Synthetic fuels in Spain, 1942-66: the failure of Franco's autarkic dream

This article studies the production of synthetic fuels in Spain under the dictatorship of General Franco. The Spanish synthetic fuels experiment was carried out by a state-owned firm which was endowed with huge financial and commercial privileges. The technological support for the project was to come from the German firm I.G. Farben. After the Nazi defeat, it suffered cutbacks and delays. The factory only reached normal levels of production in 1957, when the restrictions which had justified the project had disappeared. This study contends that the coincidence of state ownership and the absence of democratic controls may encourage economic adventurism and have serious consequences for a country's economic development.