Is it accurate to label Franco’s regime in Spain as fascist?

 Is it accurate to label Franco’s regime in Spain as fascist? (March 24, 2022)

Francisco Franco, the general who ruled Spain for almost forty years from 1936 to 1975, is a controversial figure to this day. People debate whether he is just a fascist like Mussolini or Hitler. From my perspective, if we outrightly reject him as another fascist, we would lose a number of other elements specific to his rule of Spain. For the purpose of this essay, we will press Franco’s policies against characteristics of fascism, to assess whether it is accurate to label Franco’s regime as fascist or not. As we shall see, his regime can be distinguished to form its term: Francoism. There are three aspects we can approach Franco’s regime: politically, economically, and culturally. These are the three pillars of any country in the world. Every ideology has its strategy in these aspects: liberal democracies put faith in politics, let the free market decide for their economy, and have a flourishing cultural market.

I. Politics

Fascism is firmly opposed to democracy, liberalism, and communism. There is no doubt that Franco’s regime is made of nothing but these ideologies. Franco’s ideology aligned much closer to those of Hitler and Mussolini during World War II, compared to Britain and the Soviet Union. Despite Spain remaining neutral, it supported Nazi Germany and Italy in rhetoric and sent them weapons. One should also not overlook the roles Nazi Germany and Italy played during the Spanish Civil War from 1936 to 1939. Soon after Franco declared himself the head of state, the pro-democratic Republicans fought hard against the Nationalists who supported a dictatorship by Franco. In fact, this war is one of the preludes to the Second World War, in which the Soviet Union and Mexico supported the Republicans, and Nazi Germany and Italy supported the Nationalists. They fought each other using Spain as a proxy. Deep down, Franco understood that Spain cannot join the Axis to conquer Europe - if doing so, it would be wasting its soldiers.

Besides the reservation in the Second World War, there is no other fascist regime that survived as long as Franco’s regime did. Even we were to designate the regime as a fascist, we need to acknowledge between the first twenty years of rule is vastly different from the last twenty years. From the passage of Enabling Act of 1933 to the end of the Second World War, the Nazi regime lasted twelve years. Mussolini’s rule in Italy survived a little bit longer, from 1922 to 1943. Franco’s rule to last forty years given the oscillating world events without changing some of his domestic political, economic, and cultural policies. Franco is a military general prior to rosing to power, unlike Mussolini who had a journalist career, or Hitler with political ambitions. The racial element appeared to be vague, and not as extreme as Hitler’s Lebensraum politics. Overall, even though Franco’s regime establishes itself opposing liberal democracy, it did not reach the radical levels of other fascist dictators.

Not only was Franco’s regime not aggressive and radical in domestic policies, the foreign relations of Francoist Spain is milder than true fascist regimes. Under Mussolini, Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935 in a display of its imperial ambition. Spain had a much similar target too: Morocco, also historically feuded and directly to its south. However, Franco didn’t dare to try because that would destabilize his country. Instead, beginning in the second half of the 1940s, facing isolation in the international arena, Franco began a systemic effort to seek relations around the world. This includes soliciting the support of the Arab world, which Morocco is evidently a part of (Rein, 1998).

Another thing that was often overlooked in the Franco regime is how it is ended. In 1975, Francisco Franco briefly restored the monarchy by appointing his successor King Juan Carlos I. No fascist leader ends their rule by restoring a monarchy. The reverse is often true: Hitler came to power via the appointment of Paul von Hindenburg, a general who had experience in the Imperial German Army. After Mussolini’s reign, the transition to democracy also ended the monarchy of Victor Emmanuel III in 1946. A king is usually a symbolic figure of the state - in Spain’s case, he oversaw the effort toward democratization (Bernecker, 1998), which would be preposterous in any fascist regime.

II. Economics

Franco’s approach differed from those of other fascist dictators, especially in the last half of his liberalization effort. Aiming at self-sufficiency through protectionist methods is a common feature in the fascist ideology, and Spain emulated this autarky in the 1940s but failed (Sánchez, 2009, 58-60). Cutting off trade and commerce from the outside world is a classical fascist move, but hunger ensued after Franco did so. Unlike Nazi Germany or Italy, which became industrialized earlier than Spain did, Franco’s regime suffered a lot. Urban centers such as Madrid and Barcelona demanded food that the rural provinces could not provide. Spain had a flourishing black market as a result.

Understanding economic self-sufficiency is not achievable, Franco turned to the United States in 1953 to sign a trade treaty to boost its economy. This move distinguishes Franco from other notorious dictators: they would never concede in this way. During the Second World War, Nazi Germany and Italy both exploited Switzerland’s neutrality to shield their capital. Nazi Germany also threatened Sweden with an invasion to obtain its rich mineral resources to grease the war machine. Fascists regimes all tend to coerce weaker nations to achieve economic gains for themselves, unlike in Francoist Spain, in which the regime caved in and chose isolationism for the first half of its reign. To avoid a total collapse, Francisco Franco eventually decided to open up the economy to foreign investment. Implicitly, this indicates the inevitable transition to democracy in Spain, however decades later that may be.

