| Francisco Franco – A Remarkable Man. |
Thirty years ago at the beginning of November 1975, Spain was at a political standstill. Their leader for almost forty years, Francisco Franco Bahamonde, was on his deathbed. People listened to the radio or watched the television for the latest medical bulletins about the old man´s struggle to stay alive. Some people felt a spontaneous relief in approaching a new era whilst others experienced a fear for the impending future. But they all asked themselves the same pertinent question: “What is happening after Franco?” Francisco Franco had been an integral part of their daily lives for almost four decades, giving little room for political as well as social transition. Yes, Spain had changed materially for the better from the impoverishment just after the Civil War to a relatively prosperous standard of living for most citizens in the mid seventies. Resentment against political conformity and inertness was however brewing under the surface of a divided Spanish society. For a man to rule over Spain with an iron hand for such a long time, Francisco Franco must have been a remarkable man! But was he such a remarkable man? I have, by doing a short study of his life, tried to find an answer to that question. Francisco Franco Bahamonde was born on 4th December 1892 in the small town of El Ferrol in the northwestern region of Galicia. El Ferrol is a naval port and Franco´s parents on both sides had for generations been dedicated to the sea and the administration of the naval port. Francisco or Paco to his family, was an obedient boy of a serious often-reserved nature but who, in general, played and enjoyed his early boyhood. His playmates nicknamed Franco the “little matchstick” due to his short stature. The “little matchstick” boy filled out with the years to become a rather “podgy” middle-aged man. That together with a slight speech impediment made Franco an improbable candidate for a dictatorship. At the age of 25 years, Franco fell hopelessly in love with a pretty 15-year-old girl, Carmen Polo, during a village fete in Oviendo. He began, with all his resolution; to follow the young lady who was, for her part, quite happy to receive such dedicated attention from an up and coming, almost famous officer. The couple pursued their love against parental and career obstacles to become man and wife on 22nd October 1923. Their marriage was a genuine story of love even though, as the years passed, Paco became a bit henpecked. Their one and only child, Maria del Carmen, known as “Carmencita” was born on 14th September 1926. Francisco proved in family life to be a loving husband, father and grandfather. During the initial stages of his career, Francisco Franco worked long hours but as his professional life stagnated, due to age, he was inclined to take many extended vacations. His principle activities, during these hours of leisure, included hunting, fishing, golf, and even painting. Football was also high on his list of social interests and Real Madrid found, in the Dictator, an avid supporter. Franco enjoyed splendid physical health for most of his life and only during the last 10 years was he gradually destroyed by Parkinson´s disease. Franco´s last battle against death was long and painful causing his last words to be “Why is it so difficult to die?” A naval career had been on the horizon for Francisco since the cradle but due to the closure of the Naval Academy in El Ferrol, the army was the only alternative. On 29th August 1907, a somewhat bewildered Franco entered the “Academia Militar de Infanteria” in Toledo. For Franquito, as he was teased by his fellow classmates, the three years in Toledo was a virtual hell. The timid little cadet was subjected to bullying and humiliation verging on cruelty, which he stood up to with stoic resistance. He never disclosed the identity of his tormentors to the academy authorities, a deed, which earned him respect. In 1910 Franco graduated no. 251 out of 312 cadets with a numbed mind but a soul inflated by the romantic, heroic deeds from a Spain gone by. Back in El Ferrol, Francisco Franco, dressed in the pristine uniform of a second lieutenant, was posted to the local regiment there. After a few unsuccessful applications, Franco finally obtained a commission in Morocco. This event proved to be a major turning point in his life. Out of a whimpering whippet was born a lion. Here in the African desert ruthlessness hardened by hatred ruled the daily skirmishes veiled in blood. Franco learnt from day one that in order to survive, second chances were not to be relied upon. With this clinical matter of fact, as well as non-sentimental approach to warfare, he excelled to become, in 