On those who think that Franco's regime was "good" or "very good"
BarcelonaThis week's CIS survey revealed a relevant piece of information about Spaniards' opinions on Franco's regime, now that it marks 50 years since the dictator's death. According to the survey, in 2025, up to 21.3% of Spanish citizens believe that the Franco years were "good" or "very good." The question is free of euphemisms: "Do you think the years of Franco's dictatorship for Spain and the Spanish people were very bad, bad, good, or very good?" Initially, 65.5% responded that they were bad or very bad, but almost one in four did not think so. The same occurred when the CIS survey asked whether "in general" the "democratic regime is better or worse than the dictatorship," and 17.3% responded that they preferred authoritarianism.
That said, this isn't a cross-sectional phenomenon in Spain. Those who respond favorably to Franco have a very specific profile. It's enough to compare the data with the voting memory of Spanish women in 2023. 61.7% of Vox voters say the dictatorship was positive, and the same percentage prefer it to the current democracy. The figures are completely contrary to the entire left-wing spectrum, while 41% of PP voters also have a positive opinion of Franco's regime.
If these data, along with socioeconomic variables and religious beliefs, are taken into account, the conclusion is that 50% of Catholics—practicing and non-practicing—also emphasize the positive impact of the regime. In terms of social class, 34.7% of farmers or fishermen believe that current democracy is worse than Franco's regime, a trend also observed in municipalities with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants. By age, 25.8% of those over 75 value Franco's years positively, but when asked whether current democracy is better or worse than the dictatorship, the largest group that says "worse" is those aged 18 to 24 (14.4%).
These results only demonstrate the failure of historical memory policies, which were almost nonexistent until José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, and are awaiting full implementation under Pedro Sánchez—PP governments have always ignored the issue. But the more relevant question is: why is there a segment of young people who project a certain admiration for the dictatorship? Francesc Marc Álvaro, who has just published Francoism in the time of Trump (Pórtico, 2025), quotes a speech by the young Vox deputy Manuel Mariscal: "And thanks to social media, many young people are discovering that the period after the Civil War was not a dark period as the government sells us, but one of reconstruction, progress, and reconciliation." That the far-right leader can say this from the lectern of Congress after 40 years of thousands of murders and authoritarianism is the most compelling evidence of democracy's inability to protect itself and how it is at risk.
"They burned everything because they wanted independence. I thought this was over," said a girl of about twelve this Wednesday after the general strike for Palestine. Without knowing what it was about, she confused the mobilization with the first ones she would remember: the protests following the Trial verdict, which resulted in sentences of up to thirteen years for sedition for its leaders. This week, in fact, also marked the eighth anniversary of Jordis's pretrial detention.
On Thursday, Toni Aira, PhD in political communication, presented his Mythologists, the art of seducing the masses (Debate, 2025), and surprised everyone with the participation of someone who always moves behind the scenes. In addition to journalist Gemma Nierga, the presentation was hosted by Óscar García Saldaña, President Salvador Illa's chief of protocol, who already held that position for the PSC when it was in opposition. He is part of the Baix Llobregat party apparatus.