- Region
- Águilas
- Alhama de Murcia
- Jumilla
- Lorca
- Los Alcázares
- Mazarrón
- San Javier
-
ALL AREAS & TOWNS
- AREAS
- SOUTH WEST
- MAR MENOR
- MURCIA CITY & CENTRAL
- NORTH & NORTH WEST
- TOWNS
- Abanilla
- Abarán
- Aguilas
- Alamillo
- Alcantarilla
- Aledo
- Alhama de Murcia
- Archena
- Balsicas
- Blanca
- Bolnuevo
- Bullas
- Cañadas del Romero
- Cabo de Palos
- Calasparra
- Camping Bolnuevo
- Campo De Ricote
- Camposol
- Canada De La Lena
- Caravaca de la Cruz
- Cartagena
- Cehegin
- Ceuti
- Cieza
- Condado de Alhama
- Corvera
- Costa Cálida
- Cuevas De Almanzora
- Cuevas de Reyllo
- El Carmoli
- El Mojon
- El Molino (Puerto Lumbreras)
- El Pareton / Cantareros
- El Raso
- El Valle Golf Resort
- Fortuna
- Fuente Alamo
- Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
- Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
- Isla Plana
- Islas Menores & Mar de Cristal
- Jumilla
- La Azohia
- La Charca
- La Manga Club
- La Manga del Mar Menor
- La Pinilla
- La Puebla
- La Torre
- La Torre Golf Resort
- La Unión
- Las Palas
- Las Ramblas
- Las Ramblas Golf
- Las Torres de Cotillas
- Leiva
- Librilla
- Lo Pagan
- Lo Santiago
- Lorca
- Lorquí
- Los Alcázares
- Los Balcones
- Los Belones
- Los Canovas
- Los Nietos
- Los Perez (Tallante)
- Los Urrutias
- Los Ventorrillos
- Mar De Cristal
- Mar Menor
- Mar Menor Golf Resort
- Mazarrón
- Mazarrón Country Club
- Molina de Segura
- Moratalla
- Mula
- Murcia City
- Murcia Property
- Pareton
- Peraleja Golf Resort
- Perin
- Pilar de la Horadada
- Pinar de Campoverde
- Pinoso
- Playa Honda
- Playa Honda / Playa Paraíso
- Pliego
- Portmán
- Pozo Estrecho
- Puerto de Mazarrón
- Puerto Lumbreras
- Puntas De Calnegre
- Region of Murcia
- Ricote
- Roda Golf Resort
- Roldan
- Roldan and Lo Ferro
- San Javier
- San Pedro del Pinatar
- Santiago de la Ribera
- Sierra Espuña
- Sucina
- Tallante
- Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
- Torre Pacheco
- Totana
- What's On Weekly Bulletin
- Yecla
- EDITIONS: Spanish News Today Alicante Today Andalucia Today
ARCHIVED - The remains of General Franco will be removed on 24th October almost 44 years after his death
The exhumation from Valle de los Caídos risks re-opening old wounds rather than healing them
Many momentous events are taking place in Spain in the run-up to the general election on 10th November, and while over the last week much of the media attention has understandably focussed on the unrest and violent clashes between demonstrators and police in Catalunya at the same time it appears that at long last the historic exhumation of the mortal remains of General Franco is set to go ahead on Thursday 24th October.
It had been anticipated that after numerous objections lodged by the former dictator’s descendants had been rejected by the courts the process of removing his remains from the monumental tomb of El Valle de los Caídos would go ahead on Tuesday or Wednesday, but in the end another slight postponement has been made necessary by the weather forecast. The intention is for the contents of the tomb to be transferred by helicopter to the cemetery of Mingorrubio, in the well-heeled EL Pardo area of Madrid, by helicopter, and with the possibility of strong winds and heavy rain in central Spain in the early part of the week a delay has been considered advisable.
In the meantime, though, preparations for the exhumation are well under way and the heavy machinery which is needed for the operation is already in place in the Valle de los Caídos. The Hospedería de la Santa Cruz reports that on Sunday afternoon various machines were seen arriving at the site and were allowed access: the complex has been closed to the public since the final objections were overruled by the Courts a few days ago, and now every effort is being made to ensure that the lifting of a slab of granite weighing over 2 tons goes smoothly.
