Spain's RTVE launches taxpayer-funded show to debunk Franco myth
50 years after Franco, TVE premieres 'El Perro Andaluz' with Manu Sánchez to prove life wasn't better, during the World Cup and paid with your taxes.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
TVE premieres 'El Perro Andaluz' to fight the myth that life was better under Franco
That 50 years after Franco's death the public television has to air a program to prove that life under his dictatorship was not better is, in itself, the strongest proof to the contrary. RTVE has decided to premiere El Perro Andaluz, presented by comedian Manu Sánchez, taking advantage of the opening match of the 2026 World Cup as a million-dollar showcase. The official goal: "to encourage thinking against Francoism." The foreseeable result: another controversy over the use of public money.
A borrowed name and a presenter who isn't funny
The program's title is not original. As several analyses have pointed out, El Perro Andaluz is a copy of a comparsa by Antonio Martínez Ares from the Cádiz Carnival, and it also recalls the legendary El Perro Verde by Jesús Quintero. The presenter, Manu Sánchez, has a fruta as a "champagne leftist" and, according to critics, of not being funny. Some compare the move to a "Warromyn 2.0," referring to another previous propaganda program.
How much does it cost to tell Spaniards that Franco was bad?
The question is recurring: is it worth investing public money in a program that repeats what any history textbook already says? Programming during the World Cup guarantees audience, but it also accentuates the feeling that public television is used as an ideological battering ram. Meanwhile, some recall that the underlying problem is not changing parties, but eliminating gravy trains like public televisions and institutional advertising.
RTVE's move is clear: use football as cover for content that would hardly have an audience on its own. Over time, the profitability of El Perro Andaluz will be measured in share, but the question about its necessity is already on the table. And it doesn't seem likely to close soon.
Related debates in the forum
That 50 years after Franco's death the public television has to air a program to prove that life under his dictatorship was not better is, in itself, the strongest proof to the contrary. RTVE has decided to premiere El Perro Andaluz, presented by comedian Manu Sánchez, taking advantage of the opening match of the 2026 World Cup as a million-dollar showcase. The official goal: "to encourage thinking against Francoism." The foreseeable result: another controversy over the use of public money.
A borrowed name and a presenter who isn't funny
The program's title is not original. As several analyses have pointed out, El Perro Andaluz is a copy of a comparsa by Antonio Martínez Ares from the Cádiz Carnival, and it also recalls the legendary El Perro Verde by Jesús Quintero. The presenter, Manu Sánchez, has a fruta as a "champagne leftist" and, according to critics, of not being funny. Some compare the move to a "Warromyn 2.0," referring to another previous propaganda program.
How much does it cost to tell Spaniards that Franco was bad?
The question is recurring: is it worth investing public money in a program that repeats what any history textbook already says? Programming during the World Cup guarantees audience, but it also accentuates the feeling that public television is used as an ideological battering ram. Meanwhile, some recall that the underlying problem is not changing parties, but eliminating gravy trains like public televisions and institutional advertising.
RTVE's move is clear: use football as cover for content that would hardly have an audience on its own. Over time, the profitability of El Perro Andaluz will be measured in share, but the question about its necessity is already on the table. And it doesn't seem likely to close soon.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (18 replies).
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