n.
(Spanish: "Phalanx") Extreme nationalist political group in Spain.
Founded in 1933 by José Antonio Primo de Rivera and influenced by Italian fascism , the Falange gained popularity in opposition to the Popular Front government of 1936. Gen. Francisco Franco merged the group with other right-wing factions by decree in 1937 and became the Falange's absolute chief. 150,000 Falangists served in Franco's armed forces in the Spanish Civil War . After their victory, the Falange's fascism was subordinated to the Franco regime's conservative values. On Franco's death in 1975 a law was passed permitting other "political associations," and the Falange was abolished in 1977.