Why Did the Franco Regime in Spain Last So Long?

One of the most important factors for the Franco regime surviving was that it kept Spain neutral during the Second World War and was sensible enough not to join the war on the Axis side. Franco could have done so in 1940 with France defeated and Britain severely weakened just as Mussolini did with Italy. With the exception of Portugal all the other fascist and right wing regimes in Europe joined the war on the Axis side. All were defeated and lost power as a result. Franco had realised that Spain was too weak to fight in the Second World War and that the risks were far greater than the potential rewards. Involvement in the war would have involved almost certain defeat, heavy losses and the end of the regime. Franco annoyed Hitler with his refusal to enter the war and could not be tempted or persuaded to change his mind.

Franco was certainly skilled at gaining supplies and volunteers from Hitler and Mussolini during the Spanish Civil War with promises of joining in any future wars (their motives in giving their forces battle experience and testing their weapons also contributed). Franco must have noticed how over stretched the Italians were during the Spanish Civil War let alone fighting in the Second World War, and Spain was even weaker than Italy at that point.

The Franco regime survived as long as did it due to the weakness of internal opposition. The Spanish Civil War had provided the perfect context for rooting out the opposition and the remnants of the Republican regime. The war itself had either led to the deaths, imprisonment or exile of those most committed to the Republican cause. The Franco regime suppressed those opposition elements that had not been able to escape into exile. The Socialists and the Communists were able to maintain underground organisations but were too weak to overthrow the regime. Throughout its existence the regime faced the problem of containing separatists such as the Catalans and most noticeably the Basques. To a large extent it survived as long as it did by keeping that threat to a minimum. From the 1960s the Basque group ETA posed a threat, leading to the murder of Franco’s preferred successor Admiral Blanco in 1973. However the Basques were unable to gain autonomy or independence during the Franco regime or indeed after it.

The Franco regime survived for so long partly because of the onset of the Cold War. The Cold War meant that the United States and Western European countries such as France and Britain were determined to have Spain linked to the West. However, they would not let Spain join NATO or the European Union. The Americans were happy to bolster Franco’s regime by signing a defence agreement in 1953 as part of their containment of communism policy (Watson, 1997, p.162). Spain had been shunned as a result of Franco’s victory in the Spanish civil war and apparent links with Nazi Germany and fascist Italy. To become a more effective ally for the USA, Spain was given US military and economic aid. The defence pact with the USA broke the regimes international isolation allowing its armed forces to modernize. The anti-Communist nature of the regime was exactly what the United States was looking for and they were not unduly concerned about the undemocratic nature of the regime.