The Falange was a Spanish fascist party formed in 1933 by Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, son of the former Spanish dictator, Miguel Primo de Rivera. The Falange adopted many of the characteristics of fascist parties across Europe - they formed a paramilitary group known as the 'blue-shirts' and advocated the replacement of democracy with a fascist dictatorship. During the Civil War (1936-39), the Falange was a key part of the Nationalist forces, responsible for finding and executing supporters of the Republic after successful Nationalist conquests. After the Nationalist victory in the Civil War, the Falange became an important part of Francisco Franco's government, but their influence eroded in the 1960s due to the failure of the corporatist economic system in the 1940s and 50s and the success of new free-market reforms that the Falange opposed.