Spanish Falange: History and Ideology
Spanish Falange: Origins and Ideology
The Spanish Falange de las JONS was a Spanish political party with a radical right-wing, ultranationalist, and fascist ideology. Its objective was the establishment of a totalitarian, national syndicalist state, and it promoted the use of violence and direct action. It was founded on October 29, 1933, by José Antonio Primo de Rivera. In February 1934, it merged with the Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista (JONS). With this merger, it was renamed the Spanish Falange de las JONS. In 1937, General Francisco Franco declared the unification of the Falange movement and the Carlists, forming the Traditionalist Spanish Falange de las JONS.
The Falange during the Second Republic
During the Second Republic, the Falange’s electoral results were always very small. Factors contributing to this included Spain’s deeply-rooted regionalism, the low secularization of Spanish society, and the success of other right-wing forces such as CEDA. On November 15, 1935, the Second National Council of the Falange was held, where a proposal to form a National Front to oppose Spanish left-wing formations in the coming elections was presented. This proposal was ignored. The elections of February 16, 1936, were won by the Popular Front. The Falange was “defeated” because CEDA was considered the most obvious choice for the right. After the electoral triumph of the Popular Front, the Falange, which until then had been a very minor organization, received a large number of young members of CEDA who wanted to join. There were armed clashes and assassinations by the Falange. These events prompted the banning of the Falange and the imprisonment of its leaders.
The Falange and the Spanish Civil War
In July 1936, Primo de Rivera was jailed in Alicante. From there, he was in contact with the main conspirators who planned the uprising against the Second Republic, which culminated in the rebellion on July 17 by the Army of Africa under General Francisco Franco. The coup’s failure to achieve a swift victory led to the division of the country into two sides that would fight a bloody civil war. Defectors to the rebel side included members of the Falange, who played an active role against the Republicans. The rebels had prohibited all political parties in the territory they controlled. Only the Spanish Falange de las JONS, whose founder, Primo de Rivera, had been shot by the Republicans, and the Traditionalist Communion were allowed to operate as political groups.
In April 1937, Franco issued the Unification Decree, which created a single party, the Traditionalist Spanish Falange de las JONS, integrating all the other “national” forces. Franco became the National Chief of this single party.
The Falange during the Franco Regime
At the end of the Civil War, the Franco regime was established in Spain, and one of its pillars was FET de las JONS. This organization provided the ideological basis of the regime, controlled media communication, and filled a significant portion of administrative positions. To seek social support, the party formed four mass organizations:
- The Youth Front (for training and indoctrination of youth)
- The Women’s Section (to train women with a Christian and national-syndicalist perspective)
- The Spanish University Union (SEU, an instrument of political control of the university)
- A workers’ organization.