange with their fellow fascists in Germany and Italy. By remaining
neutral Franco was able to keep the peace between the two fanctions
Foreign Policy after 1945
In 1914, Spain negotiated a $25 million loan from the USA, the first
in a series of loans coasting a total of $65 million, in return Franco
allowed USA troops to establish bases in its territory
Spain's position improved further during the early
1950s; In 1953 Franco signed the Treaty of Madrid-
granting the USA the right to set up military bases
on its soil, by 1959 there were 4 bases in Spain.
In 1953 Franco also negotiated a CONCORDAT with the Vatican
- showed that Franco's government approved of the Pope.
Under the terms Franco was able to appoint bishops in Spain.
Finally, in 1955 Spain joined the UN, this paved the way for further
international collaboration during the 1960s.
Social Policy, 1939-56
Women's freedom was significantly diminished, 1938 Franco introduced the 1889 Civil Code - this made women
legally dependent on their fathers or husbands. He also re-introduced parts of the 1870 Criminal Code - which
meant women could be punished for extra-martial arts. Additionally all single women aged 18-35 had to
undertake six months of voluntary service as part of the Falange's Seccion Femenina, this was designed to train
the women to dedicate herself as a Catholic Mother.
With the teaching of the Church, the new state actively
persecuted Lesbian, gays and Bi's. Homosexuality was
outlawed by 1954, before they were convicted &
persecuted and were sent to 'galerias de invertidos
which was supposed to 'cure' them.
The government also used
propaganda to stress the
importance of families, films
were also created showing
heroes and heroines who
were committed to their
families. The use of
censorship to re-edit foreign
films to take out
extra-martial affairs.