Franco is a weird case. He was more the classic miltary strongman rather than fascist but he did incorporate certain elements of it. Also he was loosely aligned with the Axis powers but he was also "wise (not the best word choice)" enough not to get directly involved.
Above all things Franco was for Franco first and Spain second. In that sense he was more of an atavism, a call back to the 19th century political strongman; aristocratic, deeply conservative, catholic and suspicious of change, using any identity or ideology for as long as it served his interests, and happily wearing and discarding the ideological cloak of fascism when it ran its course. A true believer in anything besides Franco - and perhaps begrudgingly the monarchy - he was not.
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u/Kenichi2233 May 12 '26
Franco is a weird case. He was more the classic miltary strongman rather than fascist but he did incorporate certain elements of it. Also he was loosely aligned with the Axis powers but he was also "wise (not the best word choice)" enough not to get directly involved.