Thehistory of the far-right in Spain dates back to at least the 1800s and refers to any manifestation offar-right politics inSpain. Individuals and organizations associated with the far-right in Spain often employreactionarytraditionalism, religiousfundamentalism, corporateCatholicism, andfascism in their ideological practice. In the case of Spain, according to historian Pedro Carlos González Cuevas, the predominance of Catholicism played an essential role in the suppression of external political innovations such asSocial Darwinism,positivism, andvitalism in Spanish far-right politics.[1]
In theCortes of Cádiz of 1812, within the faction ofrealists (as opposed to the faction of more moderate reform conservatives), a subgroup of reactionary defenders of theAntiguo Régimen (Old Regime) was incorporated. One notable member of this subgroup was Pedro de Inguanzo y Rivero, a prominentBishop (and laterArchbishop ofToledo) who was proclaimedcardinal byPope Leo XII.[2]
During theBourbon Restoration, the extreme right in Spain, though united by Catholicism, saw increasing plurality; differences in views the far-right includedCarlism,Maurism,social Catholicism, andnationalism.[3] This overarching Catholicism was reinforced by the work of prominent Spanish historianMarcelino Menéndez Pelayo, who asserted that the Spanishvolkgeist was that of Catholicism.[4]
During the crisis of the Restoration, which was accentuated from 1914 onwards, the extreme right represented itself as a force againstsecularization of Spain and in favour of the interests of the Catholic elite; various far-right thinkers would meet in theCentro de Acción Nobiliaria (Nobility Action Centre).[5] In 1919, theSindicatos Libres was founded in Barcelona; the organization represented Carlist workers and carried out acts of terrorism against theanarcho-syndicalistConfederación Nacional del Trabajo.[6] According to historian Colin M. Wilson, the Sindicatos Libres was a proto-fascist organization and was far-removed from the traditionalism that would come to define Spanish fascism.[7][8]
The period of theAlfonso XIII regime directly preceding the establishment of theSecond Republic, marked by the dictatorships ofMiguel Primo de Rivera,Dámaso Berenguer, andJuan Bautista Aznar-Cabañas (1923–1931), saw the consolidation and strengthening of ultra-conservative,anti-liberal, andanti-democratic forces within theSpanish Army, who promoted these far-right positions through the publicationsEl Ejército Español ("The Spanish Army"), and from 1928 onwards,La Correspondencia Militar ("The Military Correspondence").[9]
In March 1931, mere days before the collapse of the Spanish monarchy, the far-right publicationLa Conquista del Estado ("The Conquest of the State") was founded to promote fascist views to the working masses.[10] The publication's director,Ramiro Ledesma, was influenced by German philosophy and by the French philosopherGeorges Sorel.[11] By 1931, Ledesma was receiving funding for the publication fromBiscay monarchists such asJosé María de Areilza, José Antonio Sangróniz, andJosé Félix de Lequerica.[12]
According toEduardo González Calleja, the predominant form of Spanish fascism in the interwar period was characterized by a "traditionalistethos" and a "counterrevolutionary" character.[13] The Spanish right wing opted for violent political opposition of liberalism and embraced fascism.[14]
With the advent of theSecond Republic, ideologues of the far-right began to associate themselves with theAcción Española, a cultural and political association founded in late 1931, and began to take influence from thenativism and traditionalism ofAction Française, ofItalian fascism, ofPortuguese integralism, and of the German authoritarianism ofCarl Schmitt andOswald Spengler.[15]
After the rise ofAdolf Hitler inGermany in 1933, fascism in Spain increased; until then, according to Italian historian Gabriele Ranzato, fascism was a niche current and did not take space in public life beyond the half-cooked writings ofErnesto Giménez Caballero and the unpopularPartido Nacionalista Español (Spanish Nationalist Party).[16] A number of fascist organizations were founded in this period, including theMovimiento Español Sindicalista (MES), andFalange Española and theJuntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista. The Falange Española, founded byJosé Antonio Primo de Rivera, lawyer and eldest son of dictatorMiguel Primo de Rivera, aviatorJulio Ruiz de Alda, and intellectualAlfonso García Valdecasas, would in 1934 merge with the Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista to create theFalange Española de las JONS.[17]
The Falange counted a number of retired military officers and members of the pro-fascistSpanish Military Union in its ranks, including Emilio Rodríguez Tarduchy, Luis Arredondo,Ricardo Rada, and Román Ayza. Another member of the military and monarchist activist,Juan Antonio Ansaldo, was put in charge of organizing the paramilitary components of the party: the "Falange de Sangre" and the "Primera Línea".[18]
During the period of the Second Spanish Republic, an increase inantisemitism, often apocalyptic in nature, resonated amongst Carlists and monarchists and led to the weakening of the moderate right.[19]
Ramiro de Maeztu, a member of Acción Española and one of the main theorists of the Spanish extreme right, promoted inEn defensa de la Hispanidad ("In Defense ofHispanidad", 1934) one of the fundamental myths of the extreme right: "Hispanidad", the reimagination of imperialist and Catholic legacy of Spain.Hispanidad would be embraced by Acción Española, the Falange, and, later, byFuerza Nueva ("New Force"). Both Maeztu and the politicianJosé Calvo Sotelo published articles that promoted fascism and urged an anti-Republican alliance that would include traditionalists and Falangists in the lead-up to theSpanish Civil War.[20]
