Franco saw himself as a divine savior sent for the good and well-being of Spain. What he had to do as a liberator was to cleanse Spain's traditional values and institutions from heretical republican ideas and practices that were incompatible with Spain.
Francisco Franco, who led the nationalist forces during the Spanish Civil War in the 20th century, was a statesman and leader who ruled the country as a dictator for 36 years after the end of the war.
His full name is Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde. He is a military dictator who left his mark on Spanish political life with his one-man rule. He ruled Spain as a dictator for 36 years (1939-1975). El Caudillo, which is the Spanish name given to authoritarian personalities or military dictators who concentrate all power and authority, is also Franco's nickname. This term, which is also very common in Latin America, is used for Franco as the caudillo of Spain (Caudillo de España). Franco, the leader of the traditional forces and the military wing in the civil war that led to the end of the republican regime in Spain, completely put the democratic process aside after the victorious civil war and established a one-man dictatorship in which his personal will was at the forefront.
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish military general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 1939 to 1975 as a dictator, assuming the title Caudillo. This period in Spanish history, from the Nationalist victory to Franco's death, is commonly known as Francoist Spain or as the Francoist dictatorship.
Francisco Franco was born on December 4, 1892, in a port city called Ferrol, in the Galicia region of northwestern Spain. His father, Nicolás Franco Salgado-Araújo (1855-1942), was a high-ranking soldier in the Spanish Navy, and his mother, Pilar Bahamonde y Pardo de Andrade (1865-1934), was the daughter of a general in the navy. While Franco's mother was very religious and conservative, adhering to Catholic traditions, his father had the opposite worldview and had no interest in religion. In addition, he was ideologically closer to the left-wing political views that his son would later fight against. This situation caused conflicts within the family, and in 1907 Nicolás Franco left his wife and continued his life in Madrid with another woman. Francisco Franco, on the other hand, grew up as a conservative and devout Catholic because his parents were always close to his mother.
Professionally, Franco wanted to serve in the navy like other family members; however, since the Spanish navy suffered serious damage in the war that broke out with the USA in 1898, the number of students admitted to the Naval Academy was limited, and therefore Franco had to start the Toledo Infantry Academy in 1907 (when his father left his family). The time and experiences he spent at this school and in the city of Toledo shaped Franco's character and political ideas. After graduation, he voluntarily joined the Spanish troops in Morocco in 1912. Seeing Africa as an opportunity for his military career, Franco quickly gained confidence in the union thanks to the seriousness, discipline, courage, and loyalty he displayed there. His military merits in Morocco, where he served for more than ten years, enabled him to obtain various promotions. In 1916, at the age of 23, he was promoted to the rank of captain, and a year later, in 1917, he received the rank of major. In the same year, he was appointed to the Oviedo Garrison to end the strike of the mine workers and break their resistance. Franco, who took harsh and violent measures here, caused the arrest and even death of many workers, thanks to the powers he had.
In 1920, he became the deputy commander of the newly established Spanish Legion. Thus he became the second man of the legion. After the legion's commander, Lieutenant Colonel Jose Millan Astray was injured, he replaced him in 1921 and was promoted to legion commander this time. Franco's rise in the army continued when he became lieutenant colonel in 1923. This year was also important for his personal life. In the same year, he married María del Carmen Polo y Martínez-Valdés (1900-1988), and their only child, María del Carmen Franco y Polo (1926-2017), was born in 1926. The serious successes of the legion he commanded in the Rif War with Morocco (1920-1926) increased Franco's popularity and he almost turned into a national hero. Due to this success, Franco was promoted to brigadier general at the age of 33 in 1926, with the end of the war. This also meant that he returned to Spain as the youngest general in Europe after Napoleon. He started his duty in Morocco in 1912 as a 20-year-old lieutenant and left this duty as a general.
