Yasmine Cetta

To what extent did Franco create a totalitarian state in Spain in the years 193975? (July 2010)
A totalitarian state is a regime where the government has complete control over
all aspects of life, including the economy, society and politics. Initially, Franco
used repressive measures against opponents and passed several laws to control
politics and the economy. However, Francos regime was never fully totalitarian
and following 1950, Franco allowed a large amount of liberalisation in Spain.
At the beginning of Francos regime, he used a range of resources to repress any
political opposition, therefore creating a totalitarian state. Franco carried out
legal and illegal methods to terrorize Spaniards and destroy any possibility of any
new Republican Uprising. In 1939 the Law of Political Responsibilities was
introduced to criminalise any radical political activities, even ones that occurred
past 1934. Leading members of all Republican political parties and member of
the Republican Peoples Court were already found guilty under this law. The
military courts emphasised their powers by sentencing people to death and
sending people to exile with little evidence. Over 500,000 people were convicted
of breaking the law by 1945 and more than 200,000 people executed, carried out
by the Falange militia. This period become known as the years of silence due to
the extensive repression crushing all opposition to the regime, creating an
atmosphere of fear and preventing the working and middle classes openly
protesting about the harsh conditions. Additionally, Fascist control was
strengthened as CNT and UGT gave up the fight by 1940 allowing Spain to be
at its most totalitarian due to high government control. However, this repression
didnt last throughout all of Francos regime, as terror declined after 1945 and
political opposition reappeared. During 1967, 2.5 million hours was lost in strikes,
increasing to 18 million hours in 1974. Additionally, the terrorist organisation ETA
had 2,000 members by 1975, as well as carrying two political assassinations in
1969 and attempt assassination of Franco in 1970. Although the opposition to
Franco in the 1960s and 1970s was not strong enough to overthrow the regime,
the fact there was still opposition present suggest that Spain was not
significantly totalitarian as Francos initial ruthless repression began to decline.
Additionally, Franco and the Falange had a desire to create a totalitarian state
through the economy. Autarky, economic self-sufficiency, gave the government
complete control over imports and imports resulting in Spain owing only 5% of
its GDP to trade. Corporatism destroyed trade unions and passed the economic
power to the new government therefore creating a totalitarian state as the
regime was increasingly controlling the majority of the economy. However,
following the 1957 economic crisis, Franco promoted Opus Dei to control the
economy and replace the Falange. However, the new powers of the Opus Dei
resulted in autarky ending and reducing the governments control of the
economy. Therefore, totalitarianism was not fulfilled during 1960-1970 as the
1959 Stabilisation Plan introduced free market policies and foreign investment.
Additionally, even if the economic miracle didnt occur, autarky was not as
sufficient as Spain hoped, as it failed to inspire economic innovation and the
synthetic substitutes for materials Spain made wasted valuable resources.
Therefore, following 1957, the Spanish economy cannot be described as
totalitarian.
The Clerical Laws gave the Catholic Church a considerable degree of
independence within Spain, as well as giving the Church an important role within
the New State. Already, totalitarianism could not be achieved in Spain as the
Church ran youth groups separate from the Falange and monopolised primary

Yasmine Cetta
education, showing Francos subordinates had a degree of control and
contributed to the regime out of Francos control. Additionally, in 1963 radical
priests began to question the regime, calling for the democratisation of Spain
proving Spain was never fully totalitarian as the freedom the Church received
meant the government never enjoyed full control.
Francos social policy from 1939 to 1956 was a continuation of life under the
Nationalists during the civil war, thus giving the government a large amount of
control over Spanish society. Womens freedom was significantly reduced
through the reintroduction of the 1889 Civil Code, making women legally
dependant on their fathers, then husbands when married. Additionally, sections
of the 1870 Civil Code making women punishable for adultery in criminal courts
was reintroduced, as well as the state actively persecuting homosexuals and
bisexuals. However, after emphasis on the tourism industry increased during the
early 1960s, social policy was more liberalised. Therefore, Francos early attempt
to enforce strict control over Spain began to introduce a more liberal approach,
making Spanish society not fully totalitarian.
Political reforms also meant that Francos regime became less totalitarian during
the 1960s. When Spains application to the ECE was declined in 1962, Spain
staring to become more like a liberal state. The 1964 Law of Associations
legalised the formation of small groups as long as they werent political,
however, in the late 1960s these small groups became political and developed
resistance to Francos regime. Additionally, the 1966 Press Act repealed earlier
censorship measures making journalists legally free and making newspapers no
longer censored prior to publication. These measures made Francos regime less
totalitarian as the journalists now had greater freedom, which gradually
undermined the authority of Francos government.
Overall, between 1939 and 1945, Francos strict repression and purification of
society meant the government received a considerable amount of control.
However, towards the end of 1975, these repressive measures began to decline
due the Churches independence and economic liberalisation. The amount of
control the government had over Spain had decreased, making it inaccurate to
describe Spain as totalitarian throughout 1939-75. Consequently, although
Franco began to use methods of repression and political manipulation following
the Spanish Civil War, Spain was never fully totalitarian as Francos regime ended
up being more conservative authoritarian towards the early 1960s.