Historical Memory Law

Spain

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The Historical Memory Law (in Spanish: Ley de Memoria Histórica or La Ley por la que se reconocen y amplían derechos y se establecen medidas en favor de quienes padecieron persecución o violencia durante la Guerra Civil y la Dictadura), is a Spanish law passed by the Congress of Deputies on the 31st of October 2007.^[1] It was based on a bill proposed by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party government of Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.

The law recognises the victims on both sides of the Spanish Civil War, and the victims of the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco.

Contents 1 Provisions 2 Criticism 3 External links 4 Notes

Provisions

The main provisions of the law are:^[2][3]

• Recognition of the victims of political, religious and ideological violence on both sides of the Spanish Civil War and of Franco's regime.

• Condemnation of the Francoist regime

• Prohibition of political events at the Valley of the Fallen - Franco's burial place.

• The removal of francoist symbols from public buildings and spaces. Exceptions may be given for artistic or architectural reasons, or in the case of religious spaces.

• State help in the tracing, identification and eventual exhumation of victims of Francoist repression whose corpses are still missing, often buried in mass graves.

• The granting of Spanish nationality to surviving members of the International Brigades, without requiring them to renounce their own nationalities.

• Rejection of the legitimacy of laws passed and trials conducted by the Francoist regime.

• Temporary change to Spanish nationality law, granting the right of return and de origen citizenship to those who left Spain under Franco for political or economic reasons, and their descendants.

• Provision of aid to the victims and descendants of victims of the Civil War and the Francoist regime.

Criticism

The historical memory law has been criticised, notably by the opposition conservative Partido Popular and its leader Mariano Rajoy, who have claimed that the law needlessly opens up old wounds.^[4]

External links

• Full text of the bill prior to passing (PDF) (Spanish)

Notes

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