Spanish State

From Metapedia

The Spanish State (Estado Español) was the formal name given to Spain from 1939 to 1978 by the government of Francisco Franco.

When the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936, the Nationalist forces immediately began using the form the Spanish State rather than the Spanish Republic or the Spanish Monarchy, out of deference to the differing political sensibilities of the members of the Nationalist coalition, which included the fascistic Falangists, in favor of a fascist state, and the rival conservative-monarchist parties of the Carlists and the Legitimists. However the Republic, largely under communist command, continued to be the functional government of part of the country until 1939, when it was finally defeated by the Nationalists of General Franco.

The Spanish State was declared a monarchy in 1947, but no king was designated; the Head of State, Francisco Franco, reserved for himself the right to name the person to be king, and deliberately delayed the selection due to political considerations. The selection finally came in 1969, with the designation of Juan Carlos de Borbón as Franco's official successor (this selection was an unpleasant surprise for many interested parties, as Juan Carlos was the rightful heir for neither the Carlists nor the Legitimists).

With the death of Franco and the dismantling of the Francoist régime, the Spanish State ceased to exist, being thoroughly reconstituted as the Kingdom of Spain, a democratic parliamentary monarchy, where the head of state reigns, but does not rule.