The Junta Técnica del Estado (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

for: ''Technical State Junta'') was one of several political-administrative bodies created by General

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

in October 1936 after his appointment as head of government of rebel Spain during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. It was one of the main institutions that made up the first governmental organization created by Franco. Although it was divided into sectorial commissions, it was not a real

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

and was composed of personalities with little political relevance. It was successively presided over by Generals

Fidel Dávila Arrondo Fidel Dávila Arrondo, 1st Marquess of Dávila (24 April 1878 – 22 March 1962) was a Spanish Army officer during the Spanish Civil War. Born in Barcelona, as an infantry officer, he fought in Cuba during the Spanish–American War and received ...

and

Francisco Gómez-Jordana Sousa Francisco Gómez-Jordana y Sousa, 1st Count de Jordana (1 February 1876 – 3 August 1944), was a Spanish soldier and politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs during the rule of Francisco Franco. Early life Born in Madrid, the s ...

. It disappeared with the creation of Franco's first proper government in February 1938.

Context

After the death of the leader of the military uprising in a plane crash, General

José Sanjurjo José Sanjurjo y Sacanell (; 28 March 1872 – 20 July 1936) was a Spanish military officer who was one of the military leaders who plotted the July 1936 ''coup d'état'' that started the Spanish Civil War. He was endowed the nobiliary title ...

, General

Emilio Mola Emilio Mola y Vidal (9 July 1887 – 3 June 1937) was a Spanish military officer who was one of the three leaders of the Nationalist coup of July 1936 that started the Spanish Civil War. After the death of José Sanjurjo on 20 July 1936, M ...

and General

Miguel Cabanellas Miguel Cabanellas Ferrer (1 January 1872 – 14 May 1938) was a Spanish Army officer. He was a leading figure of the 1936 Spanish coup d'état, 1936 coup d'état in Zaragoza and sided with the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationali ...

created a

National Defense Junta The Junta de Defensa Nacional () was a military junta which governed the territories held by the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist faction of the Spanish Civil War from July to September 1936. The junta's president was Migue ...

on July 25, 1936, headed by the latter, which would be in charge of both directing military operations and politically leading the rebel movement. Major General

Miguel Cabanellas Ferrer Miguel Cabanellas Ferrer (1 January 1872 – 14 May 1938) was a Spanish Army officer. He was a leading figure of the 1936 coup d'état in Zaragoza and sided with the Nationalist faction during the Spanish Civil War. Biography Born on 1 Ja ...

was appointed president because he was the most senior major general among the military rebels. The ''Junta'' assumed for a period of time and in a collegiate manner "all the powers of the State" in the territory controlled by the coup plotters, and self-styled as the ''national zone''. However, movements soon arose in favor of centralizing the command.

The Generalissimo

As a result, on September 30, 1936, Decree 138 was published in the ''Official Bulletin of the Spanish National Defense Junta'', naming General Franco ''generalissimo'' of the armies and head of the State government. On October 1 Franco officially took office. Although he had only been named head of government, all the official media spoke from the beginning of "head of state", thus increasing his power. His main priority was to achieve military victory and he was in no hurry to form a real government. He was therefore content to create a more technical than political body —the ''Junta Técnica del Estado''— and to rely on his brother

Nicolas Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

, whom he appointed general secretary to the head of state. On October 2, the law creating this and other agencies was published in the renamed ''

Boletín Oficial del Estado The (''BOE''; "", from 1661 to 1936 known as the ''Gaceta de Madrid'', "") is the official gazette of the Spain, Kingdom of Spain and may be published on any day of the week. The content of the ''BOE'' is authorized and published by Royal Asse ...

''. The preamble of the law reveals its nature: The temporality of the new organization was evident from the addition: Both the terminology and the provisional nature of the institution are typical of military language, which seeks the creation of a kind of rearguard quartermaster to solve the most immediate problems, but subordinated to the fundamental objective of obtaining military victory. The new ''Junta'' was not a real government. It was probably considered that it would be an instrument of civilian support for the military until the end of the war, which was then foreseen to be near.

