Skip to content
1981
The Rise of the Far Right in Spain and Portugal
  • ISSN: 1364-971X
  • E-ISSN: 1758-9150

Abstract

The relatively late emergence of an electorally successful far-right party in Spain (Vox) confounded observers who had long assumed that the country’s recent experience with dictatorship had rendered it immune to the temptations of right-wing populism. Yet a closer analysis of the nature and evolution of the Spanish Right reveals that the absence of a far-right party should not have been read as an absence of far-right sentiments. For these, the Partido Popular, which identifies itself as centre right but has never identified as anti-fascist, long provided a welcome home. The fact that it continues to do so to this day shapes its relationship to Vox and sets it apart from most of its counterparts in Western Europe.

Resumen

La emergencia relativamente tardía en España de un partido político de extrema derecha electoralmente exitoso (Vox) ha mistificado a numerosos observadores que asumieron por mucho tiempo que la experiencia dictatorial que tuvo el país en la segunda mitad del siglo XX le había conferido cierta inmunidad ante las tentaciones del populismo de derechas. Sin embargo, un análisis más cuidadoso de la naturaleza y la evolución de las derechas en España revela que la ausencia de un partido de extrema derecha no debería haberse leído necesariamente como indicadora de una ausencia de sentimientos de extrema derecha. La verdad es que durante mucho tiempo, estos sentimientos han encontrado cobijo en el Partido Popular, que se autoidentifica como centroderecha pero nunca se ha identificado como antifascista. El hecho de que el PP siga dando ese cobijo hoy es un factor determinante para comprender la relación entre el PP y Vox y distingue al PP de sus homólogos en Europa occidental.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/ijis_00136_1
2025-01-20
2025-02-15
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Aguilar, Paloma (2002), Memory and Amnesia: The Role of the Spanish Civil War in the Transition to Democracy, New York: Berghahn.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Alonso, Sonia and Rovira Kaltwasser, Cristóbal (2015), ‘Spain: No country for the populist radical right?’, South European Society and Politics, 20:1, pp. 2145.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Bastante, Jesús (2018), ‘Las conexiones de Vox con HazteOir, los “kikos” y una docena de obispos españoles’, elDiario.es, 7 December, https://www.eldiario.es/sociedad/conexiones-vox-grupos-ultracatolicos_1_1799146.html. Accessed 20 September 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Batalla, Pablo (2021), Los nuevos odres del nacionalismo español, Oviedo: Trea.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Bayo, Carlos E. (2021), ‘Grandes fortunas y altos ejecutivos españoles financiaron el nacimiento de Vox a partir del grupo ultracatólico Hazte Oír’, Público, 5 August, https://www.publico.es/politica/exclusiva-wikileaks-grandes-fortunas-altos-ejecutivos-espanoles-financiaron-nacimiento-vox-partir-grupo-ultracatolico-hazte-oir.html. Accessed 20 September 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Bohórquez, Lucía (2024), ‘El presidente del Parlamento balear, de Vox, rompe la foto de una víctima de la Guerra Civil y expulsa a dos diputadas socialistas’, El País, 18 June, https://elpais.com/espana/2024-06-18/el-presidente-del-parlamento-balear-de-vox-rompe-la-foto-de-una-victima-de-la-guerra-civil-y-echa-a-dos-diputadas-socialistas.html. Accessed 20 September 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Bordel Gil, Jaime (2024), ‘Vox y el último paso de la deriva Buxadé’, El Salto Diario, 15 July, https://www.elsaltodiario.com/vox/vox-ultimo-paso-deriva-buxade. Accessed 20 September 2014.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Carlson, Tucker (@TuckerCarlson) (2023), ‘Ep. 40 Spain’s descent into tyranny seems eerily familiar’, X, 17 November, https://x.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1725556767365443753?lang=en. Accessed 25 October 2024.
