Spanish State

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The Spanish State (Estado Español) was the formal name given to Spain from 1939 to 1978 by the régime of Francisco Franco (d. 1975).

Spanish stamp (1937-1940)

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When the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936, the Nationalist forces immediately began using the form the Spanish State rather than the Spanish Republic or the Spanish Monarchy, out of deference to the differing political sensibilities of the members of the Nationalist coalition, which included, amongst others, the anti-monarchic fascist Falangists, and the rival conservative-monarchist Carlists and Legitimist parties. The Republic, largely under socialist influence, continued to be the functional government of part of the country until 1939, when it was finally defeated by the Nacionales of General Franco.

The Spanish State was declared a monarchy in 1947, but no king was designated; the Head of State, Francisco Franco, reserved for himself the right to name the person to be king, and deliberately delayed the selection due to political considerations. The selection finally came in 1969, with the designation of Juan Carlos de Borbón as Franco's official successor. (This selection was an unpleasant surprise for many interested parties, as Juan Carlos was the rightful heir for neither the Carlists nor the Legitimists).

With the death of Franco and the dismantling of the Francoist regime, the denomination of "Spanish State" ceased to be official, being replaced by "Kingdom of Spain", in that the country was reconstituted as a democratic parliamentary monarchy, where the head of state reigns, but does not rule.

[edit] Present day use of the term

After Franco's death and the passing of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 the term El Estado Español and its translations experienced a revival usage, as the term has been picked up, specially by separatists or regional nationalists^[1]^[2]^[3] from Catalonia, the Basque Country and Galicia, who only rarely may use the word "Spain" because they do not recognize Spain as a nation-state but rather as a state composed of several nations. The leftist party Izquierda Unida follows a similar stance in the matter.^{[citation needed]}

This usage has also been adopted by various left-wing circles throughout the world^{[citation needed]}. The formula may also be used by these while referring to other countries not perceived as nations, such as in El Estado Francés ("the French State") for France. In this usage, for example, the State Association of Professionals of Sexology^[4] or the State Association of Temporary Work^[5] are to be understood as "associations for all Spain" rather than "an association of state workers or companies".