Miguel Primo de Rivera controlled of the government of Spain in the 1920's. During that time he pursued an interventionist policy. His program for river valley development in Spain became the model for the Tennessee Valley Authority in the United States, which in its turn was widely copied around the world. Primo de Rivera initiated a philosophy of state planning and government intervention in the economy without being an advocate of socialism.

In 1933 the son of Miguel Primo de Rivera, José Antonio, founded a political movement called Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (Traditional Spanish Phalanx of the Juntas of the National Syndicalist Offensive). It became known as the Falange.

The movement campaigned from its founding in 1933 until the election of 1936. The alliance of the communist and socialist parties, the Popular Front, won the election. But the Falange's vote of five thousand was small even in comparison with the losing right-wing parties total of 180 thousand. José Antonio Primo de Rivera who had been a member of the national legislature, the Cortes, was not re-elected. José Antonio continued to be politically active.

The regime established by the Popular Front began to alienate the more conservative elements of Spanish society. These elements under the leadership of Francisco Franco, the most prominent Spanish general, rose in rebellion. Upon this rebellion the Popular Front government arrested and executed José Antonio Primo de Rivera and a few others of the top leadership of the Falange. José Antonio was the martyr of the movement. The membership of the Falange grew over the next year or so to 250 thousand.

Francisco Franco found that the Falange and its ideology had some appeal to the young men of Spain. He took control of the Falange in 1937 and merged it with the traditional conservative movements of monarchists, calling the merged party the Falange. Some more conservative elements looked upon the Falange as the reds (radicals) of the forces aligned with Franco.

Franco put his brother-in-law in charge of the Falange and it became the official party for the regime.