José Antonio Primo de Rivera death (although his sentence was commuted). Franco appointed his own brother-in-law Serrano Suñer to replace him. The reign of Francisco Franco nurtured a convenient cult of personality around the dead figure of Primo de Rivera whom Falangists dubbed "El Ausente" (The Missing One). The founder of Falange was anointed a martyr of the "crusade against Marxism." Notwithstanding the apparent veneration by the Francoist State, it remains true that the Missing One's demise had removed a dangerous opponent: Primo de Rivera had been Marquess, a doctor of civil law, a political thinker; Franco owned no comparable pedigree, no comparable education and
Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes Later on, after the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed in 1931, it was again renamed as "Corts Catalanes". With the Francoist victory after the Civil War, its name was changed to "Avenida de José Antonio Primo de Rivera" in 1939. With the restoration of democracy, its name became "Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes" in 1979. The first line in the Barcelona metro system, built in the 1920s under the name "Gran Metro", covered the distance between Plaça Catalunya and Plaça Espanya, which is nowadays part of Line 1. There are several metro stations located on Gran Via nowadays. Lines