The most surprising aspect of Franco’s economic policy is his attempt to bring European tourists to Spain. When the Côte d’Azur in France is expensive for middle-class leisure-seekers, and the Italian Apennine Mountains are crowded with tourists, Spain sounded like an affordable yet wonderful choice (Cirer Costa, 2019). The Balearic Islands and the Costa Brava are a lot cheaper compared to the other tourist spots in Western Europe since the Spanish peseta is not worth very much. This trend is increasingly obvious since the 1950s, thanks to the end of the Second World War, the stable prospect encouraged people to spend more time on vacations. Statistics show that Spain had fewer than 1 million tourists in 1950, but the number rose to 34 million in 1973, and even more after Franco’s regime had collapsed (Library of Congress, 1998). The catchphrase ‘Sueca’, the feminine form of ‘Swedish’ was invented to show how Nordic tourists loved the beaches of Spain (Nash, 2015). The mass tourism industry, which catalyzed intercultural exchange and economic boom, is unthinkable in any fascist regime.  Tourists forget that the country they are visiting is ruled by a brutal dictator who consolidated his power by overthrowing a legitimate government, and they seemed to have enjoyed it.

Thanks to foreign investment, the Spanish economy boomed to a great extent from 1959 to 1974 - scholars call this the Spanish miracle, or el milagro español. With the personal approval of Franco, the construction of tall office buildings took off in the capital Madrid and large cities across the country. Edificio España, a neo-baroque style skyscraper that opened in 1953, is among the first mixed-use building in Spain. Likewise, the 142 meters tall Torre de Madrid, built in 1957 by the same architect, also signifies the economic boom that have taken place beginning in the 1950s. Franco’s wish to emulate other successful western democracies has put him far from the ideology of fascism, at least economically speaking.

Ultimately, the industrialization that has already brought the rest of Western Europe to success is being carried out in Spain. In Sweden, such success is embodied by the fighter jets produced by Saab and furniture manufactured by Ikea; in France, it is the car built by Renault and Peugeot; in Italy, the automotive industry was propelled by corporations like Fiat, Maserati, and Alfa Romeo. Even in communist countries like Czechoslovakia, car manufacturers such as Škoda Auto have employed assembly-line technologies to mass-produce passenger cars. Franco finally realized that Spain should not remain reticent and stay out of the race. In 1950, SEAT was founded by the Instituto Nacional de Industria, a state-owned institution that researched industrialization, as its name suggests.

Such flourishment lasted until 1973 when the oil crisis happened. The oil embargo implemented by the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries caused inflations that hit the Spanish economy the hardest since it was mainly dependent on foreign investment at the time (García-Barrero, 2021). Rising costs meant tourists can’t fly to Barcelona for their vacations, and hotels went bankrupt. As a result, disgruntled business owners and workers became united behind democratic parties such as the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE). It was the straw that broke the camel’s neck: Franco’s regime could not have survived any longer given the global context of democratization. Figures advocating for a socialist democracy with concrete economic policies like Felipe González rose in 1972. He later returned from clandestinity and was elected as the prime minister of Spain in 1982.

Compare the conditions of Francoist Spain with the other two major fascist Europe, and we will see how different the situation is. The first half of the regime from 1936 to 1950 was marred with isolationism and a tight governmental grip on the capital. However, post-war Spain from 1950 until the collapse of Franco’s regime is marked by purported economic openness. This quasi-liberal economic policy was sustained chiefly by industrialization, without Franco relinquishing his power. Spain enjoyed its booming tourism industry from 1959 to 1973 and experienced an abrupt decline in business that forced Franco to let go of his power. Such a gradual yet striking shift would never happen in a fascist country.

III. Cultures

Last but not least, in cultural terms, evidently the oppression resembled other fascist regimes. For example, the Nazis censored Metropolis, the 1927 sci-fi film directed by Fritz Lang, after coming into power in 1936. In Italy, similarly, cinema only began to flourish after the death of Mussolini. Franco’s regime also oppressed many of the cultural scenes. Left-wing or Republican newspapers are banned, journalists are intimidated. The famous dailies in Spain, El Mondo and El País were both founded after the death of Franco, in 1989 and 1976, respectively. ABC is the conservative Catholic national daily that outlived Franco because of its pro-France stance.

