Spain and Franco
monument remains a centre-piece for Francoism, for a scar that has been left untouched for so many years cannot so easily be removed, let alone forgotten. Moreover, there are clear visual depictions of Franco’s regime which have not been eradicated as ‘ Parliamentary attempts to retrospectively delegitimize the Franco years have been blocked by the ruling Partido Popular (PP) ’ . 3 Some churches still display the yoke and arrows of Franco (Spain’s swastika), several streets remain named after Franco ’ s henchmen and that 500 foot shrine that, although no longer holds Franco’s body, profoundly holds his memory. These physical symbols indicate that Franco remains, even in death, ever present in Spain, acting as an inspiration for the extreme right-wing members of society. The People’s Party (PP), which last governed Spain from 2011-18 and is now in opposition, shares much of its DNA with Franco’s regime. The first incarnation of the PP (Alianza Popular) was founded by one of Franco ’s former ministers. 4 It is therefore somewhat unsurprising that the party took a slow and reluctant approach to condemn both the dictator and nationalist street violence. This reluctance is exposed by the ease at which nationalists rioted through Valencia on 9th October 2017, using violence and performing the Nazi salute, to little resistance. The only Spanish party that failed to formally condemn the violence was the PP. The PP also, whilst in power, wanted to stop the exhumation of victims of Franco’s repression, but were happy to repatriate the remains of soldiers who fought for Hitler. Clearly, the previous government avoided criticizing or delegitimizing Fra nco’s rule. Additionally, the violence that Spain has witnessed over the recent years draws some parallels with the violent actions that occurred under Franco, especially surrounding the topic of Catalonian independence. In 2017 the then deputy of the PP and current leader of the opposition, warned that if the Catalonian president dared to declare independence from Spain, he could ‘ end up like ’ Lluís Companys, who was a Catalonian leader executed by Franco in 1940. 5 Although this is most likely to be an empty threat, it implies that Spain is currently in a highly tense and hostile relationship with Catalonia, shown by the ease at which officials seemingly use threatening language when talking to others. These threats of course differ greatly from the actual executions carried out under Franco, but it emphasizes that the political demographic has undergone a significant change, and that Spain is once again in turbulent times. Franco’s prime ideological passion was nationalism. He opposed Catalonian independence, banned the language and used violence to deter Catalonian protestors and nationalists. We see a similar hostile environment today, as seen in the 2017 violent riots. The controversial action, by MPs and certain members of the public, to disallow a referendum appeared to deny the democratic rights of Catalonians. The violent riots witnessed in October 2017 were somewhat reminiscent of the fascist violence that occurred throughout the 20th century, possibly forming the environment for a second civil war. In 2017 around 1,066 people sought medical treatment, but 886 were classed as having a minor injury or condition. 6 More recently, protest and a subsequent general strike have occurred in Spain (2019-2020) following the sentencing of nine Catalonian independence leaders due to their participation in the 2017 attempted referendum. The Supreme Court sentencing of years imprisonment precipitated outrage in Catalonia which led to the aforementioned protests last year. Of 3 Simons, J. Franco ’ s fascism is alive and kicking in Spain . At https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2017/10/francos- fascism-is-alive-and-kicking-in-spain/. 4 Ibid. 5 Pablo Casado’s public comment at Europa Press on 9/10/17. 6 Catalonia: Did voters face worst police violence ever seen in the EU? At https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe- 41677911 (October 2017).
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