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The mortal remains of the founder of Spain’s fascist Falange party, José Antonio Primo de Rivera, are being moved from the Valle de Cuelgamuros, formerly known as the Valle de los Caídos (the Valley of the Fallen), a monumental cemetery in the outskirts of Madrid where many of the top brass of the Franco dictatorship were buried.

 

It has reopened a debate which barely bubbles under the surface in Spain about how to come to terms with the country’s fascist past, including a Civil War and a military dictatorship which lasted for 40 years and only transitioned to democracy upon the death of the dictator – the only such instance in all of 20th century Europe.

 

Primo de Rivera, who was summarily executed in 1936, is being transferred to the cemetery of San Isidro in accordance with the Law of Democratic Memory, which aims to readdress the legacy of the dictatorship years in Spain and heal the still-open wounds.

 

For the past 64 years, the body of Primo de Rivera has lain in the controversial memorial site of the Valle de Cuelgamuros, which was built by slave labour under Spanish dictator General Francisco Franco.

 

The remains of Franco himself were removed from the site in 2019.

 

Three hearses arrived at the site at around 7.40am on Monday April 24, as well as around thirty Guardia Civil police vehicles and several unidentified cars.

 

The remains are being taken to be cremated and placed next to those of other relatives of José Antonio Primo de Rivera, including his siblings Miguel and Pilar.

 

Although the cemetery has been closed off and is guarded by a strong police presence, dozens of right-wing fanatics who still hold a candle for the ‘glory days’ of the Spanish dictatorship are waiting in front of the site.

 

The whole exhumation process has been undertaken in agreement with Primo de Rivera’s family and has been exempt from the enormous media expectation and political controversy that in 2019 accompanied the exhumation and subsequent helicopter transfer of dictator Francisco Franco, who is now also buried next to the main altar of the basilica.

 

 

The new Law of Democratic Memory in Spain states that “only the mortal remains of people who died as a result of the [Civil] War may lie there, as a place of recognition, commemoration, remembrance and homage to the victims buried there.”

 

It further adds: “Any mortal remains that occupy a pre-eminent place in the enclosure shall be relocated.”

 

The idea is to turn the site from a lodestar of idolisation of fascist leaders into a memorial centre for the victims of Spain’s Civil War and repressive dictatorship.

 

This exhumation and reburial, which involves the removal of the 3,500-kilogram granite slab covering the grave and its replacement with six slabs of black marble, comes at a cost of 8,630 euros to the taxpayer in Spain.

 

As well as old generals and political leaders of the Franco dictatorship, the remains of 33,833 people still lie in the Valle de Cuelgamuros – combatants from both sides of the Civil War.

 

Around a third of them are still unidentified.

 

 

 

The exhumation of Primo de Rivera has provoked numerous reactions from opposing factions on the left and right. The Francisco Franco Foundation expressed its “most energetic repulsion” at “a new dastardly and civil war action” by the Government, and has vowed to keep the memory of Primo de Rivera and his work “alive and present”.

 

Leader of the far-right Vox party has accused the Government of wanting to “profane graves” and “unearth hate”.

 

The Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, considers the exhumation to be a matter of justice and democratic dignity: “It is a matter of justice and democratic dignity, and it is very important that steps are definitely being taken to comply with a law that aims to provide reparation and memory to the victims of the coup d'état.”

 

Meanwhile, the Minister for Social Rights, Ione Belarra, criticised the fact that “it has not been done before” and said, “We are doing things that should have been done decades ago and now we have to move towards a democratic memory that also repairs all the damage that was done.”

 

Image: Archive