San Sebastián (EFE).- Francisco Franco on Tuesday ceased to be the favorite son of Gipuzkoa and honorary president of the Provincial Council.
The Provincial Council spokesperson, Eider Mendoza, has announced that the Provincial Government Council has decided to “rescind and suppress the recognitions, honors and distinctions related to the exaltation of the dictatorship of Francisco Franco Bahamonde”.
Favorite son of Gipuzkoa
Among the most outstanding measures is the withdrawal of the title of favorite son of the province granted to Franco, approved by agreement on July 1, 1939.
His appointment as honorary president of the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council, which was approved on July 23, 1945, has also been suppressed, Mendoza pointed out.
He explained that other recognitions granted at the same time that are “manifestly incompatible with democratic values and with fundamental rights and freedoms” have also been annulled. These distinctions, he has argued, “suppose an exaltation of the military uprising, war or dictatorship.”
He recalled that in April 2022, before the approval of the Democratic Memory Law, the Provincial Council went ahead of the regulations and commissioned the historian Iñigo Imaz with a research project.
The objective was to search for documentary references on the appointments made between 1937 and 1975 in favor of the Franco regime and the honorary titles granted in the same historical period.
Items are not returned
This investigation, which was made public at the General Meetings, has led to the withdrawal of some of these titles.
Mendoza has indicated that all the people who received honors are dead, so it has not been considered necessary to return the objects that were given to them such as medals or command sticks.
On the other hand, the report refers to a series of plaques or busts, elements that have already been withdrawn or on which action has previously been taken.
