Falange Española de las JONS the Second Spanish Republic. Expanding rapidly from several thousand to several hundred thousand members, the Falange's male membership was accompanied by a female auxiliary, the "Sección Femenina". Led by José Antonio's sister Pilar, this latter subsidiary organization claimed more than a half million members by the end of the Civil War and provided nursing and support services for the Nationalist forces. The command of the party rested upon Manuel Hedilla as many of the first generation leaders were dead or incarcerated by the Republicans. Among them was José Antonio Primo de Rivera, who was a Government prisoner. As a result,
Miguel Primo de Rivera 1926, former politicians, led by conservative José Sánchez Guerra, pressed the king to remove Primo de Rivera and restore constitutional government. To demonstrate his public support, Primo de Rivera ordered the UP to conduct a plebiscite in September. Voters could endorse the regime or abstain. About a third of those able to vote declined to go to the polls. Nevertheless, buoyed by his victory, Primo de Rivera decided to create an entirely new political system. On 10 October 1927, with the king in attendance, he opened a National Assembly. Although they met in the Cortes chamber, members of the regime-appointed