Throughout World War II, the Allied powers maintained a diplomatic and economic boycott of Franco's Spain, viewing the regime as a fascist ally of Nazi Germany. The boycott, which included the withdrawal of ambassadors and trade restrictions, contributed to Spain's economic isolation and hardship during the early 1940s. However, Franco's pragmatic neutrality and his refusal to join the Axis powers prevented the Allies from taking more aggressive action against his regime.

The international isolation of Spain was a theme in the poetry of Spanish exiles, who saw the boycott as a form of justice for the Republic. The isolation also shaped the poetry of those who remained in Spain, who wrote in a climate of economic hardship and cultural stagnation. The poetry of this period often reflected the sense of Spain being cut off from the rest of Europe, a theme that would persist until the regime's later opening.