Franco is Gone But His Memory Endures

Tommorrow marks the 30th anniversary of the death of Generalismo Francisco Franco as well as the demise of a brutal right-wing dictatorship that not only stagnated the economy but the minds of millions and ostracized Spain from the most of the free world. Thirty years is not a long time for a generation to forget one of its most bitter periods in modern history. But judging by the tense political climate that exists in Spain today, a lot of misguided young people believe they would be better off with another nationalist figure leading their country.

By putting a group of campaign promises on the fast track, the current Socialist government has created a wave of deception among many sectors who claim traditional Spanish values are being eroded. First, Prime Minister José Luis Zapatero Rodríguez placed himself at odds with the Catholic Church when his Socialist Party legalized gay marriages in July. Nevermind that 70 percent of Spanish citizens have said they supported the measure, according to polls on the issue. The opposition Popular Party is challenging the new law before the Supreme Court even though some of its top members have warned that it would be political suicide to have it overturned.

Next, Zapatero struck a nationalistic cord when he paved the way to give greater autonomy to the industial rich Catalonia region (see Nov. 4 post). The statute, which calls for fiscal, judicial and political independence from Madrid, still needs to be approved by Congress before it takes effect. But the Socialist government saw the biggest opposition outcry when nearly 500,000 people took to the streets of Madrid last weekend to demand that the government retract its proposed educational reform law. The new school curriculum downgrades religious study and allows parents to select whether they want their children to take Catholic courses in public institutions. A massive march was organized by the church and lay groups, which bused in thousands from all parts of the country to take part in the protest. But the consequences for the Catholic Church are far more economic than tradition. Church leaders stand to loose millions of euros in government subsidies if the Organic Educational Law is approved.


Many see the current tide in Spanish politics as a repeat of what occurred during the perlious days of the republic that led to the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War. The left wing government had imprisoned many priests and nuns for supporting landowners. It created a fear campaign about the growing nationalist movements in Hitler´s Germany and Mussolini´s Italy. The Army, with its traditional right-wing philosophy and close ties to the Vatican, rebeled and the three year bloody conflict ensued. Franco prevailed and ruled Spain with an iron grip for the next 36 years. After World War II, the United States and its Western Allies ostracized Spain for its fascist policies. But at the beginning of the Cold War in the 1950s, President Eisenhower and his "son-of-a-bitch policy" warmed up to Spain after negotiating with Franco to lease the United States military bases.

Although Zapatero still enjoys a high rating among Spaniards, a government poll last week showed that his popularity is waning. The right wing Falange Party -- one of Franco´s lasting vestiges -- held a rally on Friday complete with fascists salutes to protest Zapatero (photo above right). Spain´s old guard considers Zapatero and his government anti-American, anti-clergy and anti-military. The Bush administration hasn´t forgiven Zapatero for pulling out Spanish troops from Iraq last year and refusing to stand up during Madrid´s annual Columbus Day parade in 2003 as the American flag was carried by.

Zapatero has done much to modernize his country by breaking from the past. Spain needs to chart its own course and develop its own identity in this age of globalization. Traditional values, which were crucial in past for maintaining solidarity among citizens, may not be the recipes to continue to thrust a prosperous, successful economy toward the 21st century.