It was only long after he was dead that it was safe to say you opposed him. I don't imagine Franco is well thought of Guernica.
Had the Stalinists won, the number of murders might have been in the hundreds of thousands or even millions. The Reds were also burning churches, and mass murdering priest and nuns (as the Bolsheviks did wherever they came to power.)
Franco was the better alternative. I believe Pat Buchanan also said as much.
The day might come when the Left becomes so strong in this country that only a rightist "thug" will be able to defeat the Left. Sometimes reality doesn't present you with an ideal alternative.
There was no Franco Youth. No indoctrination camps. He protected private property, and allowed parents and the Church raise children as they saw fit.