Not Dead Enough
Forty years ago today, Spain changed. It began with a death. The death that was announced on black and white national television by the teary-eyed Prime Minister, Carlos Arias Navarro. "Franco ha muerto."
The fascist dictator of Spain for almost forty desolate years was eighty-two years old. He had been in and out of the hospital for the past year. One could say he died of old age and the complications of Parkinson's disease. But before he died, in September he signed the last death sentences for five men. They were the last to be executed in Spain before the death penalty was abolished in 1978. Franco was ornery to the last.
He was buried in the mausoleum built by Republican prisoners of war under conditions Hitler would have approved of. This mausoleum, the Valle de los Caídos, has an enormous white cross. It actually occupies a small mountain that was hollowed out to create it. Driving northwest on the A-6 out of Madrid, you can see it to the left as you approach the Guadarrama mountain range. But, unless you want to contribute to the upkeep of a dictator's tomb and memory, don't bother to go. You have to pay to drive up to the area. It's better to continue down the road to El Escorial and visit the monastery there, where the kings of Spain since Charles I (Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire) are buried. That is worth the entrance fee.
Every year on this date the crazies are let loose. There are far-right groups that get together on this day and honor Franco's memory publicly. They also sometimes commit vandalism against whatever they think undermines Spanish hegemony (just about everything). The far-left groups also lead protests against honoring Franco's memory and deface whatever francoist memorial they can still find. (Of which there are still too many.) But the problem is that Franco's ideas still surround us, though in a more muted form. The centralization that has been a standard ever since the Catholic Monarchs, was reinforced by Franco. That is now the bane of a Spain that has embraced its cultural diversity socially, but not politically. The autonomous regions of Spain have less rights than each of the states of the United States. That has contributed to the Catalan independence movement. The ever-present role of the Church in state ceremonies and public education, despite the clause in the 1978 Consitution declaring Spain a lay state is another remnant. Many of the ideas of the ruling PP party can be traced back to the Falangists, however watered down and clothed in democratic intent. Franco's habit of giving gifts of public property or monies to his close friends and allies is still around, too. It's now illegal, but it has been so ingrained in Spanish political life it's difficult to get rid of.
Another problem with Franco's legacy is human memory. Those who did not endure punishment or hardship directly due to the dictatorship, remember only the good things. Even my husband thinks he remembers, though he remembers mostly what his parents talked about. In the rural areas (where the conservative PP party garners the most votes) there were few punished for thinking their own thoughts, unlike in the cities. Most older people remember the law and order that reigned. My husband has said that if a bicycle disappeared, the Guardia Civil would find it before two days were out and punish the thief. They remember the Guards walking along the country lanes, wearing their capes and carrying their rifles, though by the time my husband was old enough to remember, they had stopped doing so. Since most villagers were uneducated beyond the primary schools Franco had had set up in most villages, they didn't see themselves affected by the ferreous control. They also thought Franco had contributed to the betterment of their lives during the 1960's. The truth was it was a global betterment. The economy was flourishing world-wide and it flourished here, too. But little did he do except make sure his family flourished, as well. The Franco family (consisting mostly of grandchildren and great-grandchildren as Franco only had one daughter) now has wealth in the area of between 500 and 600 million euros, mostly in some of the costliest real estate in Spain. Though it is not an exact tally. Not bad for the descendents of a middle class military family. No anonymous Spanish middle class family flouished that much. But no one remembers that.
Most understand what he was. My husband does, too. He doesn't want those times to return. But younger generations only know what they have learned from their elders, since little is taught in school. When they hear their elders praise the dictator and glorious stories about how safe and prosperous Spain was then, they look around and see chaos. This is the origin of far-right extremism in Spain. Franco may have died forty years ago, but a twisted memory of him still exists. And no rational voice does anything to dispell it. A law was passed in 2007 obliging cities and regions to take down statues and monuments extolling Franco and his Falangists. Some were taken down, others weren't. But no one decided to begin a dialogue to talk fairly and truthfully about his legacy and how it affects Spain even now. It's as if by throwing a blanket over everything, all the hatred that was created during the Civil War and festered during almost forty years will be buried. But if the blanket is thrown over embers, it might catch fire.
