“Don’t insult a great man like Franco, who saved his country, by lumping him with Chavez.”
Yes, Franco was a great man and he loved Spain with all his heart. Franco saved Spain from the communists but not from himself, but Juan Carlos did.
After the Civil War in Spain and the period of WWII a democracy in Spain was totally impossible. Franco’s error was that after WWII he did not let true democracy happen in Spain. That held Spain back and made her a third world country for many years.
Franco selected a royal “Juan Carlos” to succeed him upon death as the King of Spain and with the power of a dictator. Juan Carlos upon achieving power after Franco’s death established democracy as quickly as possible. This is exactly the opposite of what Franco had planned.
The action of Juan Carlos precipitated a Coup-de-Tat against him. This is where the true greatness of Juan Carlos occurred. Juan Carlos made a speech directed at the generals behind the coup. He demanded that they halt and stop their coup. The Generals had the weapons but Juan Carlos had the people. These Generals were young men during the civil war. They remembered the horror of that civil war and did not want to see it again. They like Franco, and Jaun Carlos loved Spain more than power. They stepped back.
When Juan Carlos went into the Spanish Parliament and ordered the Generals to allow freedom in Spain he was risking his life.
Franco was flawed but truly a great man that loved Spain.
Juan Carlos is a great man that loves Spain.
The Generals are also truly great men and very flawed. However, their love of Spain was far greater than their many flaws.
Spain is blessed to have had Franco, Juan Carlos and the Generals. If they all did not love Spain it would have ended very very very badly.
I do not know if you have been to Spain but it is a lovely nation with very good people. When I and my wife go there the first thing we do is leave Madrid. We rent a car and go to the places that the Spanish go for vacation and pleasure. We both speak Spanish. Even if you do not speak Spanish, the locals will do their absolute best to make your stay a good stay.
Relative to Madrid, there are many great things to see and the Prado is a must. We leave Madrid because we just do not like being in a big city. There is nothing wrong with Madrid and the architecture of the buildings is magnificent.
ps
The reason that I wrote this note is you said “Franco was a great man.” Very few people know he is a great man and most think of Franco as evil. He was not evil.
I find it telling that where Franco is buried North of Madrid both sides that fought in the civil war are also buried in the same cemetery.
You are exactly right. Don Juan Carlos may not be a perfect man, but he is nevertheless a great man. Franco prevented Spain from becoming a communist anchor in western Europe. For all his faults, he, too, is nevertheless a great man.