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Following theNationalist victory in the Spanish Civil War, Spain was ruled by theFET y de las JONS-backed dictatorFrancisco Franco. TheFranco dictatorship, analogous to that of other European fascist regimes of the twentieth century, incorporated into its ideology charismatic leadership, fascist imagery, and the embrace of an all-encompassing fascist state and nation.[21] Two political cultures converged during the dictatorship: that of National Catholicism, and that of FET y de las JONS-style fascism.[22]
Starting in the 1950s, a number of right-wing associations and organizations were created under the protection of theDelegación Nacional de Asociaciones ("National Delegation of Associations") and the FET y de las JONS, including the Círculos Doctrinales José Antonio, the Hermandad de Alféreces Provisionales, and the Hermandad de la División Azul. These organizations, alongside other prominent figures like the historianJosé Luis Rodríguez Jiménez, expressed concern in the longevity of the Franco regime and a concern about loss of power in post-fascist Europe.[23]
During the 1970s, in the late Francoist period, a more radical sector of the ultra-right emerged.[24] TheCírculo Español de Amigos de Europa ("Spanish Circle of Friends of Europe", or CEDADE), a neo-Nazi organization, achieved some public recognition and was supported by some leading figures of the Franco regime, such as Tomás García Rebull.[25]
Among the prominent figures of the extreme-right who gained prominence in Franco's Spain wasGonzalo Fernández de la Mora, a member of Spain's Congress of Deputies who advocated for dictatorial monarchism, eugenics, and suppression of "egalitarian envy".[26]
After Franco's death, during the period oftransition to democracy in Spain, the far-right implemented a so-called "estrategia de la tensión" ("strategy of tension") aimed at preventing the smooth consolidation of a liberal democratic system, carrying out a number of acts of terrorism.[27] Groups such as the Alianza Apostólica Anticomunista ("Apostolic Anti-Communist Alliance"), the AntiTerrorismo ETA, the Grupos Armados Españoles ("Spanish Armed Groups"), the Guerrilleros de Cristo Rey, the Batallón Vasco Español, and a number of other right-wing groups organized demonstrations that called for the assumption of power by Spain's military, and publishing a number of calls for a coup.[28] The anti-communist and Nazi-alignedBlue Division also saw renewed interest.[29]
At the beginning of the transition period, the electoral division of the far-right was represented by theAlianza Nacional 18 de Julio coalition and by theAlianza Popular.[30] During the1979 Spanish general election, the extreme right won a single seat through theFuerza Nueva ("New Force") coalition led by the charismaticBlas Piñar. Fuerza Nueva attempted to stifle political reform through continuous activism and mobilization of far-right forces; the paramilitarism, uniforms, and violence of Fuerza Nueva attracted a number of young people to the organization.[31] The failure of the1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt led to the abandonment of advocating for a military coup.[32]
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After Spain's transition to democracy, the far-right began to experience large-scale unpopularity and abandonment by members.[33] This weakening of the far-right was compounded by splits between neo-Francoists and those who advocated for unity with other European far-right organizations.[34] The 1990s saw the dissolution of a number of far-right organizations: CEDADE was dissolved in 1993, as well as the Blas Piñar-led Fuerza Nueva, and in 1995 theJuntas Españolas dissolved as well. The latter gave rise to the founding ofDemocracia Nacional ("National Democracy"), which competed without much success in elections against other marginal right-wing groups such as the Alianza por la Unidad Nacional ("Alliance for National Unity"), theFalange Española Independiente, and the re-foundedFalange Española de las JONS.[35] In 1997, the Partido Demócrata Español ("Spanish Democratic Party") was founded, formed by militants that split from the Partido Popular and who achieved modest results in the1999 elections to European Parliament.[36]
The dawn of the 21st century saw the birth of two new far-right parties in Spain: thePlataforma per Catalunya ("Platform for Catalonia") andEspaña 2000, based inBarcelona andValencia, respectively. While the former attempted to integrate bothCatalanists and non-Catalanists, the latter took the position of a more strict Spanish nationalism andBlaverism.[37] Both the Plataforma per Catalunya and España 2000 achieved some success in elections.[38] In 2013, the far-right political partyVox was founded.
In 2014,squatters inMadrid formed the "Hogar Social Madrid" (HSM, originally "Hogar Social Ramiro Ledesma"), a neo-Nazi collective inspired byGreece'sGolden Dawn andItaly'sCasaPound that distributes food to Spaniards.[39]
Vox, a far-right party founded in 2013, began to see more success following the2018 Andalusian regional election, and became the first fight party to obtain parliamentary representation in an autonomous region of Spain. The jump to power was sudden with their leader Santiago Abascal saying "Only 11 months ago, we did not have any representation in any institution [in Spain],"[40] This election also saw the introduction ofSuper-PAC financing schemes in Spain. Vox benefited from donations by ultraconservative lobbies such as HazteOír andCitizenGo.[41]