Blas Piñar

Who is Blas Piñar?

Blas Piñar is a Spanish politician. He has had connections with Catholic organizations; directed the Institute of Spanish Culture and served as deputy in the Cortes and a councillor of the Movimiento Nacional.

In the 1960s, Blas Piñar was in charge of the Institute of Spanish Culture that was dedicated to managing scholarships between Latin American and Spanish universities. After a trip to Latin America and the Philippines, Piñar wrote an article for the Madrid newspaper Diario ABC. The article, entitled "Hypocrites," harshly criticized the foreign policy of the United States. At that time, the Francisco Franco regime depended on bilateral relations with the United States to maintain international recognition for the dictatorship. Franco's minister of Foreign Affairs, after giving many explanations to the US ambassador, dismissed Piñar. Despite the dismissal, Piñar's loyalty to the Franco regime did not diminish.

He was an opponent of the breakup of the regime. He voted and argued against the Law for Political Reform. He saw the law not as an attempt at reform, but an attempt at disintegration. Piñar also opposed the Spanish Constitution of 1978 and voted against it in its entirety.