Mallorca in warning over laws on Franco's victims

Mallorca, in Spain’s Balearic Islands, is caught up in a warning over laws on Franco’s victims: replacing them could make it harder for victims to obtain redress, says Francina Armengol. The president of Spain’s Congress speaks at a tribute to victims of the military coup, war and dictatorship in Madrid on Wednesday, 4 November 2026. She names the Balearics among regions replacing laws on democratic memory with rules she says undermine truth and justice.

Progress, but 11,000 bodies remain in graves

Armengol also points to progress. A measure known as the “grandchildren’s law” has enabled descendants of exiles to make almost 2.5 million applications for Spanish nationality. Reports on political persecution have helped bring redress to more than 600,000 people.

But 11,000 bodies remain in graves from the Franco era. Time is not on the side of remembrance, she warns.

Congress honours women humiliated under Franco

At the annual tribute, Spain’s lower house focuses on women persecuted during the dictatorship, particularly those whose heads were shaved to humiliate them. Armengol says they are among its most overlooked victims.

She also recalls the removal of portraits of presidents of the Franco-era Cortes at the request of remembrance groups. Congress itself must be a place of remembrance, she says.

Topics: Politics

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com