Besides journalism, the art and literary industries have all taken a hit after Franco rose to power. Salvador Dalí, the Catalonian master of cubism and surrealism, remained in Spain and became infamous due to his support of Franco Spain during Franco’s rule. Pablo Picasso broke his ties with Dalí after the controversy grew sourer (Gibson, 1997, 470). In other fascist countries, there are indeed artists who believed in the fantasy of propaganda and openly supported the regime. For example, Filippo Marinetti is an active supporter of Mussolini in the futurist movement, and conversely, Mussolini used him to promote his rule. However, there are artists who co-existed with the dictator without kowtowing to him, in both Spain and Italy. Giuseppe Terragni, a pioneer in Italian modern architecture, built the rational Casa del Fascio in 1932. It was used as a local branch of the National Fascist Party, hence the name (Poretti, 1998).

In the film industry, censorship was also severe. Luis Buñuel filmed his Viridiana in relatively more democratic Mexico in 1961, only to be rejected by Franco’s regime. The ending was considered too suggestive by the board of censors and was altered for approval (Buñuel, 2003, 237). However, we must note that there is neither fervour for film directors to produce propaganda, nor there is a law dictating such fervour. Instead, filmmakers are given more discretion to create their content, as long as it doesn’t openly criticize the regime. Near the end of Franco’s regime, Victor Erice’s The Spirit of the Beehive even satirized Franco’s rose to power as an illegitimate military coup. The 1973 film compares the violent overthrow of the Republican government to a Frankenstein trying to intimidate its people (Hagopian, 2009). Such veiled criticism of Franco begin to appear in the 1960s and 1970s.

The most notable propaganda film in Francoist Spain was España 1936, a short documentary produced by Luis Buñuel. It is a realist depiction of the just-ended Spanish Civil War, juxtaposing the prosperity under Franco with the destruction during the war. Compare these works with their contemporaries, such as the Nazi propaganda film Triumph of the Will, produced in 1935, it is undeniable that the propaganda artworks contain less fervour in Francoist Spain than in true fascist regimes like Nazi Germany. España 1936, in the form of newsreel, appears to be more similar to the Soviet experimental silent film A Man with a Camera. In fact, the Spanish cinema always preserved a sense of sobriety and avant-garde from Un Chien Andalou to directors like Pedro Almodóvar.

IV. Conclusion

To conclude, the dictator regime of Francisco Franco, known as Francoism, has major similarities to the fascist regime in Italy and Nazi Germany. However, it is important not to overlook the various attempt by Franco to survive his regime longer. Eventually, it lasted almost twice as long as the other two major fascist regimes. Based on three aspects of Franco’s regime, politically, economically, and culturally, we can see that he is a brutal dictator just like Benito Mussolini. Despite his character, Franco’s regime appeared to be nonaggressive and even cooperative. Franco’s foreign policy consistently aimed at finding friends in the international arena instead of alienating them. This is manifested clearly in opening Spain up for investment and relatively ‘wealthy’ tourists from Northern Europe. Franco had to give up major fascist hallmarks to afford his regime longer rule. Without capital flowing into Spain, Franco’s regime could have collapsed decades earlier.

The cultural scene in Spain under Franco is also not entirely fascist. We do not see that many propaganda works that glorify the regime. Even if there are propaganda films, they are using a rather objective narrative to depict the livelihood of the Francoist Spanish country life. Moreover, as realism in French civil discourse continues to influence Spaniards, censorship became not as stringent. As long as artists don’t openly criticize the government, implicit satire is tolerated. Such openness in Franco’s rule demonstrates his waning dictatorial prowess as countries around the world are democratizing themselves. Even during the epoch of worldly warfare, Franco’s nonaggressive attitude makes us doubt whether he holds fascist beliefs. Franco may be one of the many dictators around the world, but his actions cannot prove him to reach the benchmark of fascism. All in all, it is not accurate to label Francisco Franco’s regime as fascist.

V. Bibliography

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Buñuel, Luis. My Last Sigh. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2003.

Cirer Costa, Joan Carles. The crumbling of Francoist Spain’s isolationism thanks to foreign currency brought by European tourists in the early years of the Golden Age. Munich Personal RePEc Archive. 2019.

García-Barrero, José Antonio, & Erbina, Carles Manera. The management of labour recruitment: The hotel chain during the Spanish tourism boom, 1959-1973. Annals of Tourism Research 86 (2021): 103086.

Gibson, Ian. The Shameful Life of Salvador Dalí. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997.

Hagopian, Kevin. Film Notes: The Spirit of the Beehive. New York State Writers Institute, Penn State University, 2009.

Lieberman, Sima. Growth and crisis in the Spanish economy: 1940-1993. London: Routledge, 2005.

Nash, Mary. Mass tourism and new representations of gender in late Francoist Spain: the Sueca and Don Juan in the 1960s. Cultural History 4, no.2 (2015): 136-161.

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Rein, Raanan, In pursuit of votes and economic treaties: Francoist Spain and the Arab World, 1945-56. Mediterranean Historical Review 13, no. 1-2 (1998): 195-215.

Sánchez, Antonio Cazorla. Fear and Progress: Ordinary Lives in Franco’s Spain, 1939-1975. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 2009.