Abstract

Since at least 1945, the Franco regime conditioned its existence on the ability to adapt to the demands of the postwar Western world, in various political and social aspects. The most visible changes in the Franco regime were both the progressive disappearance of purely fascist elements and the assumption of a Catholic and anti–communist role that made the face of the Regime more affable, which corresponded to a rapprochement with the recent American ally. However, these transformations must be seen in a broader context, encompassing a historiographic perspective that gives them full meaning. The thesis defended here is that the economic–political line that Francoism followed, especially from the 50s was legitimized by a concrete discourse –hegemonic in the Western part of Europe– which is based on an hegemonic vision: the history of cold war economic liberalism, as well as the idea of ​​modernization that derives from it.