  9. Casals, Xavier (2020), ‘¿Cómo definir a Vox? Cinco claves interpretativas’, Barcelona Metrópolis, 20 October, https://www.barcelona.cat/metropolis/es/contenidos/como-definir-vox-cinco-claves-interpretativas. Accessed 20 September 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Cervera Lovegra, Alfons (2024), ‘Para PP y Vox ser un antifascista es un delito’, El Viejo Topo, 18 March, https://www.elviejotopo.com/topoexpress/para-pp-y-vox-ser-un-antifascista-es-un-delito/. Accessed 20 September 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Civieta, Óscar F. (2020), ‘El “VOX policial” y la radicalización de los Cuerpos de Seguridad del Estado’, La Marea, 3 December, https://www.lamarea.com/2020/12/03/el-vox-policial-y-la-radicalizacion-de-los-cuerpos-de-seguridad-del-estado/. Accessed 20 September 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Cristóbal, Natalia (2023), ‘Vox recurre la Ley de Memoria Democrática y se compromete a derogarla cuando llegue al Gobierno’, El Debate, 13 January, https://www.eldebate.com/espana/20230113/vox-recurre-ley-memoria-democratica-compromete-derogarla-cuando-llegue-gobierno_85914.html. Accessed 23 September 2024.
  13. Echevarría, Ignacio (2019), ‘Apuntes alrededor de “Mientras dure la guerra”’, CTXT: Revista Contexto, 20 November, https://ctxt.es/es/20191120/Culturas/29670/mientras-dure-la-guerra-franquismo-ignacio-echevarria.htm. Accessed 20 September 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Elorduy, Pablo (2023), ‘El voto escorado de las armas’, El Salto Diario, 19 May, https://www.elsaltodiario.com/elecciones/tendencia-voto-derecha-militares-policias-guardias-civiles. Accessed 20 September 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Faber, Sebastiaan (2022), Leyendas negras, marcas blancas: La malsana obsesión con la imagen de España en el mundo, Madrid: Contexto.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Faber, Sebastiaan (2023), Exhuming Franco: Spain’s Second Transition, 2nd rev. ed., Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Faber, Sebastiaan and Seguín, Bécquer (2019), ‘Spain’s radical right is here to stay – but did it ever leave?’, The Nation, 10 January, https://www.thenation.com/article/spain-vox-radical-right-populism-catalonia/. Accessed 20 September 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Gilmartin, Eoghan (2023), ‘Spain’s far right say they’re rebels – but the establishment’s already accepted them’, Jacobin, 22 July, https://jacobin.com/2023/07/spain-Vox-far-right-election-populism-franco-eu/. Accessed 20 September 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Gilmartin, Eoghan (2024), ‘Spain’s Vox party is the center of the global far right’, Jacobin, 26 May, https://jacobin.com/2024/05/vox-meloni-orban-milei-far-right. Accessed 20 September 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Heyne, Lee and Manucci, Luca (2021), ‘A new Iberian exceptionalism? Comparing the populist radical right electorate in Portugal and Spain’, Political Research Exchange, 3:1, https://doi.org/10.1080/2474736X.2021.1989985.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Hora25 (2024), ‘Esto es un discurso falangista’, X, 11 September, https://x.com/Hora25/status/1833975340965749184. Accessed 20 September 2024.
  22. Irujo, José M. and Gil, Joaquín (2019), ‘Vox se fundó con un millón de euros del exilio iraní’, El País, 21 January, https://elpais.com/politica/2019/01/18/actualidad/1547834274_728411.html. Accessed 20 September 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Jiménez Losantos, Federico (2024), ‘Federico Jiménez Losantos entrevista a Isabel Díaz Ayuso’, esRadio, 11 September, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJKvys-rlvU. Accessed 20 September 2024.