Structure

The ''Junta'' was organized as follows: The structure of the ''Junta'' was reminiscent of Primo de Rivera's Military Directory, with the creation of seven commissions in place of the

ministries Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

and similar to the latter's committees. It was also reminiscent of the

Dictatorship A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...

in the desire for these bodies to be non-political and "''

arbitrista The '' arbitristas'' were a group of reformist thinkers in late 16th and 17th century Spain concerned about the decline of the economy of Spain and proposed a number of measures to reverse it. ''Arbitristas'' directed analyses of problem and prop ...

''". The main headquarters of the ''Junta'' was in

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

. Although its composition in commissions was reminiscent of an incipient cabinet, it was made up of second-rate personalities who were mainly in charge of routine administrative functions. Since

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" * Franco of Cologne (mid to late 13th cent ...

was the supreme instance for all matters, all the agencies had to send to the '' Secretaría General del Jefe del Estado'' the background of the matters that had to be approved by the ''Caudillo'' to "facilitate the dispatch and knowledge of the Head of State". Thus, the Secretariat was a key body for the exercise of power through which all legal norms had to pass and, although Dávila presided over the ''Junta'', the real power was in the hands of Nicolás Franco. Consequently, three months after the ''coup d'état'', rebel Spain showed the appearance of being a new State in which all parties collaborated in a process of centralization, unity and efficiency, as opposed to the division and waste of resources present on the Republican side. The following year 1937 would be a difficult one in military terms, but one of great consolidation of the political power of the neophyte dictator.

Presidency

The ''Junta'' was headed by a president in charge not only of directing the institution, but also of serving as a channel of communication with the head of state. The latter was the ultimate decision-maker in all matters. According to the operating rules of the ''Junta'', published on October 6, he was to confer at least once a week with the presidents of the commissions. The president of the ''Junta'' would communicate with the ''Caudillo'' through direct dispatches, although he could also delegate this function to others. The president was at all times a military man, a decision that marked a clear tendency of

to rely politically on his subordinates. The initial choice was

Fidel Dávila Fidel most commonly refers to: * Fidel Castro (1926–2016), Cuban communist revolutionary and politician * Fidel Ramos (1928–2022), Filipino politician and former president Fidel may also refer to: Other persons * Fidel (given name) Film * ...

, a brigadier general who, at the same time, was appointed chief of the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

. He was the only member of the dismissed ''

'' who continued to hold a position in the new administration. Dávila has the image of a bureaucrat among some historians, but the truth is that he had fought in the wars of

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

and

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, where he had demonstrated his ability.In fact,

Javier Tusell Javier Tusell Gómez (26 August 1945, Barcelona - 8 February 2005, Barcelona) was a Spanish historian, writer and politician who served as a professor of modern history at the National University of Distance Education (UNED).General Fernandez Silvestre had paid more attention to Dávila's advice, the Annual disaster could have been avoided. He had a certain monarchical significance but he was, above all, a professional military man. Even smaller in stature than Franco, he was, according to Admiral Cervera, "pure, austere and Spanish" and maintained a monarchist Catholicism similar to that of Mola.

Commissions

* Finance Commission It was mainly composed of members of the military, although it was chaired by Andrés Amado, an Alfonsist monarchist whose experience gave the body a somewhat more political character. He was a financial expert who had collaborated with Calvo Sotelo during the

dictatorship A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...

. According to the writings left by

, Amado opposed the maintenance of the exchange rate of the peseta. However, the ''caudillo'' insisted on the need to keep its value high. Although his doctrine was heterodox from the economic point of view, Franco's decision was politically opportune, as it contributed to keep prices stable during the whole period. Amado's technical competence helped the economic situation to improve in the second half of 1937. * Justice Commission It was presided over by the then president of the '' Audiencia Provincial'' of

Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital city of the Canary Islands (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and the m ...

