Franco’s remains to be exhumed, threatening to reopen Spain’s old wounds
Franco, who ruled Spain with an iron fist from the end of the 1936-39 civil war until his death in 1975, is buried in an imposing basilica 50km outside Madrid
Spain’s Socialist government passed a decree on Friday allowing the exhumation of the remains of Francisco Franco from his vast mausoleum, a decision that divides Spaniards and has opened old wounds.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who came to power in June after he ousted his conservative predecessor in a confidence vote, has made removing the late dictator from the divisive monument in the Valle de los Caidos (Valley of the Fallen) near Madrid one of his priorities.
“As an established and European democracy, Spain cannot allow for symbols that divide Spaniards,” Sanchez told public broadcaster TVE shortly after he came to power, adding such a mausoleum would be “unthinkable” in other European nations that had fascist dictatorships like Italy and Germany.
Friday’s decision was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo, but the decree will still have to be approved in parliament.
Sanchez’s Socialists say the goal is to convert the site into a place of “reconciliation” and memory for all Spaniards.