Franco wrote his experiences and memories in Morocco, which had a very important place in his military career, and published them as a book in 1922 with the title "Marruecos - Diario de Una Bandera" (Morocco - Diary of a Unity). He also published his article titled "Diario de Alhucemas" (Alhucemas Diary), in which he described his experiences and feelings in Morocco, in the magazine "Revista de Tropas Coloniales" in 1925. During the war in Morocco, his moral feelings grew stronger, his character hardened, and he learned divide-and-rule tactics to subjugate his enemy, how to use violence, and how terror could be used as a military weapon to paralyze the enemy. In order to benefit from all this he learned, his experiences, and his military successes, Franco was given the task of establishing a military academy in Zaragoza in 1928 to train officers who were loyal to the Spanish Kingdom with national feelings. The purpose of establishing this academy was to create an order in the army in which Spanish predominated. Franco, who rose rapidly within the army and was one of the king's most trusted soldiers, ran this academy as a commander. One of the most important reasons why Franco shined so much as a soldier was undoubtedly that he followed orders unconditionally within the army and did not get involved in any political turmoil. He was very clear about his profession: He was a soldier and his job was to protect Spain from enemies by following orders.
The years during which Franco rapidly progressed in his career included the dictatorship period (1923-1930) of General Miguel Primo de Rivera, who came to power through a coup, and the years of the Second Republic (1931-1936). The economic difficulties caused by the 1929 Economic Depression caused the Spanish people living under the dictatorship to become more politically polarized. As the political crises escalated, King Alfonso VIII asked for Rivera's resignation in 1930, and General Dámaso Berenguer was appointed to replace Rivera, who resigned. In 1931, elections were held in the country and the republicans' victory opened the door to a new era in Spain. After the election, which resulted in the defeat of the royalists, King Alfonso VIII left the country to avoid bloody conflicts, and a republic was declared in Spain. Thus, the Second Republic period began in Spanish political life. With the end of the monarchy, the Republicans pursued policies that were completely opposite to the previous military dictatorship. In order to ensure civilianization and anti-militarist practices; For secularization, they turned to reforms that would reduce the effectiveness of the church. The anti-militarist and anti-clerical modernization efforts of the Republican government directly affected Franco's military career. In order to reduce the number of soldiers in the country (especially those who were pro-monarchy), the Zaragoza Military Academy, founded by Franco, was closed; His rapid career rise was paused, and Franco retreated to a more passive position as a soldier. Although Franco was a royalist and devout Catholic, he obeyed all the policies and practices of the new government and remained silent as he was reduced to a passive rank.
The reforms of the Republican government aimed at weakening traditional powers further fueled political and social polarization. While a significant part of the church and the army were disturbed by the civilianization and secularization policies of the Republican government, anti-republicans who were pro-monarchy were also not happy that the king had to leave the country. Secularization reforms and efforts to break down religious influence were met with reactions from religious and conservative public segments. This polarization fueled radicalization in both action and ideology, and the resulting crises brought the end of the new government. A conservative coalition government was formed in the general elections held in 1933. The conservatives who took control of the republic blocked the reforms; They returned to old-order practices. The coming to power of the conservatives in the Second Republic also led to some developments for Franco. First of all, Franco's pacified military position was organized and Franco was again assigned to an active position and was promoted to major general in 1934. Additionally, after the mine workers in Asturias revolted and demanded autonomous government, Franco was tasked with suppressing this rebellion. The Legionary Army in Morocco was sent to the relevant region to come under Franco's command, and with the use of huge amounts of military force, thousands of mine workers died and thousands were arrested. The rebellion, which started in October 1934, was bloodily suppressed by the army under Franco's command in November 1934. After this incident, the Spanish left called Franco the 'Butcher of Asturias', while the Spanish right-wingers referred to him as the 'Savior of the Republic'. Due to his success in the Asturias movement, Franco was appointed commander-in-chief of the Spanish army in Morocco in 1935 and became Chief of Staff in 1936. Thanks to the broad powers he was endowed with, he began to strengthen the army, intensify discipline, and increase the effectiveness of the soldiers.