The fascist dictator of Spain for almost forty desolate years was eighty-two years old. He had been in and out of the hospital for the past year. One could say he died of old age and the complications of Parkinson's disease. But before he died, in September he signed the last death sentences for five men. They were the last to be executed in Spain before the death penalty was abolished in 1978. Franco was ornery to the last.
He was buried in the mausoleum built by Republican prisoners of war under conditions Hitler would have approved of. This mausoleum, the Valle de los Caídos, has an enormous white cross. It actually occupies a small mountain that was hollowed out to create it. Driving northwest on the A-6 out of Madrid, you can see it to the left as you approach the Guadarrama mountain range. But, unless you want to contribute to the upkeep of a dictator's tomb and memory, don't bother to go. You have to pay to drive up to the area. It's better to continue down the road to El Escorial and visit the monastery there, where the kings of Spain since Charles I (Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire) are buried. That is worth the entrance fee.
Every year on this date the crazies are let loose. There are far-right groups that get together on this day and honor Franco's memory publicly. They also sometimes commit vandalism against whatever they think undermines Spanish hegemony (just about everything). The far-left groups also lead protests against honoring Franco's memory and deface whatever francoist memorial they can still find. (Of which there are still too many.) But the problem is that Franco's ideas still surround us, though in a more muted form. The centralization that has been a standard ever since the Catholic Monarchs, was reinforced by Franco. That is now the bane of a Spain that has embraced its cultural diversity socially, but not politically. The autonomous regions of Spain have less rights than each of the states of the United States. That has contributed to the Catalan independence movement. The ever-present role of the Church in state ceremonies and public education, despite the clause in the 1978 Consitution declaring Spain a lay state is another remnant. Many of the ideas of the ruling PP party can be traced back to the Falangists, however watered down and clothed in democratic intent. Franco's habit of giving gifts of public property or monies to his close friends and allies is still around, too. It's now illegal, but it has been so ingrained in Spanish political life it's difficult to get rid of.
Another problem with Franco's legacy is human memory. Those who did not endure punishment or hardship directly due to the dictatorship, remember only the good things. Even my husband thinks he remembers, though he remembers mostly what his parents talked about. In the rural areas (where the conservative PP party garners the most votes) there were few punished for thinking their own thoughts, unlike in the cities. Most older people remember the law and order that reigned. My husband has said that if a bicycle disappeared, the Guardia Civil would find it before two days were out and punish the thief. They remember the Guards walking along the country lanes, wearing their capes and carrying their rifles, though by the time my husband was old enough to remember, they had stopped doing so. Since most villagers were uneducated beyond the primary schools Franco had had set up in most villages, they didn't see themselves affected by the ferreous control. They also thought Franco had contributed to the betterment of their lives during the 1960's. The truth was it was a global betterment. The economy was flourishing world-wide and it flourished here, too. But little did he do except make sure his family flourished, as well. The Franco family (consisting mostly of grandchildren and great-grandchildren as Franco only had one daughter) now has wealth in the area of between 500 and 600 million euros, mostly in some of the costliest real estate in Spain. Though it is not an exact tally. Not bad for the descendents of a middle class military family. No anonymous Spanish middle class family flouished that much. But no one remembers that.
Most understand what he was. My husband does, too. He doesn't want those times to return. But younger generations only know what they have learned from their elders, since little is taught in school. When they hear their elders praise the dictator and glorious stories about how safe and prosperous Spain was then, they look around and see chaos. This is the origin of far-right extremism in Spain. Franco may have died forty years ago, but a twisted memory of him still exists. And no rational voice does anything to dispell it. A law was passed in 2007 obliging cities and regions to take down statues and monuments extolling Franco and his Falangists. Some were taken down, others weren't. But no one decided to begin a dialogue to talk fairly and truthfully about his legacy and how it affects Spain even now. It's as if by throwing a blanket over everything, all the hatred that was created during the Civil War and festered during almost forty years will be buried. But if the blanket is thrown over embers, it might catch fire.
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