As early as the 1930s, Barcelona "had developed a reputation as a symbol of Catalan identity, opposed to the centralising tendencies of Madrid". In 1936, when Francisco Franco started the coup d'état against the democratic Second Spanish Republic, the president of Barcelona, Josep Sunyol, member of the Republican Left of Catalonia and Deputy to The Cortes, was arrested and executed without trial by Franco's troops (Sunyol was exercising his political activities, visiting Republican troops north of Madrid).
In the 1930s, Barcelona was seen as a symbol of Catalan identity, opposing Madrid's centralizing tendencies. In 1936, when Francisco Franco initiated an uprising against the democratic Second Spanish Republic, Josep Sunyol, president of Barcelona and member of the Republican Left of Catalonia, along with his deputy to The Cortes, was arrested and executed without trial by Franco's troops (Sunyol was exercising his political activities, visiting Republican forces north of Madrid).