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Spain’s Basque Outreach for Franco’s 50th Anniversary Draws Criticism Over ETA Omission

Officials say the initiative seeks to teach younger Spaniards that democracy is earned through daily effort.

Overview

  • The Government Delegation in the Basque Country launched the “España en Libertad. 50 años” program to mark the 50th anniversary of Franco’s death with a civic‑education focus for youth.
  • The schedule features four murals in Vitoria’s Zabalgana and Salburua neighborhoods, a recognition event at Tabakalera in San Sebastián on November 27, and a December 4 gala in Portugalete for student audiovisual projects.
  • ABC reported the campaign includes no references to ETA or to the security forces’ fight against terrorism, a gap the Delegation attributed to a focus on democratic and social achievements.
  • Delegation head Marisol Garmendia warned about negationism and populism from the right and far right, as media cite polls suggesting roughly one in five young people view the dictatorship positively.
  • The milestone is fueling a wider reckoning, from renewed attention to exhumations such as a child found in a Víznar mass grave to scholarship detailing intertwined late‑Franco violence by ETA, FRAP, GRAPO and state repression.