Spain and the Marshall Plan essays

Spain and the Marshall Plan essays The leader of the Nationalist forces, General Franco, headed the authoritarian regime that was in power in Spain after the Civil War (May, 1978). Francisco Franco became a general in 1926 and in 1934 became the commander of the Spanish army. Two years later, he led a revolt against the elected government of Spain. That revolt turned into the Spanish Civil War, which he won with the help of Hitler and Mussolini. After winning the war, Franco became leader of the now one-party Spain, which he ruled until his death. Franco's dictatorship caused Spain to lose out on foreign aid from the United States after World War IIa loss that cost Spain a great deal. Until he died in 1975, Franco ruled Spain " by the grace of God," as his supporters proclaimed (May, 1978, p. 142). In addition to being the tyrannical head of the armed forces, he was also chief of state and head of government, the ultimate source of legitimate authority. He reserved the power to appoint and to dismiss ministers and other major decision makers. Franco's life was spent as a professional soldier, and his conception of society showed this. Famous for his iron political nerve, Franco believed that he was the one designated to save Spain from the chaos and instability caused by parliamentary democracy and political parties, which he blamed for ruining the unity of Spain. His main goal was to maintain power in order to keep what he termed the "anti-Spain" forces from gaining power. He ruled Spain for nearly 40 years, managing to stay in power only because his nation was suppressed and in fear of him. The Spanish Falangist administration, both for its foreign policy during the war and for its human rights record, was unpopular abroad (Garza, 1987). In 1946 the United Nations (UN) called on Spain's representatives to withdraw their ambassadors from Madrid; Spain was not included in the list of countries that w...