States of emergency during the Francoist regime (1956–75)

The article seeks to shed light upon the use of states of emergency (estado de excepcion) by the Spanish authoritarian regime of Francisco Franco (1936–75). Between 1956 and until Franco’s death in 1975, at least eleven states of exception were declared. From the 1950s and onwards, this article takes issue with why and how the regime used such emergency powers and martial laws against industrial, student and separatist disturbances. Clearly, the use of emergency powers was attuned with the Spanish authoritarian regime’s raison d’etre. Ridding the population of all subversive elements, restoring and protecting the unity of the nation were essential components of the Francoist repressive right-wing mind-set, let alone of the structures of the regime. Yet, the use of emergency powers by the Francoist regime cannot be separated from the political context opened by the end of World War II with the triumph of liberal democracy. In this article, I suggest that the use of emergency powers by the Francoist regime is best understood in relation to Spain’s quest for international recognition. It eventually amounts to the symbolic nature of the promulgation of emergency as a reaffirmation of sovereign authority, an attempt to secure legitimacy for a brutal coup-born regime.