  24. Juliana, Enric (2018), ‘A la derecha le cambia la vox’, La Vanguardia, 7 October, https://www.lavanguardia.com/opinion/20181007/452207329244/a-la-derecha-le-cambia-la-vox.html. Accessed 20 September 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Juliana, Enric (2020), ‘La consigna es: “Gobierno ilegítimo”’, La Vanguardia, 6 January, https://www.lavanguardia.com/politica/20200106/472723679462/investidura-congreso-psoe-podemos-pp-ciudadanos-vox.html. Accessed 20 September 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Kennedy, James (2013), ‘Prinsenvlag PVV kan polariserend werken’, Trouw, 5 October, https://www.trouw.nl/nieuws/prinsenvlag-pvv-kan-polariserend-werken~b55f8a5c/. Accessed 20 September 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Luscombe, Richard (2023), ‘Tucker Carlson fired by Fox News for getting “too big for his boots”, book says’, The Guardian, 31 October, https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/oct/31/tucker-carlson-fox-news-book-brian-stelter. Accessed 20 September 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Mateo, Juan J. (2019), ‘Ayuso, sobre la exhumación de Franco: “¿Qué será lo siguiente? ¿Las parroquias del barrio? ¿Arderán como en el 36?”’, El País, 3 October, https://elpais.com/ccaa/2019/10/03/madrid/1570093768_498644.html. Accessed 20 September 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Mathiesen, Karl (2024), ‘Dutch, Spanish far-right parties to join Orbán’s patriots for Europe’, Politico Europe, 6 July, https://www.politico.eu/article/netherlands-spain-far-right-viktor-orban-patriots-for-europe-hungary/. Accessed 20 September 2024.
  30. Mudde, Cas (2019), ‘Why copying the populist right isn’t going to save the left’, The Guardian, 14 May, https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/may/14/why-copying-the-populist-right-isnt-going-to-save-the-left. Accessed 20 September 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
  31. Mudde, Cas and Greilinger, Gabriela (2024), ‘Europe’s far-right parties are anti-worker: The evidence clearly proves it’, The Guardian, 12 September, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/sep/12/europe-far-right-parties-anti-worker-voting-pay-tax. Accessed 25 October 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
  32. Núñez Seixas, Xosé M. (2018), Suspiros de España: El nacionalismo español, 1808–2018, Barcelona: Crítica.
    [Google Scholar]
  33. Partido Popular (2024), ‘El PP exige una ley de memoria democrática “inclusiva y que sirva para unir y no para confrontar”’, Partido Popular, 20 June, https://www.pp.es/actualidad-noticia/pp-exige-una-ley-memoria-democratica-inclusiva-que-sirva-unir-no-confrontar. Accessed 23 September 2024.
  34. Quiroga, Alejandro (2021), ‘El envés del antifascismo’, elDiario.es, 11 June, https://www.eldiario.es/contrapoder/enves-antifascismo_132_8023484.html. Accessed 20 September 2024.
  35. Romero, Alexis and Muñoz, Miguel (2023), ‘Del Gobierno “ilegítimo” a la violencia en las calles: Tres años de una derecha destructiva en la oposición’, Público, 12 November, https://publico.es/politica/del-gobierno-ilegitimo-violencia-calles-tres-anos-derecha-destructiva-oposicion.html. Accessed 23 September 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
  36. Rubio-Pueyo, Vicente (2019), Vox: A New Far Right in Spain?, New York: Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, New York Office.
    [Google Scholar]
  37. Santana, Andrés, Zanotti, Lisa, Rama, José and Turnbull-Dugarte, Stuart (2021), ‘The radical right populist Vox and the end of Spain’s exceptionalism’, The Loop: ECPR’s Political Science Blog, 18 June, https://theloop.ecpr.eu/the-radical-right-populist-vox-and-the-end-of-spains-exceptionalism/. Accessed 20 September 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
  38. Wilson, Jason (2023), ‘Why is the US far right finding its savior in Spanish dictator Francisco Franco?’, The Guardian, 15 December, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/15/us-far-right-francisco-franco-spanish-civil-war. Accessed 20 September 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1386/ijis_00136_1
Loading
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test