In 1937, during the course of the Spanish Civil War, it formally disappeared after Francisco Franco's merger of the variety of far-right organizations in the rebel zone into a single party.[7] RE espoused a kind of authoritarian statist corporatism, particularly marked after Calvo Sotelo took control of the party.[9] RE was also closely linked to the military group Unión Militar Española which played an important role in bringing about civil war.[10] During the opening stages of the civil war RE was close to General Emilio Mola, who consulted regularly with the group's leadership.Virtually all Nationalist groups had very strong Roman Catholic convictions and supported the native Spanish clergy.