The Spanish government is launching the creation of the so-called Truth Commission. She will have to investigate the crimes of the Francoist era and perpetuate the memory of the victims of the regime of Francisco Franco. Many people approve of this initiative, but many criticize it. Critics believe that it is not necessary to stir up the past, as this will not lead to the unity of Spaniards, but rather will work to split society, which, as it seemed, has already been avoided. In addition, additional budget expenditures will be required, and this is at a time when serious social problems have not been solved in the country.
This year, 2025, Spain is celebrating its anniversary. Half a century ago, democracy was restored in the country. General Franco, who seized power as a result of the brutal civil war, died on November 20, 1975. King Juan Carlos I became the head of state, who immediately began dismantling the dictatorship. The democratic reforms were not without difficulty, but they were crowned with success. His guarantee was precisely that the authorities did not stir up the past. It turned out to be a figure of silence, not a subject of condemnation. There are few people who want to return to the days of Francoism, but the attitude towards Franco’s rule, which lasted for almost 40 years, is still ambiguous. For most, he is the executioner of the republic and a henchman of the German Nazis, but there are also those who consider him the savior from communism and the author of the Spanish economic miracle.
The initiative of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is intended to put an end to disputes about the past. He heads a coalition government formed by the ideological antipodes of the Franco–left: the Socialist Party and the Podemos party. The Government has decided to create a special council, which within four months will form a Commission to investigate human rights violations during the war and the dictatorship, or, as it is also called, the Truth Commission. It will include 10 people representing mainly scientific and expert circles. They will have access to the archives, and they will be allowed to make inquiries to government agencies. One of the main directions of her work will be to determine the exact number of victims of repression. The Pravda Commission plans to change the nature of the most important memorial associated with Franco. This refers to the Valley of the Fallen located near Madrid. It was originally built as a memorial to the Francoists who fell during the Civil War. But in 1959, the graves of Republicans were ordered to be added to those of supporters of the Franco regime buried there. The decision was made without taking into account the opinions of the relatives of the victims. Franco, interested in changing the image of his regime, wanted to turn the Valley of the Fallen into a symbol of reconciliation between winners and losers. The dictator himself was buried there. And now a museum dedicated to the victims of the Franco dictatorship will appear in the Valley of the Fallen.
The story of rethinking the past, started by the left, stretches for two decades. In 2007, through the efforts of the socialist Government of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, which existed from 2004 to 2011, the Law on Historical Memory was passed, which for the first time officially condemned Francoism. At the same time, the authorities banned political actions near the Valley of the Fallen and, in fact, outlined the measures that are now expected to be implemented. However, the center-right government that replaced the Socialists decided to return to the principle of “not stirring up the past.”
The Law on Historical Memory came into force with amendments only in 2022 (it became known as the Law on Democratic Memory), when leftists were in power again. Before that, in 2019, Sanchez announced that Franco’s remains would be removed from the Valley of the Fallen. As a result, the former ruler was exhumed and reburied on the outskirts of Madrid. The Government’s actions were accompanied by legal proceedings initiated by the dictator’s relatives. According to polls, there were almost equal numbers of those who supported and opposed the reburial, but the former were slightly more numerous.
In general, even then many Spaniards doubted that it was necessary to heal the wounds of the past. Despite this, the Socialists, remaining in power, continue their active activities in this direction. They consider it unacceptable that the ashes of Republicans and Francoists rest together. It is planned to conduct 13,000 DNA tests as part of the reburial. This alone would require significant expenses, which is exactly what the center–right from the People’s Party justified their refusal to reburial. Some critics of the Government point out that its approach to the topic is biased. After all, crimes, in particular the murders of priests, were also committed by Republicans.
“The Valley of the Fallen itself, where former opponents are buried, is an achievement. And after Franco’s death, with the process of democratization, the civil war began to be viewed by both left and right forces as a national disgrace and a common tragedy,” explains Ekaterina Cherkasova, Senior researcher at the Department of European Political Studies at the Primakov Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
In a conversation with NG, the expert noted that by the time Zapatero’s initiatives appeared, society had practically “turned over this dark page in history.”
“Actually, there are not so many Francoists left. The Vox party, which is often called the ultra-right and heir to the dictatorship, can only be called Francoist with great stretch. There was no split in society, the Spaniards forgave each other. Until the Socialists started reminding us about the fratricidal conflict, there was no argument about it,” Cherkasova says.
She added that the leftists’ initiatives cost the budget a lot of money. Both DNA tests and the creation of new complexes are very expensive activities. All this makes many people doubt their usefulness. In addition, the government risks spending money on the past in a difficult socio-economic situation. On Saturday, April 5, more than 150,000 people took to the streets of Madrid alone to protest. People are unhappy that prices for buying and renting housing continue to rise, especially in the capital and Barcelona, and wage growth is not keeping up with them.
