Editing Francisco Franco (section)

==== 1936 general election ====
{{Main|1936 Spanish general election}}
At the end of 1935, President Alcalá-Zamora manipulated a petty-corruption issue into a [[Straperlo|major scandal in parliament]], and eliminated [[Alejandro Lerroux]], the head of the Radical Republican Party, from the premiership. Subsequently, Alcalá-Zamora vetoed the logical replacement, a majority centre-right coalition, led by the CEDA, which would reflect the composition of the parliament. He then arbitrarily appointed an interim prime minister and after a short period announced the dissolution of parliament and new elections.{{sfn|Payne|Palacios|2014|pp=97–98}}

Two wide coalitions formed: the [[Popular Front (Spain)|Popular Front]] on the left, ranging from the [[Republican Union (Spain, 1934)|Republican Union]] to the [[Communist Party of Spain|communists]], and the Frente Nacional on the right, ranging from the centre [[radicalism (historical)|radicals]] to the conservative [[Carlism|Carlists]]. On 16 February 1936 the elections ended in a virtual draw, but in the evening leftist mobs started to interfere in the balloting and in the registration of votes, distorting the results.{{sfn|Payne|Palacios|2014|p=108}}<ref>"Riots Sweep Spain on Left's Victory; Jails Are Stormed", ''The New York Times'', 18 February 1936.</ref> [[Stanley G. Payne]] claims that the process was blatant electoral fraud, with widespread violation of the laws and the constitution.{{sfn|Payne|1993|p=319}}{{sfn|Siaroff|2013|p=119}} In line with Payne's point of view, in 2017 two Spanish scholars, Manuel Álvarez Tardío and Roberto Villa García published the result of a major research work in which they concluded that the 1936 elections were rigged,{{sfn|García|Tardío|2017|p=?}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Redondo |first1=Javier |title=El 'pucherazo' del 36 |date=12 March 2017 |url=https://www.elmundo.es/cronica/2017/03/12/58c3b8bb46163f9f338b457d.html |publisher=El Mundo |language=es}}</ref> a view disputed by Paul Preston,{{sfn|Preston|2020|p=252}} and other scholars such as Iker Itoiz Ciáurriz, who denounces their conclusions as revisionist "classic Francoist anti-republican tropes".{{sfn|Ciáurriz|2020|p=103}}

On 19 February, the cabinet presided over by [[Portela Valladares]] resigned, with a new cabinet being quickly set up, composed chiefly of members of the [[Izquierda Republicana|Republican Left]] and the [[Republican Union (Spain, 1934)|Republican Union]] and presided over by [[Manuel Azaña]].{{sfn|Avilés Farré|2006|pp=397–398}}

[[José Calvo Sotelo]], who made anti-communism the focus of his parliamentary speeches, began spreading violent propaganda—advocating for a military coup d'état, formulating a catastrophist discourse of a dichotomous choice between "communism" or a markedly totalitarian "National" State, and setting the mood of the masses for a military rebellion. The diffusion of the myth about an alleged Communist coup d'état as well a pretended state of "social chaos" became pretexts for a coup. Franco himself along with General [[Emilio Mola]] had stirred an anti-Communist campaign in Morocco.{{sfn|González Calleja|2016|p=5}}

On 23 February, Franco was sent to the [[Canary Islands]] to serve as the islands' military commander, an appointment perceived by him as a ''destierro'' (banishment).{{sfn|Preston|1995|p=120}} Meanwhile, a [[Spanish military conspiracy of 1936|conspiracy led by General Mola]] was taking shape.

