Falange Española

Falange Española (FE) was a Spanish fascist and national syndicalist political organization active from 1933 to 1934. Its name translates to "Spanish Phalanx." Founded on October 29, 1933, by Alfonso García Valdecasas, Julio Ruiz de Alda, and José Antonio Primo de Rivera, the eldest son of the deceased dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera. On February 15, 1934, FE merged with the Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista (JONS), founded by Onésimo Redondo and Ramiro Ledesma Ramos, among others. The new party was called Falange Española de las JONS (FE de las JONS).

Following the success of Italian fascism with Benito Mussolini's March on Rome in 1922, various attempts to create a fascist organization in Spain along Italian lines failed. Organizations like the Comunión Tradicionalist, Acción Popular, and Renovación Españoa already existed but those organizations were never fascist and only minor fractions in those organizations would be. In those years, the Spanish fascists and the most reactionary financial and business sectors felt the need for a fascist party, which had proven to be an effective check on the development of left-wing mass movements in Europe. With the establishment of the Second Republic and the initiation of the democratization of Spain, the first attempts crystallized in the Falange Española, promoted by these reactionary sectors.

Hitler's triumph and the limited presence of Spain's main fascist party, the Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista (JONS) of Ramiro Ledesma Ramos and Onésimo Redondo, led the Spanish far right, represented by industrial and financial businessmen, to begin searching in 1933 for a charismatic leader for Spanish fascism. They found him in José Antonio Primo de Rivera, son of the previous dictator, who already held conservative and authoritarian positions. The Falange Española held its first rally in the Teatro de la Comedia in Madrid on October 29, 1933.

During the Second Republic, it played an important role in the events leading up to the Spanish Civil War. It was founded with the support of reactionary forces and right-wing parties who used it as a shock force. It did not achieve significant popular support, but its frequent raids and clashes with the most radical left-wing groups, mainly youth organizations, its violent acts and assassinations contributed to creating a climate of insecurity and violence conducive to military uprisings.