, José Cortés, and had an exclusively technical composition. Its headquarters was in

. Its main task was to review the legislation then in force in order to eliminate that which was deemed incompatible with the "New State". It was also to facilitate a transition from the absolute empire of the military jurisdiction to an ordinary one. * Industry, Commerce and Supply Commission Its presidency was entrusted to Joaquín Bau, a traditionalist monarchist who had also been a collaborator of Calvo Sotelo when the latter had headed the Ministry of Finance during the

dictatorship of Primo de Rivera General Miguel Primo de Rivera's dictatorship over Spain began with a coup on 13 September 1923 and ended with his resignation on 28 January 1930. It took place during the wider reign of King Alfonso XIII. In establishing his dictatorship, ...

. One of the functions of the commission was to contribute to the provisioning of the Army. Bau was the Catalan who held the highest political office in this period. In economic matters he had liberal ideas and was opposed to state interventionism. As in the case of Amado, his expertise contributed to the improvement of the economic situation in the second half of 1937. He played an important role in the promulgation of the Decree of October 9, 1937, which abolished the mining concessions made earlier and imposed a maximum of 25% foreign capital in the owning companies. This regulation was seen by the Germans as a challenge to their interests. * Agriculture and Farm Labor Commission According to the Act creating the ''Junta'', its function was: It was composed exclusively of agricultural engineers, which also gave it an eminently technical profile. Its president was Eufemio Olmedo. In the fall of 1936 it established a ban on slaughtering animals outside municipal slaughterhouses. * Work Commission The Act stated that it was: Its headquarters were in

. * Public Works and Communications Commission According to the Act: Chaired by Mauro Serret, it was composed of civil servant engineers, so it did not have a political profile either. * Culture and Education Commission It was, undoubtedly, the one with the most purely political composition. It was presided over by

José María Pemán José María Pemán y Pemartín (8 May 1897 in Cadiz – 19 July 1981, Ibid.) was a Spanish journalist, poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, and monarchist intellectual. Biography Originally a student of law, he entered the literary world wi ...

, but his lack of interest in bureaucratic work meant that the weight of management was carried by the vice-president Enrique Suñer. Eugenio Montes, Vegas Latapié, Mariano Puigdollers and Alfonso García Valdecasas were members. There was a predominance of former collaborators of '' Acción Española'', and their relations with the Falangists were not good. Strong

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

was implemented,

pornography Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is Sexual suggestiveness, sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolv ...

was persecuted and public book burnings were carried out. But the most outstanding activity of the commission was the purge of the teaching staff. In order to carry it out, political ideas and behavior were evaluated, but also religious ideas, the professional methodology used and the teachers' own private lives. To do so, they relied on reports from parish priests, mayors, the Civil Guard, solvent parents, military organizations and, after the

Unification Unification or unification theory may refer to: Computer science * Unification (computer science), the act of identifying two terms with a suitable substitution * Unification (graph theory), the computation of the most general graph that subs ...

, from the ''Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las JONS''. The commission made the final decision, without the possibility of appeal. * Others On November 19, 1936, a regulation of the ''Junta'' was published in the ''

'', which created a secretariat for the president and a major officer's ''bureau''.

Characteristics

The predominance of military men in the main positions was very marked. Dávila and later Jordana were career military officers. In contrast, the members of the commissions were mostly civilians. This was very much reminiscent of Primo de Rivera's Military Directory. However provisional it was, the regime instituted was essentially military. It was not only Generalissimo Franco who was head of state and the pinnacle of power; the president of the ''Junta Técnica'', the Secretary of War, the governor general and the secretary general of the head of state were also military. Hence this attempt to dispense with the ideological component, as well as the barracks-like tone of the regulatory provisions issued. It is significant that one of the first norms of the ''Junta'' consisted in the reestablishment of the courts of honor within the Army, which had been suppressed by Azaña's military reform.The possibility of extending the courts of honor to all public administrations was even discussed, although such a rule was never approved. The early implementation of measures aimed at purging dissidents can also be considered of military origin. A decree-law of December 9, 1936 regulated the purge of the civil service. This predominantly military character would be pointed out years later by

Ramón Serrano Súñer Ramón or Ramon may refer to: People Given name *Ramón (footballer, born 1950), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1983), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1988), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1990), B ...

with these words: No member of the ''

Falange Española de las JONS The Falange Española de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (; FE de las JONS) was a fascist political party founded in Spain in 1934 as merger of the Falange Española and the Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista. FE de las JO ...

