JURIST - Paper Chase: Spain parliament set to consider landmark bill condemning Franco

[JURIST] Spanish lawmakers have reportedly come to an agreement on the text of the proposed anti-Franco Law for the Recovery of the Historical Memory [JURIST report] presented to the Spanish Parliament. The legislation is aimed at healing the social wounds from the authoritarian regime of Gen. Francisco Franco [BBC backgrounder; LOC backgrounder] that ruled Spain from 1939 to 1975 following a bitter three-year civil war. A vote on the measure is expected to occur October 30 following debate. Parliament began debating the bill in December after first unveiling the proposal [JURIST reports] last July. The government of Socialist Party Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero [BBC profile] has pressed for passage of the controversial bill; his predecessors were reluctant to address the record of Franco's regime during which some 55,000 people were killed.

The final text of the law is expected to officially condemn the Franco government, acknowledge and provide reparations for victims, allow for the correction of trial records, and set aside funds to compensate victims of the Franco era for land seizure and personal harm. If adopted, the bill would also ban public recognition of the Franco era and require local governments to remove statues and other symbols honoring the former dictator. The Socialist Party [official website, in Spanish] claims to have secured the support of enough smaller political parties to ensure passage of the bill later this month. The London Telegraph has more. AP has additional coverage.

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