To say that the decision to move Franco from what he intended to be his final resting place is of interest to the general public in Spain would be to understate the case, despite the fact that it is almost 44 years since he passed away. The intention behind the PSOE government’s policy, backed by the Historical Memory Law of 2007 is to rectify the “anomaly” of his being buried at the same site as 33,873 others who were victims either of the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) or of the political repression which followed it, and to prevent the dictator’s tomb from being a place of pilgrimage and near-worship for those who support his ideology and even advocate a return to the system he imposed on Spain.
But of course, at the same time, the controversy over the exhumation has brought the issue of Francoism back into the public spotlight, despite the fact that it is doubtless also the government’s intention for time to act as a healer in respect of the deep divisions caused by the Civil War and the dictatorship in Spanish society.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who is hoping to be re-elected in three weeks’ time, maintains that the aim of moving the remains of Franco is not to re-open wounds, but to close them, and when the exhumation was passed in the national parliament in September 2018 there were highly emotional scenes. Sadly the intervening 13 months have seen numerous conflicts, not only with the descendants of the General but also with some elements of the Catholic Church, and negotiations with the Vatican have been necessary in order to smooth the path towards the policy being implemented.
Demands for a second burial to be accompanied by full military honours, and for the new burial site to be the La Almudena cathedral in the centre of Madrid have been overcome, but there are still doubts whether re-locating Franco to Mingorrubio will do anything to deter people from travelling to his grave and exalting the former dictator and his regime.
After all, he will be laid to rest alongside his wife, Carmen Polo, and other notables buried in Mingorrubio include Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco and Carlos Arias Navarro.
Both of these men were presidents of the government under the rule of Francisco Franco Bahamonde, and their names are etched into the collective consciousness of Spain for very different reasons. Luis Carrero Blanco was seen as the likely successor to Franco when he was assassinated by members of the Basque separatist terrorist organization in 1973: so strong was the bomb detonated under his car that the vehicle was projected up into the air and over a block of apartments alongside. This assassination was the most important attack on Franco’s government since the Civil War.
Carlos Arias Navarro succeeded Luis Carrero Blanco, and as President of the government it fell to him on the night of 20th November 1975 to appear on national television as normal programming was interrupted to make the tearful 4-word statement for which he is best remembered: “Españoles, Franco ha muerto” (Spaniards, Franco has died).
These two men fall into the category of the very few whose names can be mentioned to most Spaniards without any explanation being needed regarding who they were. At the same time, as close colleagues of General Franco their graves already attract the attention of numerous visitors to the cemetery of Mingorrubio, along with that of Carmen Polo, and it is eminently possible that with the transfer of the dictator’s remains this week they will become even more popular destinations for those who would welcome a return to the Franco-ist regime in Spain.
Follow Murcia Today on Facebook to keep up to date with all the latest news, events and information in the Region of Murcia and the rest of Spain: https://www.facebook.com/MurciaToday/
-->
Cartagena
El Carmoli
Islas Menores and Mar de Cristal
La Manga Club
La Manga del Mar Menor
La Puebla
La Torre Golf Resort
La Union
Los Alcazares
Los Belones
Los Nietos
Los Urrutias
Mar Menor Golf Resort
Pilar de la Horadada
Playa Honda / Playa Paraiso
Portman
Roldan and Lo Ferro
San Javier
San Pedro del Pinatar
Santa Rosalia Lake and Life resort
Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
Torre Pacheco
Aledo
Alhama de Murcia
Bolnuevo
Camposol
Condado de Alhama
Fuente Alamo
Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
Lorca
Mazarron
Puerto de Mazarron
Puerto Lumbreras
Sierra Espuna
Totana
Abaran
Alcantarilla
Archena
Blanca
Corvera
El Valle Golf Resort
Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
Lorqui
Molina de Segura
Mosa Trajectum
Murcia City
Peraleja Golf Resort
Ricote
Sucina
Condado de Alhama
El Valle Golf Resort
Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
Islas Menores and Mar de Cristal
La Manga Club
La Torre Golf Resort
Mar Menor Golf Resort
Mazarron Country Club
Mosa Trajectum
Peraleja Golf Resort
Santa Rosalia Lake and Life resort
Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
La Zenia
Lomas de Cabo Roig
CAMPOSOL TODAY Whats OnCartagena SpainCoronavirusCorvera Airport MurciaMurcia Gota Fria 2019Murcia property news generic threadWeekly Bulletin