Manuel Hedilla
| Manuel Hedilla | |
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Manuel Hedilla in the late '30s (ca)
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| Born |
Manuel Hedilla Larrey July 18, 1902 Ambrosero, Cantabria |
| Died | February 4, 1970 (aged 67) Madrid |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Occupation | Mechanic |
| Known for | Politician |
| Notable work | Testamento politico de Manuel Hedilla (1972) |
| Political party | Falange |
Manuel Hedilla Larrey (born July 18, 1902 in Ambrosero, Cantabria – died February 4, 1970 in Madrid) was a Spanish political figure who was a leading member of the Falange and an early rival for power towards Francisco Franco. By profession he was a mechanic.
Hedilla was born in a village in Cantabria with his civil servant father dying when Hedilla was still a boy. He was educated at Roman Catholic schools in Bilbao before taking an apprenticeship in as a shipyard worker, a route that led to unemployment as Spain's shipping industry was in terminal decline. Under the government of Miguel Primo de Rivera he returned to work on a road-building project, although he was once again unemployed following the collapse of that regime. He moved to Madrid to set up his own garage, although the business was a failure.
In Madrid, Hedilla took up a job as an engineer at a Catholic dairy farm co-operative and whilst involved in this he joined the Traditionalist wing of the Falange. Hedilla was an original member of the Falange and a close associate of José Antonio Primo de Rivera, who during the early stages of the Spanish Civil War was recognised as the leader of the so-called 'Old Shirts'. Indeed, immediately after Primo de Rivera's death he was briefly nominal leader of the Falange before Franco quickly established full control of the movement for himself.
Although nominally the Falangist leader in Santander, Hedilla was based in A Coruña when the northern uprising began. He thus took charge of securing this city and was responsible for the bloody repressions. Despite this Hedilla, who was on the left wing of the Falange and emphasised the proletarian and syndicalist nature of the movement soon became a critic of the indiscriminate violence being perpetrated by the Nationalists. Following the death of José Antonio Primo de Rivera Hedilla was nominated as his successor but he was soon at the centre of a power struggle between himself and the legitimistas led by Agustín Aznar and Sancho Dávila y Fernández de Celis. Hedilla's pro-social reform position won the support of the German ambassador General Wilhelm Faupel and, although Hedilla was not directly involved, his followers took the initiative in Salamanca on April 16th 1937 by attempting to wrest control of the Falangist headquarters from rightist leader Sancho Dávila.
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