Franco in Coimbra or the construction of the official report in spanish culture

Abstract

In October 1949, the fascist leader Francisco Franco made a trip to Portugal, the only official visit he made to another country during his dictatorship. During this trip, the Spaniard received an honoris causa doctorate in Law from the University of Coimbra, in an act full of symbolism, in which he was accompanied by an important trio of Spanish writers related to the regime: Eugenio Montes, Wenceslao Fernández Flórez and Ernesto Giménez Caballero. They contributed remarkably to the construction of the official narrative of that visit, in an interesting process of legitimating support for the Spanish general vis-à-vis the international public opinion, at a time when Spain was politically isolated.