'Hombres nuevos'. El personal político del primer franquismo en el mundo rural del sureste español (1936-1951)

Abstract

El estudio del personal político es un elemento fundamental para comprender el régimen de Franco. Centrándonos en el estudio de los poderes locales del mundo rural podemos acercarnos a las raíces de los apoyos sociales del franquismo. En el marco de algunas localidades del mundo rural del sureste Español, analizamos la imagen política y social de los alcaldes y gestores que, desde abajo, auparon y dieron continuidad al régimen. Y percibimos una ruptura respecto a épocas anteriores: asistimos a la llegada de unos «hombres nuevos», jóvenes, sin apenas participación política con las derechas tradicionales antes del 18 de julio, con una directa implicación y compromiso con el bando nacional durante la Guerra Civil, y de un origen social tremendamente heterogéneo.

In order to understand the Franco regime and how it functioned, it is crucial to study its state administration and those persons who staffed it. More specifically, the roots of this administration lie in the local authorities of rural communities from which the regime received much of its social support. Within the context of some towns in the rural South-Eastern Spain, we will analyze the political and social image of the mayors and town councillors who were the foundation of the Franco regime. Amongst these one can perceive a rupture in respect to the men who made up the local political classes. This change was the product of the arrival of “new men”, young men without any previous political or administrative experience, and hence not part of the pre-Civil War “traditional Right”. Instead, these men made their reputations and political contacts through their direct participation in the “National Uprising”, and signified a much more heterogeneous social group than those that constituted the traditional local elite.