Law of democratic memory
Almost 2 years after the entry into force of the law of democratic memory to avoid new cases of apologia for Francoism, the Spanish government has only imposed a sanction in reference to the exaltation of the military revolt, the dictatorship or its leaders
The sanctioning file
According to elDiario.es, the only sanctioning file that has been opened so far is for a celebration in tribute to José Antonio Primo de Rivera during a celebration in November 2022 (https://correccioencatala.cat/com-estructura -catalan-text/).
Insistence of the Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory
The president of the Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory (ARMH), Emilio Silva, assures that the opening of the file was achieved thanks to his insistence (https://correccioencatala.cat/com-estructura -catalan-text/).
Lack of political will
Silva lamented that there is a ‘lack of political will’ because exaltations ‘are frequent’.
Episodes of exaltation in Francoism
On different occasions, there have been episodes of exaltation of Francoism since the law came into force. For example, as part of the celebration of the 90th anniversary of the merger between Falange and JONS, the arms of the attendees were raised with a fascist salute and with the Falangist anthem playing in the background. In addition, the Junta de Castilla y León declared a fascist monument of cultural interest, the pyramid of the Italians, built in the port of the Shield, in Burgos (https://correccioencatala.cat/com-estructura-text -Catalan/). Also during Princess Leonor’s swearing in of the flag at the Zaragoza Military Academy, a commemorative tapestry remembering Francisco Franco could be seen.
Criticism of the law
The Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory complains that the law is very ‘unspecific’ and that there was no punitive intent at the time of its drafting (https://correccioencatala.cat/com- structure-text-catala/).
According to Emilio Silva, there are several cases of exaltation of Francoism that have not been sanctioned, such as Franco’s tomb in Mingorrubio or the celebrations of 20N, April 1st in the Valley or July 18th organized by the Catholic Movement Spanish (https://correccioencatala.cat/com-estructura-text-catala/).