(spanish dictator from 1938 – 1975)
(and his “blanco” associate was set to assume the dictatorship
(‘…til he was “assassinated” by the “basques”)
(“spanish pronunciation” : (Spanish pronunciation: [fɾanˈθisko ˈfɾaŋko ba.aˈmonde😉
(4 december 1892 – 20 november 1975)
(died at age 82)
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(“francisco franco bahamonde” was a spanish general who ruled over ‘spain’ as a military dictator for 36 years from 1939 until his death)
(as a ‘conservative’ and a ‘monarchist’, he opposed the abolition of the ‘monarchy’ and the establishment of a ‘republic’ in 1931)
(with the 1936 elections, the conservative “Spanish Confederation of Autonomous Right-wing Groups” lost by a narrow margin and the leftist “Popular Front” came to power)
(intending to overthrow the ‘republic’, Franco followed other generals in attempting a failed coup that precipitated the ‘Spanish Civil War’)
(with the death of the other generals, ‘Franco’ quickly became his faction’s only leader)
(‘Franco’ gained military support from various regimes and groups, especially ‘Nazi Germany’ and ‘Fascist Italy’, while the ‘Republican’ side was supported by zpanish ‘communists’ and ‘anarchists’ as well as the ‘Soviet Union’, ‘Mexico’, and the ‘International Brigades’)
(‘Franco’ personally requested the ‘Bombing of Guernica’ in 1937)
(‘franco’ won the war (which claimed 500K lives) in 1939)
(he established a ‘military dictatorship’, which he defined as a ‘totalitarian state’)
*why the NERVE on this jerk!”
(‘Franco’ proclaimed himself “Head of State and Government” under the title el caudillo, a term similar to il duce (Italian) for ‘Benito Mussolini’ and Der Führer (German) for ‘Adolf Hitler’)
(in April 1937, ‘Franco’ merged the fascist and traditionalist political parties in the rebel zone, as well as other conservative and monarchist elements, into “FET y de las JONS”, outlawing the rest of political parties, thus ‘Spain’ became a “one-party state”)
(Franco’s rule over ‘Spain’ oversaw many violent politically and ideologically motivated human rights abuses against the spanish people, which included the establishment of ‘concentration camps’, the use of ‘forced labor’ and ‘executions’, mostly against political and ideological enemies, causing an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 deaths), depending on how the deaths in the more than 190 concentration camps are considered)
(although Franco’s Spain maintained an official policy of neutrality during ‘World War II’, his regime helped the ‘Axis’ in numerous ways)
(the German and Italian navies were allowed to use spanish harbors from 1940 to 1943, the ‘Abwehr’ gathered intelligence in ‘Spain’ on ‘Allied’ activities, and the ‘Blue Division’ fought alongside the ‘European Axis Powers’ against the ‘Soviet Union’ until 1944)
(‘communists’ at the time and popular critics on the left ever since have called his regime “fascist”, but academics typically categorize it as ‘conservative’ and ‘authoritarian’)
(spain was isolated by the ‘international community’ for nearly a decade after ‘World War II’)
(by the 1950s, the nature of his regime changed from being openly ‘totalitarian’ and using severe repression to a more ‘authoritarian’ system with limited ‘pluralism’)
(during the ‘Cold War’, ‘Franco’ appeared as one of the world’s foremost anticommunist figures, consequently his regime was assisted by the ‘West’ and it was asked to join NATO)
(by the 1960s, ‘Spain’ saw incremental reforms and progressive economic development)
(Franco died in 1975 at the age of 82)
(the lucky long-living bastard!)
(he restored the monarchy before his death, which made ‘King Juan Carlos I’ his successor, who led the spanish transition to ‘democracy’)
(after a referendum, a new constitution was adopted, which transformed ‘spain’ into a ‘parliamentary democracy’ under a ‘constitutional monarchy’)
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(***BACK TO “SPANISH LEADERS”***)
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*TABLE OF CONTENTS*
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*”WE WON THE WAR”*
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