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Spain Marks 50 Years Since Franco’s Death With Nationwide Commemorations

A state-led commemoration meets rising far-right resistance.

Overview

  • The Sánchez government has launched a 50th‑anniversary program, with officials saying roughly 500 events are planned through year‑end and multilingual pro‑democracy messages displayed on Madrid’s Gran Vía.
  • Recent CIS data show Vox near 19% in vote intention, stronger support among younger voters and a larger share than decades ago expressing openness to authoritarian rule.
  • Since 2018, memory policies have stepped up exhumations, declared sites of democratic memory and removed Francoist symbols, with the government planning to dissolve the Franco Foundation in a process likely to be contested in court.
  • Exhumation work underscores slow identification progress, exemplified in the Balearic projects where 334 remains have been recovered and 67 identified, while dozens of Franco-era symbols remain in place.
  • Researchers and officials flag a surge of revisionist content on social media, including AI‑generated videos, and call for stronger civic education and digital literacy to counter misinformation.