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Spain Confronts Franco’s Legacy 50 Years On

Fresh polling points to a generational knowledge gap that historians tie to weak teaching.

Overview

  • Government‑backed commemorations throughout 2025 have gone ahead, drawing sharp criticism from right‑wing parties and allied media.
  • Historian Julián Casanova argues that current teaching on fascisms is insufficient to counter misinformation, a warning echoed by memory activists.
  • The October 2025 CIS barometer finds 21.3% of Spaniards view the dictatorship positively, rising to 32.8% among those aged 18 to 24.
  • Cultural interest has surged, with the comedy film La cena surpassing 500,000 viewers and platforms such as FlixOlé launching cycles on the Transition and historical memory.
  • Retrospectives revisit the staggered transition—1977 elections and the 1978 Constitution—and note the slow official reckoning, from the 2002 parliamentary condemnation to memory laws in 2007 and 2022.