As Spain marks half a century since the death of General Francisco Franco this week, a significant number of young people now view the brutal Spanish dictator in a positive light.
Far from being reviled as the man who plunged the Iberian nation into a bloody civil war between 1936-1939, then followed this with years of repression, young people are trumpeting Franco’s achievements.
‘Life was better under Franco’ has become a trope on social media which has provoked fierce debate within Spain.
It comes as young Spaniards face a housing crisis, with many living with their parents until they are in their thirties, and a febrile row over immigration in the past decade with citizens born outside of Spain now representing nearly 20 per cent of the population.
The socialist government has championed immigration to help boost growth in a country with a low birth rate but right-wing parties like the People’s Party and Vox urge greater controls.
A recent poll published by the state-run Centre for Sociological Studies (CIS) found one fifth or 21.5 per cent of Spaniards thought the Franco dictatorship was “good” or “very good”. The same survey found 19 per cent of people aged 18-24 shared this view. The CIS survey also found 65.5 per cent saying it was “bad or very bad”.
Another recent poll, for the right-wing El Mundo newspaper, found that the socialists were no longer the most popular party among young people aged 18-29.
Hugo Escarpa, 21, a criminology student at the University of Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, said the left was not championing the causes concerning young people.
“The parties of the right, like the (conservative opposition) People’s Party (PP) and Vox are addressing issues which matter to young people – the housing crisis, how to find a job and illegal immigration,” he said. “The left is not doing that. That is why young people are supporting them.”
Mr Escarpa said he thought it ironic that Franco was reviled by many but supporters of the Basque separatist organization ETA – responsible for the deaths of over 800 people during a fifty-year armed campaign which ended in 2011 – were serving as MPs in the Spanish parliament.
He was referring to the Basque separatist party EH Bildu which has refused to label ETA a terrorist organisation. The party supports the current Spanish coalition government.
“I believe in democracy. But I don’t understand why they are still attacking Franco, who died more than 50 years ago, yet there are members of parliament who supported ETA which did much more damage to Spain than the repression of Franco,” he said.
Andrea Llopart, 25, who works in finance in Castelldefels near Barcelona, said young people were increasingly attracted to parties on the right which delivered clear messages about issues concerning young people like housing, the job market and illegal immigration.
Llopart said during the dictatorship there were “good things and bad things”.
She said before the civil war, the country was in a “difficult” position, but Franco may have helped revive the economy.
At the same time, during Franco’s rule, liberty of expression suffered.
“Spain came from a complicated situation and (Franco) helped it to grow in the world. It was not a free country that we have today,” she added.
Llopart said for people of her age the most important issues were access to affordable housing, immigration and the chance of getting a secure job.
“We want to have an independent life. I am still living with my parents. Also immigration is a big issue because we want the right to be able to walk securely in the streets, especially if you are a woman.”
She said securing a job with a permanent, rather than a short-term contract, was a big issue for young people.
Surveys have also shown an upsurge in support for the hard-right Vox party.
Analysts say Vox is attracting young voters because its populist message on issues like immigration strikes a chord with young people.
Vox fights shy of idolising Franco but has in the past trivialised Franco’s record of repression. It knows how to harness social media like TikTok and Instagram to its advantage.
Vox opened an account on TikTok in 2022 whereas Pedro Sánchez, the socialist prime minister, only caught up with his own account in September this year.
A poll last month by 40dB for El Pais newspaper found 17.4 per cent of Spaniards supported Vox compared with 12.4 per cent at the last election in 2023.
The same survey found 29 per cent of Vox voters were aged 18-24 whereas only 9.9 per cent were aged over 65.
Among the youngest group of Vox voters, 38 per cent are men while 20 per cent were women.
Steven Forti, an associate professor of history at the Autonomous University of Barcelona who works on the European Union Arenas project to track extremist narratives, said older people also shared a positive opinion of Franco.
“We are talking about generations who have never lived through the dictatorship. Their parents were only five or six when Franco died (in 1975),” he said.
“Far-right parties have a strong presence on social media which young people consume a lot, and this has had a big impact. Vox does not support Franco but it trivialises the dictatorship.”
Professor Forti said Vox leader Santiago Abascal suggested in the Spanish parliament in 2020 that the socialist government was the “worst in government in the past 80 years”.
“The far-right appeals to young people because it presents itself as rebellious. Many young people have only experienced the socialist government,” he added.
Professor Forti said education about Franco had been slow and patchy in Spain in comparison to Germany or Italy.
Nick Lloyd, the British author of Travels Through the Spanish Civil War which is published on the anniversary of Franco’s death, said: “Younger people, particularly male, have no idea what the regime represented aside from the tendentious videos they see on TikTok.
“The direct memory ties to those involved in the war have all gone, and the teaching of history has often been inadequate.”
