 When Spanish troops occupied internationally administered Tangier in June 1940, Sánchez Mazas made a speech stressing the Spanish character of the city.His addition of nationalist rhetoric to an already politically delicate situation earned him a severe dressing down from Franco's brother-in-law and fellow minister, Ramón Serrano Suñer, who later claimed to have been so angry that he tried to punch Sánchez Mazas in the face.In 1940 he was appointed a member of the Real Academia Española but failed to attend his inauguration ceremony.