'' held any position in the ''Junta'', while there was a very significant percentage of monarchists, both Alfonsists and traditionalists. Therefore, the ''Junta Técnica'' was not at any time a body that helped to create a

fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

or parafascist state, but an institution of Catholic or traditional significance. This continued to be so even after the unification, to the point where Pemán commented to the president of the ''Junta'' —who by then was already Jordana— that the Culture and Education Commission that he presided over became "refuge and headquarters of all that remains outside the single party". Although the military rebels had initially avoided attacking

republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology that encompasses a range of ideas from civic virtue, political participation, harms of corruption, positives of mixed constitution, rule of law, and others. Historically, it emphasizes the idea of self ...

, the revolutionary outbreak in the republican zone provoked a growing political radicalization in the rebel ranks. Already in the autumn of 1936, a cultural counter-revolution unparalleled in 20th century Europe was taking place. There was a public return to religion and a demand for the restoration of traditional values. This moral restoration fostered a spirit of discipline, unity and sacrifice that was very useful for the war. However, the "restorationist" policy was applied in a much more moderate way than it would later be. There are few examples of this attitude of restoration of religious and moral values in the first months of the ''Junta''. On December 23, 1936, the production, trade and dissemination of

pornographic Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolved from cave paintings ...

material was prohibited, but also of "socialist, communist, libertarian and, in general, dissolving literature". Texts of this type were to be kept in official libraries to be consulted only in exceptional cases. The personnel of the ''Junta'' did not receive remuneration other than the positions they had previously held. The provisional nature of the body was evident at all times and derived from the widespread belief that the seizure of

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

was imminent. This was noticeable in some specific cases. In spite of the autonomy with which it acted, Queipo de Llano asked in mid-December 1936 if he should return his goods to the '' Compañía de Jesús,'' as had been requested by traditionalist sectors in

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

. However, the ''Junta'' never reached a decision on the matter. At other times one can perceive in his decisions a barracks-like and arbitrary tone reminiscent of the

. A decree-law of early 1937 sought to solve the problem of unemployment, ordering the civil governors to prevent a single Spaniard from being in such a situation or "not receiving in some way relief proportional to his family needs". The determination of those in charge of the ''Junta'' to solve pressing problems made them uncomfortable with certain formalities imposed by pre-existing legislative precepts, such as the existence of contentious-administrative appeals or the obligation to request a report from the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

. The characteristics of the ''Junta Técnica'' reveal that Franco took the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera as a reference point at that time. All legal norms —

Statute A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...

s, decree-laws,

decree A decree is a law, legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, monarch, royal figure, or other relevant Authority, authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislativ ...

orders Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...

and even circulars— had to be approved by Franco. The proposals could come from the Junta, but also from the secretariats or from the governor general, which soon produced a backlog. Of the 160 norms approved during 1936, some ninety came from the three secretariats. This reveals the limitations that the ''Junta's'' commissions had despite their paraministerial pretensions. In fact, the system of government more closely resembled that of the ''

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

'' with its office secretaries. The few surviving records of the meetings of the presidents of the ''Junta'' show that they dealt with matters of little political interest. They did not address reforms of importance, but limited themselves to trying to respond to pressing needs. There is only one intervention by Enrique Suñer on March 27, 1937, in which he expressed his wish that the educational reforms he was studying would be addressed soon. However, Franco was much more concerned with the direction and course of the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

than with matters of government.

