For an ailing man of 82, it was a heroic performance. For a full 90 minutes last week, General Francisco Franco, dictator of Spain for the past 36 years, stood at attention on a gold-railed rostrum, taking the salute as 11,000 troops and "Forces of Public Order" paraded down Madrid's broad Paseo de la Castellana on the annual "Day of Victory" celebrating the final Falangist victory. Franco, unassisted, then descended from the dais, climbed into his huge, pre-World War II Rolls-Royce and, again standing, was slowly driven off to cries of "Franco! Franco! Franco!"
The physically demanding public performance was clearly...
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