Franco‘s Spain in the years of post-war reconstruction, autarchy and «economic nationalism»

Abstract

The article analyzes the socio-economic policy of the Franco era, its periodization, and features. It emphasizes that the period of post-war reconstruction, which began after the end of the civil war in 1939 and lasted until the end of the 1950s, was characterized by a unique economic strategy, which amounted to autarky and all kinds of state support for domestic industrial and agricultural entrepreneurship. The reasons for choosing such a model of post-war reconstruction are indicated, which are associated with the isolation of Spain in the international arena due to the nature of the regime. It did not become a member of the UN and other world political and financial organizations, it was deprived of participation in the Marshall Plan and receiving foreign investments. The nature of the economic policy of Francoism at the first stage of 1939–1959 was also determined by the new civil (guerrilla) war supported by Moscow, which lasted until the mid-1950s, as well as the features of the previous capitalist development of Spain. These circumstances led to a policy of autarky, i.e. reliance exclusively on one's own resources. The mechanisms of autarkic economic policy are analyzed, including the creation of joint-stock companies with a predominance of state finances, the formation of the public sector, restrictions on foreign capital, the existence of several peseta exchange rates, the preparation of development plans for leading industries, the implementation of technical and economic transformations in the agricultural sector (concentration of plots, irrigation measures), etc. In the late 1950s, the tasks of rebuilding the economy were completed and the problem of further progressive economic development of the country, the transition to a liberal economic strategy appeared on the agenda. This had a positive effect, first of all, on the development of the electric power, metallurgical, chemical and cement industries, and on the extraction of minerals.