Although traditionalist conservatives tried to return to the political and social structure before the Second Republic, the actions of the masses who were dissatisfied with the situation were creating enough pressure. When stability could not be achieved in the parliament, it was decided to hold elections in early 1936. The increase in polarization in the country has also divided Spanish politics into two. Participation in the elections took place on two fronts, and a classical division between left and right became evident. Those and left parties from all groups with different views united in support of the republic and secular order formed the People's Front on the left; Conservative traditionalists and right-wing parties who were supporters of the monarchy and the church formed the National Bloc front on the right. The Popular Front won the elections held in February 1936. On the other hand, despite the election, social polarization and violence did not subside. On the contrary, conflicts increased; Acts of violence in the streets, attacks on various buildings and churches, and deaths became unavoidable. While the masses of supporters of both fronts were fighting each other in the streets, politicians elected from the right and left were increasing the tension in the parliament instead of calming the events. In the face of this turmoil in the country gradually growing and sharpening, Franco, as Chief of General Staff, requested the government to declare a state of emergency. Responding negatively to this request, the government removed Franco from the General Staff and appointed him to a command post in the Canary Islands in March 1936.
Dissatisfied with the newly elected government, the traditional wing of the military blamed the republic for the escalation of violence. In 1936, right-wing officers began preparing for a coup against the newly elected Popular Front government. Although Franco had previously refused to get involved in situations such as coups or intervention in politics and had obeyed the government unconditionally, this time he joined the rebel officers and took part in the plans to overthrow the Popular Front government. On July 17, 1936, soldiers revolted against the legitimate government. This coup attempt led to a three-year civil war in the country, followed by the abolition of the republican regime and the establishment of a military dictatorship that would last for 36 years. At the beginning of the uprising, Franco published the Las Palmas Memorandum signed by the commander of the Canary Islands and moved to Morocco and assumed command of the Spanish armies there. Franco, who defended the Catholic faith, conservative values, discipline, and authoritarian order, saw the republican regime as the cause of the spiral of violence and instability in Spain. As an anti-democratic leader, he did not believe in elections and did not trust the parliament.
Franco received military support from Europe's other dictators - Hitler and Mussolini - both at the beginning of the coup and during the civil war. Since the Spanish Air Force sided with the Republican government, Franco moved the armies in Morocco to Seville with Hitler's aircraft support and set out to advance towards Madrid to overthrow the government and seize power throughout Spain. A bloody civil war began between the Republican soldiers and the pro-Republican public who supported the elected government, and the nationalist soldiers and the anti-Republican public who rebelled against this government. On October 1, 1936, Franco assumed the powers of president of Spain and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He would use these powers throughout the Civil War until he overthrew the republican government. He continued to exercise these powers after the Republican government fell and the war ended. Franco, who was simultaneously head of state and head of government, also had supreme command of the army. Thus, he concentrated all legislative, executive, and military powers in the country. The civil war that broke out in 1936 took him to the top, and after the civil war, Franco's dictatorship years began in Spain. Franco saw himself as a divine savior sent for the good and well-being of Spain. What he had to do as a liberator was to cleanse Spain's traditional values and institutions from heretical republican ideas and practices that were incompatible with Spain. He thought that being a devoted and devout Catholic made him privileged. Therefore, he should be the only power to return Spain to its former glory days.
The regime that Franco established in Spain was a kingdom without a king. In fact, after the Civil War ended, the state was faced with a problem regarding the nature of the state and how it would be organized. One of the forces he acted with during the civil war was the royalist monarchists, and the other was the phalangists, who advocated a fascist state model without a king. The death of King Alfonso VIII abroad in 1941 made this problem even more inextricable. Franco had to be the balancing act between the Falangists and the royalists. Although there was confusion about how to define the state, everyone agreed on how the state should not be defined. Parliamentary regime, democratic government, constitutional order, multi-party political life, and secularism were definitely considered a threat to the unity, integrity, stability, and peace of the society of Spain. Franco idealized a form of government in which discipline and faith dominated, and power was concentrated solely in himself. In 1947, it was decided by referendum that Spain was a kingdom, that Franco would serve as head of state for life, and that Franco would appoint a king when necessary. Franco, who could not appoint a king in his place until his death, in a sense declared himself the king and sole protector of the country.
