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Spain has commemorated the five-decade milestone of dictator Franco's demise with an no formal commemorations but with a call from the prime minister to heed the lessons of the dictatorship and protect democratic liberties that was wrenched from us for decades.

Background History

The dictator, whose armed uprising against the democratically elected administration in 1936 sparked a civil conflict and resulted in forty years of authoritarian rule, passed away in Madrid on the twentieth of November, 1975.

While the current administration has planned a twelve-month program of events to mark the post-Franco transformation, it avoided official ceremonies on the specific date of the ruler's demise to deter suggestions that it was trying to honor his death.

Current Issues

The commemoration occurs during rising apprehension about the limited understanding about the dictatorship, especially among younger Spaniards.

Recent polling has revealed that more than 21% of respondents felt the Franco regime was favorable or highly favorable, while additional research found almost a quarter of youth population felt that an non-democratic system could sometimes be preferable to a democratic system.

Official Position

No democracy – including ours – is perfect, the leader stated. Much remains to be done to create the preferred country and that we can be: a nation with greater possibilities; more rights and less inequality.

The premier, who deliberately avoided mentioning Franco by name, also observed that liberties weren't automatically granted, emphasizing that present-day rights had been secured by the determination and fortitude of citizens.

Remembrance Programs

The administration has employed historical memory legislation enacted recently to assist the nation come to terms with its past.

• Redesignating the Valley of Cuelgamuros – formerly called the Memorial Valley
• Developing a registry of property confiscated during the era
• Working to strip Spain the last vestiges of Francoist symbols

Foundation Closure Efforts

The government is also in the final stages of its attempts to shut down the Francisco Franco National Foundation, which exists to preserve and advance the leader's memory.

The heritage department head declared that his ministry was attempting to guarantee that Franco's official archive – presently held by the organization – was handed over to the state so it could be available to citizens.

Political Resistance

The opposition conservative People's party is boycotting the government's initiative to mark five decades of freedom, as is the conservative faction, which dismissed the programme an absurd necrophilia that splits the population.

Historical Impact

Numerous citizens perished in the civil war, while countless additional people were forced into exile.

Punitive measures extended long after the conflict ended in 1939, and the corpses of countless individuals killed during the war and in its aftermath are believed to be in anonymous burial sites.

Government Transformation

After the dictator's death, Spain started the journey back to democracy, holding free elections in the late seventies and adopting a modern framework in a national vote subsequently.