Franco's Beliefs: Nationalism, an Authoritarian Political System, Catholicism, Imperialism, a Traditional Social Structure, and a Corporative Regime

From the 1920s to the end of his life Franco held firmly to certain basic convictions that underwent little change. He believed in Spanish nationalism and unity, directed by an authoritarian political system. He was also an observant Catholic of a very traditional kind and sought to restore as much as possible of traditional Catholic culture. He was strongly imperialist in foreign policy, believing in the importance of retaining what little remained of the Spanish Empire, and of adding to it as circumstances permitted. In domestic affairs, he wished to maintain a relatively traditional social structure, though he recognized the need to expand the middle classes and achieve a more technically proficient society, its stresses to be meliorated by modern economic development. In economics Franco strongly favored a nationalist and corporative regime, designed to foster industry and technology even while maintaining a largely traditional cultural and social system.

--Stanley G. Payne, Franco and Hitler: Spain, Germany, and World War II (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008), 11.