Truth and Distortion

There is no agreed definition of the Francoist ideology. It was more than simple illusion or false consciousness, and it did not merely falsify reality to reflect the values of the dominant group. It was more than symbol and myth; it contained lived elements in the discourse between politics and society. It was also the signs and values infused with certain motivated meanings in this discourse. It necessarily comprised both truth and myth. The presence of myth was the inevitable result of manipulating particular, often commonly held, values in an attempt to legitimate or rationalize certain self-serving political actions; the truth it contained was the reason many gave their consent to the preservation of the status quo.

The essential distortion of the Francoist ideology was that it claimed to reflect, rather than dictate, societal values. The regime did not merely impose unwanted values by force, as this would have led to greater resistance; rather it encompassed certain societal values, for example those of Roman Catholicism, in a larger, ruling ideology, often falsifying them to suit its needs in the process. It also traded on populist views of national identity. Under Franco, the dominant ideology contained elements of many alternative and residual practices, such as monarchism, theocracy and fascism. By amalgamating the Falange and other factions into the Movimiento, Franco not only reduced the power of each individual faction, but could also claim to reflect the values and identities of many differing groups in Spanish society. Moreover, Franco realized that by controlling or influencing what Althusser termed the ‘ideological state apparatuses’, the ruling elite could influence and shape the values, choices and lived reality of the populace. The desire for longevity and the perpetuation of the social order was a preoccupation of Franco’s, as is evident from his determination to choose his successor and to inculcate in him the ideology of the new regime.

In his essay on ideology and the state, Althusser stressed the crucial role of state institutions in the maintenance of a dominant ideology. Through these state institutions the populace is taught know-how compatible with the ruling ideology. The different social groups or classes were educated to be contented with their positions in the order of society and not to question their subjugation to the dominant ideology.