1926, the youngest general in Europe. The myths and legends surrounding Franco´s military bravados in Morocco have been embedded in the folkloric title of, El Caudillo, the honorary name given to a medieval warrior. The Spanish Civil War was the final culmination of social injustices over many decades which, in the beginning of the 20th century, resulted in the creation of a multitude of political groupings from left to right all bickering with each other at various levels of ferocity. Francisco Franco was, during the build up of the right wing uprising in 1936, stationed in the Canary Islands as military governor and was not directly involved in the preparations. However, he was fully aware of what was going on but hesitated until the last minute concerning his personal involvement. Historians have over the years been debating the impact of General Franco´s involvement in the Spanish Civil War resulting in a spectrum of theories. On 21st September 1936, in a wooden cabin at Salamanca Airfield, Francisco Franco was elected to “El Generalisimo” of the Nationalist forces by a small military junta. Within a few days the civil responsibility of “Jefe del Estado” was to be amalgamated, making him the supreme leader of nationalist Spain. These events had a profound impact on Franco´s personal ego. He was no longer fighting a dubious, gruesome Civil War but a “Holy Crusade” with El Cid as a role model. The Spanish people were after the Civil War, extremely poor, on the verge of starvation with total apathy for any form of warfare. Based on these conditions, Franco´s prerequisite for Spain´s participation in World War II on the Axis side was the supply of substantial provisions including food, oil, arms etc. These were not forthcoming and Spain never entered the war. In a post World War II process of healing wounds and coming to terms with a horrific past, Franco´s prosecutions against his old Republican adversaries in Spain displayed a cruel contradiction. He became alienated and isolated by the democratic Nations. Only the phantom of the “cold war” rescued him. In his role as “Jefe del Estado” or Head of State, Franco performed an open management style of government, which provided his ministers with plenty of space for individual manoeuvres curtailed only by faithfulness to “El Caudillo”. Ministerial changes were few and far between. As the “swinging sixties” reached Spain, “El Caudillo” gradually removed himself from the daily chores of government moulding himself into the image of an elderly, feeble statesman. The dictator viewed with some displeasure, but resignation, the exhilarated lifestyle of his beloved grandchildren. “What will happen to Spain after Franco?” was on everyone´s minds and lips including Franco´s closest family. The Generalisimo with his customary stubborn attitude to personal pressure left them all in suspense until the last minute. Finally Franco succumbed, declaring on 23rd July 1969, Juan Carlos de Bourbon, the protégé for many years, his successor as King. Francisco Franco Bahamonde died on 20th November 1975. The lying in State ceremony was witnessed by large crowds of pensive citizens speculating over the subsequent moves ahead on the political chessboard. In fact very little happened and Spain moved quickly into a multiparty democracy which we can see today. Franco´s political ideology was anchored in an inflamed
aversion against communism and freemasonry but with his often-inaccurate
statements and fluctuations in line with the contemporary political
winds it is difficult to ascertain its precise colours. For example
an unlikely political friend was his fellow Galician, the Cuban
dictator, Fidel Castro. Lets return to the theme “Was Franco
a remarkable man?” The Generalisimo himself certainly lived
in the belief that he had achieved a remarkable place in the
history of Spain on a level with El Cid, the Catholic Kings,
or Philip II.
Reality has on the contrary turned out to be rather lacklustre. The Spanish
people have gradually, over the years, dismantled many of the physical and
mental monuments that once expressed the glorification of “El Caudillo”.
Biographers have replaced myths with facts. From the mass of information emerges
a cascade of contradictions. How then could this man cling to power for almost
forty years, inflicting grief and tears to a large portion of the Spanish people?
In my opinion future Hispanic historians may have to seek the answer to that
question beyond the man, Francisco Franco Bahamonde, himself. It may yet be
too early to enter the historic maze of Spain in pursuit of the mystery surrounding
the Franco era.
Copyright - Bjorn Engstrom 2005
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