Falange
:'' This article is about the Spanish political party. For the Lebanese Phalange, see the
Kataeb Party.
|
Yoke and Arrows. Spain, 1940s. |
The
Falange (or
Phalange) is the name assigned to several political movements and parties dating from the
1930s, most particularly the original movement in
Spain.
In Spain, the
Falange was an
authoritarian political organization founded by
José Antonio Primo de Rivera in
1933 in opposition to the
Second Spanish Republic. Primo de Rivera was a Madrid lawyer, son of General
Miguel Primo de Rivera, who had controlled the government of Spain as a dictatorial Prime Minister, with the acquiescence of King
Alfonso XIII, in the 1920's. The elder Primo de Rivera believed in state planning and government intervention in the economy, while being opposed philosophically to socialism. His son and the Phalangists he led expressed regret for the demise of the elder Primo de Rivera's regime, and proposed to revive his policies and strengthen the Spanish nation through a program of
national-syndicalist social organization.
During the
Spanish Civil War the Falange became a leading force on the
Nationalist side. During the war, the Falange was combined by decree
(Unification Decree) with the
Carlist party, under the sole command of
Generalísimo Franco, forming the core of the
sole official political organization in
Spain, the
Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista, or "Spanish Traditionalist
Phalanx of the Assemblies of
National-Syndicalist Offensive" (FET y de las JONS). This organization, also known as the
National Movement (
Movimiento Nacional) after 1945, continued until Franco's death in
1975.
Members of the party were called
Falangists (
Spanish:
Falangistas).
*
National Syndicalism (
nacionalsindicalismo) was the official ideology of the State.
**
Corporate state in which
class struggle would be superseded by the
Vertical Trade Union, joining
workers and
owners.
**
Roman Catholicism** Attention to the
Castilian farmers** Nationalist pride in the history of the
Spanish Empire**
Anti-communism and anti-
anarchism |
The yoke and arrows were carried from JONS. |
|
Shirt Shield from the Frente de Juventudes, 1950s. |
El yugo y las flechas (
the yoke and arrows), the symbol of the
Reyes Católicos.
*The
blue shirt, a symbol of industrial workers.
Cara al Sol, "Facing the sun", its
anthem.
*The red
beret of Carlism (after the unification).
*A flag with red, black and red vertical stripes.
*The
Swan as a symbol of
Cardenal Cisneros (
Frente de Juventudes branch).
The year after its founding, the Falange united with the
Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista of
Onésimo Redondo,
Ramiro Ledesma Ramos, and others, becoming
Falange Española de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista.
During the
Second Spanish Republic, its members became involved in many street shootings with leftist revolutionaries.
After the electoral victory of the
Popular Front, the party suffered some official persecution and Primo de Rivera was arrested on (
6 July 1936). As a result, the Falange joined the conspiracy to overthrow the Republic. On
17 July, the African army led by
Franco rebelled. The next day right-wing forces in mainland Spain, including Primo de Rivera's party, followed suit.
During the
Spanish Civil War, the Falangists fought on the Nationalist side against the Left-led Republic, being the fastest growing party on their side (from a few thousands to some hundred thousand members before the Unification).
The command of the party rested upon
Manuel Hedilla, as many of the first generation leaders were dead or incarcerated by the Republicans. Among them was Primo de Rivera, incarcerated in
Alicante As a result, he was referred to among the leadership as
el Ausente, (the Absent One). On 20 November
1936 (a date since known as
20-N in Spain), Primo de Rivera was executed in a Republican prison, giving him
martyr status among the Falangists.
After Franco seized power, on 19 April
1937 Franco united under his command the Falange with the
Carlist Comunión Tradicionalista, forming
Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las JONS (FET de las JONS), whose official ideology were the falangist's
27 puntos. Despite this, the party was in fact a wide ranging right coalition, closely controlled by Franco. Parts of the original Falangist (including Hedilla) and most Carlists did not join the unified party.
Most of the property of all other parties and
trade unions were assigned to the party. In 1938, all trade unions where unified under falangist command.
After the war, the party was charged with developing an ideology for Franco's regime. This job became a
cursus honorum for ambitious politicians -- new converts, who were called
camisas nuevas ("new shirts") in opposition to the more overtly populist and ideological "old shirts" from before the war.
The Falange also developed youth organizations (
Flechas,
Pelayos; compare to
Hitlerjugend and Italian
Balilla and
Arditi), a female section (
Sección Femenina) led by José Antonio's sister, that instructed young women on how to be "good patriots, good Christians and good wives", and a student's union (the
Sindicato Unificado de Estudiantes (SEU)) -mandatory till the 50's.
After the opening to the United States and the
Spanish Miracle of the 1950s, Franco began working with younger, more
technocratic politicians linked to
Opus Dei.
After Franco's death (20 November 1975, also known as "
20-N") the Spanish
Crown was restored to the
House of Borbón in the person of HM King
Juan Carlos, and a move towards
democratization begun under
Adolfo Suárez, a former chief of the
movimiento.
The new situation splintered the Falange. In the first elections in
1977, three different groups fought in court for the right to the Falangist name. Today, decades after the fall of the Francoist regime, Spain still has a minor Falangist element, represented by a number of tiny political parties. Chief among these are
Falange Auténtica,
Falange Española Independiente,
FE - La Falange and
Falange Española de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista, the latter taking its name from the historical party. Vastly reduced in size and power today, these Falangist-inspired parties are rarely seen publicly except on ballot papers, in State-funded TV election advertisements, and during demonstrations on historic dates, like
November 20 (death of Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera and General Francisco Franco).
Despite changing times, Falangism remains a living political philosophy. The
Kataeb, a political party in
Lebanon, also espouses a Falangist ideology, and is the most prominent right-leaning organization in the region; in
Bolivia there is a political party called
Falange Socialista Boliviana. In
America, one small group, the
Christian Falangist Party of America, inspired by Kataeb, was formed in
1985. It is vehement in rejecting
racism,
antisemitism, and
neo-nazism and espousing traditional
National Syndicalism, which it claims is neither racist nor socialist in nature.
Whether or not
Falangism is an
extreme right-wing movement is a topic of constant debate between those who consider themselves Falangists and people of other parties, particularly
extreme leftists. That is because Falangists consider themselves to be neither
rightists nor
leftists, but members of a
nationalist,
traditionalist, and
distributist movement whose roots lie deeply in
Catholic monarchism. Many modern political analysts agree that Falangism is, indeed, a
right-wing anti-
democratic political movement due to its emphasis on
family,
free enterprise, and
regionalism , albeit one with strongly anti-
capitalist foundations.
*
Rafael Sánchez Mazas, one of the head
ideologues of the original Falange
* Lebanese
Kataeb, a
Maronite party inspired by Falange.
*
Integralism*
Fascism*
Falange Española de las JONS (in Spanish)
*
La Falange, Spanish Falange party website (in Spanish)
*
Falange Auténtica (in Spanish)
*
American Falange Party American Falange
*
Christian Falangist Party of America Christian Falange