Economy

The seizures of their goods from revolutionary and pro-government organizations and their sympathizers were a source of income for the rebels. To manage them, the ''Junta'' created in January 1937 a Central Administrative Commission of Seized Goods in charge of their management. The provincial authorities also had to deal with this task. The quantitative importance of the seizures for the rebels is disputed. The

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

n historian Michael Seidman believes that it has been exaggerated by historiography and that it is far from the revenue obtained from taxes and donations. In November 1936, a Foreign Currency Committee was created to control the foreign

currencies A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or currency in circulation, circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a ''system of money'' in common use wi ...

of other countries. In March 1937, the Committee granted a period of one month for everyone to declare the foreign currencies,

shares In financial markets, a share (sometimes referred to as stock or equity) is a unit of equity ownership in the capital stock of a corporation. It can refer to units of mutual funds, limited partnerships, and real estate investment trusts. Sha ...

, bonds and gold in their possession. The new authorities controlled all foreign transactions. All exports were collected in strong foreign currencies, which were deposited within three days at the Military Delegation of the Treasury. The exports helped to pay for the war effort. The

Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's official maker of British coins. It is currently located in Llantrisant, Wales, where it moved in 1968. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly ow ...

obtained substantial resources from the jewelry and securities donated by the population. Only at the end of 1937 was it totally controlled by the ''Junta Técnica del Estado''.

Change of presidency

As a result of the plane crash that took the life of General Mola on June 3, 1937,

decided that his replacement in command of the Army of the North would be Dávila. To relieve him at the head of the ''Junta'', he appointed General Francisco Gómez-Jornada. Like his predecessor, he had fought in

and

, where he became

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

of the Army of Africa, played a decisive role in the negotiations with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and was High Commissioner. His political significance was greater than Dávila's because he had been a member of Primo de Rivera's Military Directory. Of monarchist ideas, he was considered ''liberal'' in that context, mainly because his age and training distanced him notably from

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

. He was loyal, hard-working and honest, and enjoyed Franco's confidence. It seems that Jordana was reluctant to take up the post, and realized from the outset the difficulties of his performance, acknowledging in his diary that he was "truly disheartened by the impossibility of arranging this tangle". Furthermore, he believed that Franco himself was not in a fit state of mind to deal with political matters; that Nicolás Franco, secretary general of the head of State, was "a brilliant and extraordinary man, but unbalanced" and that he acted without any coordination with the ''Junta''; that the functioning of the ''Junta'' was very defective; that it did not have control of the press; that foreign affairs were in the hands of José Antonio Sangróniz; that Queipo de Llano acted with total autonomy and without obeying anyone; and that there was a clear political divergence between a ''Junta'' in which the military, Catholics and ''primorriveristas'' predominated and a Movement controlled by Serrano Súñer and the Falangists. Consequently, at the beginning of October 1937, Jordana advised Franco either to carry out a profound renovation of the ''Junta'' or to form a proper government. In this he coincided with the opinion of Serrano, who by then had become Franco's main political advisor. Although Franco was slow to put the advice into practice, as early as October he announced the forthcoming formation of a government.

Foreign policy

There was a Secretariat of Foreign Relations headed by the diplomat Francisco Serrat, but it was Sangroniz who really acted as minister in the shadow together with Nicolás Franco. However,

General Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republ ...

could use different collaborators for his negotiations, but he always reserved for himself the predominant role in diplomacy. In June 1937, the debt to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

already amounted to 150 million

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks A collective trademark, collective trade mark, or collective mark is a trademark owned by an organization (such ...

and

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

openly expressed his intention to obtain the Spanish iron ore. The following month, taking advantage of the

battle of Brunete The Battle of Brunete (6–25 July 1937), fought west of Madrid, was a Republican attempt to alleviate the pressure exerted by the Nationalists on the capital and on the north during the Spanish Civil War. Although initially successful, the R ...

