Franco’s Spain did not simply lack hunger; it endured a brutal food crisis that cost at least 200,000 lives through illnesses linked to starvation and malnutrition. The scale is vast, and the way it was concealed — through euphemisms, famines, and relentless droughts — marks a key distinction. This interpretation has gained traction among historians and was advanced, for example, by Miguel Ángel del Arco Blanco in his study “Famine in Spain, the dictatorship of Franco 1939-1952,” published in the Journal of Contemporary History in 2020. The character Carpanta, created by Josep Escobar, remains emblematic, celebrated in a 75th anniversary anthology that recalls a relentless fight against Francoism.
