José Antonio Primo de Rivera of one-party rule Falange preferred the formalities of a liberal democracy. The party had no formal view on religion other than to guarantee freedom of worship while at the same time acknowledging and affirming that Roman Catholicism was the historical religion of the Spanish people and its spiritual role in society was important to them. In Primo de Rivera's thinking the ultimate goal of the new political movement was the resurgence of Spain as a major power. Article 1 of the Falangist Manifesto of 1934 reads, We believe in the supreme reality of Spain. To strengthen her, to make her
José Antonio Primo de Rivera local Nationalists killed during the war; Primo de Rivera's name headed every list. The second was the rallying cry, ""José Antonio—¡Presente!"," a figurative reply to an imaginary roll call invoking his ghostly attendance or immanence. With the arrival of democratic rule, the legacy of Primo de Rivera and the cult of personality created by the Spanish state started to wane circumspectly. In 1981, the City Hall of Madrid moved to reinstate the original name of its grand avenue, the Gran Vía, which Franco had renamed "Avenida José Antonio Primo de Rivera" in 1939. However, as late as March 2005, the