Manuel Hedilla facts for kids

Manuel Hedilla Larrey (born July 18, 1902, in Ambrosero, Cantabria – died February 4, 1970, in Madrid) was an important Spanish politician. He was a key member of a political group called the Falange. For a short time, he was a rival to Francisco Franco for leadership. Manuel Hedilla worked as a mechanic.

Early Life of Manuel Hedilla

Manuel Hedilla was born in a small village in Cantabria, Spain. His father, who worked for the government, passed away when Manuel was young. He went to Roman Catholic schools in Bilbao. After school, he started learning to be a shipyard worker. However, Spain's shipping industry was struggling, so he lost his job.

Later, he found work on a road-building project. This was during the time when Miguel Primo de Rivera was in charge of the government. When that government ended, Manuel Hedilla became unemployed again. He then moved to Madrid to open his own car repair shop. Unfortunately, his business did not succeed.

Joining the Falange Political Group

In Madrid, Manuel Hedilla found a job as an engineer. He worked at a dairy farm that was run as a co-operative. While working there, he joined the Falange. The Falange was a political group in Spain.

Hedilla was one of the first people to join the Falange. He was also a close friend of José Antonio Primo de Rivera. José Antonio was seen as the leader of the Falange, especially at the start of the Spanish Civil War. After José Antonio Primo de Rivera died, Manuel Hedilla briefly became the leader of the Falange. However, Francisco Franco soon took full control of the movement.

Manuel Hedilla's Conflict with Franco

Manuel Hedilla was the Falange leader in Santander. But he was in A Coruña when the fighting began in northern Spain. He helped to take control of A Coruña. He was also involved in harsh actions there.

Hedilla was part of the Falange's more social reform-minded group. He believed the movement should focus on helping workers. He soon started to criticize the extreme violence by the Nationalists. After José Antonio Primo de Rivera died, Hedilla was chosen to take his place. But he quickly faced a struggle for power. Other leaders, like Agustín Aznar and Sancho Dávila y Fernández de Celis, wanted control.

Hedilla's ideas about social reform gained support. Even the German ambassador, General Wilhelm Faupel, supported him. In April 1937, Hedilla's supporters tried to take control of the Falange headquarters in Salamanca. They wanted to remove the right-wing leader Sancho Dávila.

Two days later, Hedilla became the official leader of the Falange. But his victory did not last long. Franco quickly announced a new, bigger political party. It was called the Spanish Traditionalist Phalanx of the Assemblies of National-Syndicalist Offensive. This new party combined all of Franco's supporters, including Hedilla's followers.

Things got worse when Hedilla's friend, José Sáinz Nothnagel, sent a message. It told Falange leaders to ignore any orders about the merger. This message was seen by Franco as a sign that only Hedilla should be obeyed. This made the tension much higher. Hedilla thought that keeping the Falange separate would make him more powerful. So, he refused to join the council of the new movement.

However, Hedilla had misjudged his power. He was arrested on April 25. The next month, he was sentenced to death. But Ramón Serrano Súñer advised Franco not to carry out the sentence. He worried that Franco would lose the support of the Falange. So, Hedilla's death sentence was changed to life in prison. He ended up serving only four years. Franco still needed the Falange's support. So, he appointed another original Falange member, Raimundo Fernández-Cuesta, as the new leader of the movement.

See also

In Spanish: Manuel Hedilla para niños