El estudio del personal político es un elemento fundamental para
comprender el régimen de Franco. Centrándonos en el estudio de los
poderes locales del mundo rural podemos acercarnos a las raíces de los
apoyos sociales del franquismo. En el marco de algunas localidades del
mundo rural del sureste español, analizamos la imagen política y social de
los alcaldes y gestores que, desde abajo, auparon y dieron continuidad al
régimen. Y percibimos una ruptura respecto a épocas anteriores: asistimos
a la llegada de unos «hombres nuevos», jóvenes, sin apenas participación
política con las derechas tradicionales antes del 18 de julio, con
una directa implicación y compromiso con el bando nacional durante la
Guerra Civil, y de un origen social tremendamente heterogéneo.

Abstract: In order to understand the Franco regime and how it functioned, it
is crucial to study its state administration and those persons who staffed
it. More specifically, the roots of this administration lie in the local
authorities of rural communities from which the regime received much
of its social support. Within the context of some towns in the rural
South-Eastern Spain, we will analyze the political and social image of the
mayors and town councillors who were the foundation of the Franco
regime. Amongst these one can perceive a rupture in respect to the men
who made up the local political classes. This change was the product of the arrival of «new men», young men without any previous political or
administrative experience, and hence not part of the pre-Civil War «traditional
Right». Instead, these men made their reputations and political
contacts through their direct participation in the «National Uprising»,
and signified a much more heterogeneous social group than those that
constituted the traditional local elite.