Interested in the parliamentary immunity granted by a seat at the Cortes, Franco intended to stand as candidate of the Right Bloc alongside [[José Antonio Primo de Rivera]] for the by-election in the [[province of Cuenca]] programmed for 3 May 1936, after the results of the February 1936 election were annulled in the constituency. But Primo de Rivera refused to run alongside a military officer (Franco in particular) and Franco himself ultimately desisted on 26 April, one day before the decision of the election authority. By that time, PSOE politician [[Indalecio Prieto]] had already deemed Franco as a "possible caudillo for a military uprising".{{sfn|Villaverde|1999|p=16}}

Disenchantment with Azaña's rule continued to grow and was dramatically voiced by [[Miguel de Unamuno]], a republican and one of Spain's most respected intellectuals, who in June 1936 told a reporter who published his statement in El Adelanto that President Manuel Azaña should "...debiera suicidarse como acto patriótico" ("commit suicide as a patriotic act").{{sfn|Evans|2013|p=125}}

In June 1936, Franco was contacted, and a secret meeting was held within [[El Rosario, Tenerife|La Esperanza forest]] on [[Tenerife]] to discuss starting a military coup.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elpais.com/especiales/2006/mirada/fotogaleria_4_3.html |title=Las raíces insulares de Franco (The island roots of Franco) |work=El País |access-date=15 April 2013 |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523055841/http://www.elpais.com/especiales/2006/mirada/fotogaleria_4_3.html |archive-date=23 May 2013}}</ref> An obelisk (which has subsequently been removed) commemorating this historic meeting was erected at the site in a clearing at [[Las Raíces]] in Tenerife.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.laopinion.es/tenerife/2008/11/29/monumento-franco-raices-sera-retirado/184903.html|title=El monumento a Franco en Las Raíces será retirado (Monument to Franco's meeting to be removed)|publisher=Laopinion|date=29 September 2008|access-date=15 April 2013|language=es}}</ref>

Outwardly, Franco maintained an ambiguous attitude until nearly July. On 23 June 1936, he wrote to the head of the government, [[Casares Quiroga]], offering to quell the discontent in the [[Spanish Republican Army]], but received no reply. The other rebels were determined to go ahead ''con Paquito o sin Paquito'' (with ''Paquito'' or without ''Paquito''; ''Paquito'' being a diminutive of ''Paco'', which in turn is short for ''Francisco''), as it was put by [[José Sanjurjo]], the honorary leader of the military uprising. After various postponements, 18 July was fixed as the date of the uprising. The situation reached a point of no return and as presented to Franco by Mola, the coup was unavoidable, and he had to choose a side. He decided to join the rebels and was given the task of commanding the [[Army of Africa (Spain)|Army of Africa]]. A privately owned DH 89 [[De Havilland Dragon Rapide]], flown by two British pilots, [[Cecil Bebb]] and [[Hugh Pollard (intelligence officer)|Hugh Pollard]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2006/jul/18/post233 |title=article in the Guardian about Cecil Bebb |work=The Guardian |location=UK |access-date=2 March 2010 | date=18 July 2006 | first=David | last=Mathieson}}</ref> was chartered in England on 11 July to take Franco to Africa.

The coup underway was precipitated by the assassination of the right-wing opposition leader Calvo Sotelo in retaliation for the murder of assault guard [[José Castillo (Spanish Civil War)|José Castillo]], which had been committed by a group headed by a [[Guardia Civil|civil guard]] and composed of [[Guardia de Asalto|assault guards]] and members of the socialist militias.<ref>{{cite book |title=Modern Warfare in Spain |last=Cortada |first=James W. |year=2011 |publisher=Potomac Books, Inc. |isbn=978-1612341019 |page=43|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3_06uUe91o4C&pg=PT43}}</ref> On 17 July, one day earlier than planned, the Army of Africa rebelled, detaining their commanders. On 18 July, Franco published a manifesto<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.generalisimofranco.com/discurso11.htm |title=Manifesto de las palmas |language=es |access-date=21 July 2006|date=18 July 1936}}</ref> and left for Africa, where he arrived the next day to take command.

A week later the rebels, who soon called themselves the ''Nationalists'', controlled a third of Spain; most naval units remained under control of the [[Republican faction (Spanish Civil War)|Republican]] [[Loyalism|loyalist]] forces, which left Franco isolated. The coup had failed in the attempt to bring a swift victory, but the [[Spanish Civil War]] had begun.