Franco’s Spain: Foreign Policy, Economy, and Social Shifts
During these years, Franco’s foreign policy involved a friendship with the Axis powers. Spain remained neutral in World War II due to the disastrous state of the country after the Civil War. Spain initially wanted to enter the war and signed a secret agreement, agreeing to enter the war at no definite date in return for territorial compensation in Northern Africa. Although Spain did not officially enter World War II, it sent the Blue Division against the Soviets.
The shift in alliances during the war was a setback for a regime initially supported by the Axis powers. Complaints arose, and in June 1945, Spain’s entry into the UN was blocked. The following year, France closed its border with Spain, and the United Nations excluded Spain from international organizations, leading to the withdrawal of Spanish ambassadors. The French government aimed to undermine the fascist regime by aligning with winning political systems and emphasizing Catholicism and anti-communism. These arguments resonated within Spain.
The Decline of Catholic Influence (1956-1957)
The 1950s marked the rise of the alliance between the Franco dictatorship and the Spanish Church. However, the Church, like the Falange, weakened and lost social influence. The army remained the regime’s most reliable support. By the mid-1950s, the regime was fully consolidated, but the influence of the Catholic faction began to wane. Technocrats from Opus Dei saw their opportunity. In 1956, violent clashes occurred between liberals and Falangists. The Spanish Communist Party, led by Santiago Carrillo, proposed a policy of national reconciliation.
Spanish diplomacy focused on three main objectives:
- Strengthening friendly relations with the Arab world.
- Seeking understanding from conservative Catholics and anti-US factions within the European Community.
- Securing support from Latin American countries.
Franco’s hopes for international recognition increased as the division between two irreconcilable blocks in the world became more pronounced.
Economic Changes
The Civil War halted the modernization of Spanish society that had begun in the early twentieth century. Key aspects of this modernization included:
- Abundant emigration from rural areas to cities.
- Loss of population in the countryside and the primary sector.
- Increased number of people working in industry.
- Emergence of a new class.
- A scientific and cultural boom.
After the war, the economy was highly protected, and the Franco authorities aimed for national self-sufficiency. In the 1940s, ration cards were introduced, and wages remained low. Spain needed foreign aid and greater integration into the international market to achieve modernized capitalist development.
The abolition of ration cards marked the beginning of a modernization process involving migration, rising wages, and mechanization. The towns became more dynamic, with approximately one million people moving from the countryside to the city.
The Franco regime denied the existence of class struggle and attributed social unrest to anarchist or Marxist unions. The regime provided broad guarantees of stability in the workplace.
Education
In education, there was a break with the republican model. The university, after the removal and exile of many faculty members, came under the control of the Falange and Opus Dei. It was deemed necessary to suppress any form of creative freedom.