Spain’s Supreme Court Orders Exhumation of Franco’s Remains

Valley of the Fallen, Wikimedia Commons.

Forty-four years after his death, the Supreme Court of Spain has ruled in favour of moving the body of Francisco Franco, the Spanish dictator who ruled over the country from 1939 to 1973, from his tomb at the Valley of the Fallen monument. The Spanish government plans to move the body to Mingorrubio El Pardo, a state cemetery just outside of Madrid where Franco’s wife is buried. 

Although actions have been taken by Franco’s family to stop the exhumation of his body, these appeals have been rejected by the Supreme Court.

Under Franco’s regime, the government arrested 26,000 political prisoners, and followers of any religion other than Catholicism were persecuted. During and after the Spanish Civil War, 500,000 people died and 140,000 people disappeared. 

This decision marks the end of a decade long struggle among Spanish government officials regarding the implications of keeping Franco’s remains in a large mausoleum. Critics of keeping Franco’s remains in the mausoleum say that doing so glorifies Franco’s regime, one that was filled with suffering and terror for many. However, supporters of the status quo say that moving Franco’s remains will reopen “old wounds that never fully healed” following the civil war. 

Nonetheless, this ruling solidifies the position of the new Socialist government in Spain, as it had used this as a campaign platform prior to its successful election last summer. The issue of Franco’s burial site has been a seriously divisive topic in Spain as it is “seen by many as a monument to fascism,” according to NPR. The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) says that this move is necessary in order to provide the Spanish people and the families of victims the closure that they need but haven’t gotten. Moving Franco’s body is a key promise fulfilled for the government of Pedro Sanchez, the current prime minister, prior to general elections coming up this November. 

Santiago Abascal, the leader of the main far-right party, Vox, has attacked the government’s action, tweeting, “This is how the socialist campaign begins, profaning tombs, questioning the legitimacy of the monarchy.”