The Falange was a fascist political party of Spain founded on 29 October 1933 and dissolved on 13 April 1977. It was far-right, and it was founded by Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, the son of the deposed dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera in the aftermath of the uprising that ousted Alfonso XIII of Spain and brought the Second Spanish Republic to power. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939, the Falange were the main faction of the Nationalist partnership that fought against the Republicans, and Francisco Franco became its leader after the death of Emilio Mola. The Falangists won the civil war in 1939, and it was the only legal party in Spain until the restoration of democracy in the 1970s after Franco's death. The party stressed the unique "Spanish Catholic authoritarianism" of the regime, which considered itself to be a movement and not a party. The party would decline after World War II, with most its younger supporters being conservatives and devout Catholics from northern Spain, while most of its supporters were older and nostalgic people. The party also suffered from armed attacks by Carlist insurgents and ETA Basque separatists, as the party was known to suppress political opposition and force other language groups (such as the Catalans and Basques) to speak Castilian Spanish in a vain attempt to end multiculturalism. In 1977, Franco handed over power to King Juan Carlos I of Spain before he died, and fascist Spain came to an end. Some fascist terrorism occurred over the next few years, but fascism would not return to its former strength.
Gallery[]
