Symbols of Francoism right and extreme left, often degenerating into violence. On the right, the traditionalist Carlist movement revived. In 1933, the aristocratic José Antonio Primo de Rivera, son of the former dictator, founded the far-right Falange movement, similar to the Italian Fascists. In February 1934 the Falange merged with the "Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista" (J.O.N.S), another right-wing group. Left-wing trade unions staged industry-wide or citywide strikes, and in Catalonia Marxist and Anarchist groups competed for power. Landless laborers seized land, occupied estates and burned churches. At a time of political crisis, on 17 July 1936, General Francisco Franco led the Spanish colonial
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