Wednesday, September 02, 2026

The Real Story behind Franco’s Legacy. Separating Fact from Fiction.

Aug 22, 2026 | According to recent data published by Spain's Center for Sociological Research (CIS), ''the Franco dictatorship in Spain was good, or even very good'', those aged between 18 and 24 said. But this couldn't be further from the truth.

The question is: why then, does one in five young Spaniards look nostalgically upon a dictatorship that lasted four decades and was imposed after a coup d'état and a civil war?

In the first episode of our series, we look at Spain and what nostalgia forgets. As in many other countries around the world, the far-right appeals to many young people who have reasons to be disillusioned with traditional political parties. I

n Spain, the far right has ceased this opportunity to rehabilitate Francisco Franco’s image on social media, presenting him as the general who sacrificed himself for Spain, the leader who halted the spread of Soviet communism, and the driving force behind the economy of a country where, supposedly, people lived well ''as long as they stayed out of politics.''

A report by Laura Iglesias San Martín and Octavio García Soto



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