ABSTRACT
Paradoxical as it may seem, one legacy of General Franco's dictatorship was to be an outmoded Spanish defence structure and a weakened military industrial base. During the Franco years, the armed forces were separated into three different ministries. Although this arrangement caused coordination problems and economic inefficiencies, it suited the interests of Franco's regime. The armed forces provided the cornerstone of political support for the regime, but Franco still had to deal with and control the different political tendencies that arose within the military institutions (Payne, 1967). His defence legacy has therefore to be understood in terms of the broader internal political context.