The basic elements of the Franco regime were oppression, tradition, religion (fundamentalist Catholicism), centralism, anti-secularism, monism, authoritarianism, and Spanish nationalism. These elements permeated everywhere in the country, from the economy to education, from the social sphere to politics. Franco institutionalized his personal dictatorship through these elements. While doing this, he abolished the mixed education introduced by the republican governments, brought back religious education, changed the civil code, banned divorce, reinstated religious marriage, changed all secular legislation restricting the Catholic Church, and banned political parties and unions. Individual freedoms were blocked and political rights were restricted, freedom of the press was also eliminated; Serious censorship and control practices were implemented. Since the slightest freedom in the economic field was not tolerated, a closed economy approach was established and the principle of self-sufficiency was taken as a basis. Since the dictator's own will was at stake, the principle of separation of powers in democracies was completely shelved and the slightest dissenting voice was not allowed. Franco established a dictatorship that was reactionary and authoritarian in all its aspects. He had as much absolute power as traditional kings in classical empires and penetrated every corner of the country. Thus, he became the pioneer of the transformation of Spain's social, cultural, political, and economic structure.
The immediate problem faced by Franco's personal rule was the beginning of the Second World War (1939-1945). While the destruction caused by the civil war had not yet been repaired, Hitler and Mussolini were demanding Franco's support. Nazi Germany, which made great contributions to ending the civil war in favor of the Franco forces, wanted Francoist Spain to fight on the side of the Axis powers. However, the number of people killed in the three-year war in which the Spanish clashed with each other reached hundreds of thousands, and the huge losses and exiles caused a great collapse in the social sphere. Believing that it was necessary to avoid war in order to revive Spain economically, Franco managed to avoid involving the country in the Second World War. Although his allies Hitler and Mussolini pressured Franco to enter the war, Spain was recognized as an ally of the Axis powers; but remained neutral throughout the war.
The defeat of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy at the end of the Second World War caused Franco's Spain, the ally of these two states, to be excluded and diplomatically isolated by the victorious states. Franco's military dictatorship stood out in Europe, where democratic regimes were victorious, and the collapsed regimes were reminiscent of Nazism and fascism. Therefore, Franco stood out as the last surviving Fascist dictator of Europe in the post-war period. Even though he was not involved in the war, his closeness to the Axis powers during the war was sufficient reason for his exclusion in Europe. Francoist Spain was strictly accused in the United Nations (UN), which was established to maintain international peace after the Second World War, and was not included in the union and was isolated. For the next decade after the war, it closed in on itself and was deprived of the US aid that Western democracies enjoyed. This policy of isolation would end during the escalation of the Cold War. As a matter of fact, Franco's Spain, which was close to the Western bloc in terms of anti-communism, was admitted to the UN in 1955. This time, Franco attracted attention as an anti-communist statesman. During this process, even bilateral agreements were signed with the USA. While Cold War conditions politically integrated Spain with the outside world, American aid began to enter the country. When foreign capital investments were given the opportunity, the closed Spanish economy opened up to the world. While Spaniards could go to work in the developed industrial cities of Europe in the 1960s, foreigners who were seen as enemies in the 1940s began to enter the country as tourists in the 1960s. The income provided by tourism also made a significant contribution to the country's economy. With all these developments, the Franco regime developed economically and a certain level of welfare was achieved in the country. However, economic developments were far from bringing political freedoms. Until Franco's death, the one-man regime continued without compromising the dictatorship.
While economic development continued in the 1960s, perhaps the more important issue for Franco was how the regime would be shaped after him and who his successor would be. He had become quite old towards the 1970s. When diseases were added to his old age, he decided in 1969 that the crown prince, Don Juan Carlos, would take over the country as king and made the necessary arrangements in this regard. After long periods of illness, Franco died in Madrid on November 20, 1975. Upon Franco's death, Juan Carlos ascended the throne as king and moved to eliminate all dictatorial institutions of Francoist Spain. After the economic integration with the West and the level of prosperity reached, the Spanish society wanted to live politically at the standards of Western countries. The people's readiness for democracy and their demand for democracy enabled Spain to transition to democracy in a short time. With the support and effort of the king, political parties were quickly established, democratic institutions were established, and Spain became a democratic constitutional monarchy. Subsequent elected governments also tried to erase the traces of Franco from the country.