, the Germans obtained some economic advantages. Ambassador von Faupel and the new president of the ''Junta'', Jordana, signed a document on June 12Luis Suarez indicates the date of July 12 for this first protocol, that is, only three days before the subsequent joint declaration. in which the rebels undertook to sign a trade agreement with Germany, to inform it of their economic contacts with other states and to give it

most-favored-nation In international economic relations and international politics, most favoured nation (MFN) is a status or level of treatment accorded by one state to another in international trade. The term means the country which is the recipient of this treatme ...

treatment. On July 15 a new joint declaration was signed committing mutual aid in the exchange of raw materials, foodstuffs and manufactured goods. The next day, Spain undertook to pay the war debt in marks at 4% interest. The HISMA-ROWAK companies dominated trade and the new German ambassador,

Eberhard von Stohrer Eberhard von Stohrer (5 February, 1883 – March 7, 1953) was a career German diplomat who served during World War I and World War II. The son of an Army General from Württemberg, he studied at Leipzig University, receiving a Doctor of Law deg ...

, arrived with the task of controlling all Spanish foreign trade with priority for Germany. On October 9, 1937, Franco passed a decree-law declaring null and void all concessions made by any authority. The regulation has been the subject of diverse interpretations by historians, but the Germans perceived it as an attack on their interests because it prevented HISMA money from being invested in the purchase of mining interests. The ''Junta Técnica'' explained to them that the objective was to stop the concessions made by the Valencia government, but the Germans were suspicious of Spanish-British commercial relations. Germany was seeking the recognition of property titles in seventy-three mining concessions thanks to the debt money managed by the Montana consortium, something that the October decree-law had prevented. To get around the obstacle, they asked that the Germans be put on an equal footing with the Spaniards for the purposes of the law. The Spaniards refused, saying that the Mining Law in force only allowed the presence of 20 to 25% of foreign capital, and that it imposed that the directors should be Spanish. They recommended waiting for the formation of the new government. On December 15 and 16, 1937, Von Stohrer met with Sangróniz and Nicolás Franco, from whom he demanded the 73 mining concessions on which HISMA had an option to purchase. Both refused to authorize all the sales en bloc. On the 20th, von Stohrer, accompanied by Johannes Bernhardt, met with General Franco himself. The latter, in a bitter conversation, repeated his brother's refusal. Around January 25, 1938, the ambassador met with Jordana, president of the ''Junta Técnica''. Jordana again refused a block authorization, although he promised to study each case individually. The fall of Teruel at the beginning of January 1938 weakened Franco's position against the demands of his allies.

The repression

The ''Junta Técnica'' had no direct involvement in the more violent repression, which was carried out by the

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

and directly supervised by Franco in his capacity as commander-in-chief. General Martínez Anido, famous for his persecution of

anarchists Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or hierarchy, primarily targeting the state and capitalism. Anarchism advocates for the replacement of the state w ...

in the early 1920s, was appointed director of Internal Security on October 31, 1937, but was in charge of such matters as censorship of spectacles and control of market abuses. The ''Junta'' did participate in the purge of public employees. On December 5, 1936, it decreed the separation from service of public servants of all kinds who were considered contrary to the "''

Movimiento Nacional The Movimiento Nacional () was a governing institution of Spain established by General Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War in 1937. During Francoist Spain#Francoism, Francoist rule in Spain, it purported to be the only channel of parti ...

''". No appeal could be lodged before the courts of justice against the resolution which put an end to the procedure.

Creation of the first government

After the transfer of

's headquarters to

, Serrano Suñer drafted the '' Ley de Administración Central del Estado'', a true "institutional charter" of the Government approved on January 30, 1938. This gave way to an

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

with eleven ministerial portfolios that replaced the dispersed and inefficient previous administration. The composition of this government was the first political exercise of Franco, who tried to ensure that all the tendencies existing in the rebel side were represented in it and that none was predominant. The then president of the ''Junta Técnica'', Jordana, was appointed Vice President of the Government and

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links

Law creating the Junta Técnica del Estado and other agencies.
(In Spanish)
Operating rules of the Junta Técnica del Estado
(In Spanish)
Organizational and Procedural Regulations of the Junta Técnica del Estado.
(In Spanish)
Decree number 10 naming Fidel Dávila president of the Junta in the Boletín Oficial del Estado of October 6, 1936.
(in Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Junta Tecnica del Estado 1936 in Spain 1937 in Spain 1938 in Spain 1936 in politics 1937 in politics 1938 in politics Government of Francoist Spain