The left-wing/green political part at the Motril Town Hall, IU-Equo presented a motion to removed Franco’s gold medal awarded by the town – it was rejected.

In the plenary meeting where this motion was put forward at the beginning of last month, the PP, its coalition allies, together with the far-right party, Vox voted against the motion, effectively killing it.

Now, the IU-Equo has lodged an appeal at the Town Hall against this plenary outcome, urging the Mayor and allies to think again.

Furthermore, the said left-wing coalition party says it would be left with no other choice but to take the affair to court presenting it before the Public Prosector because what has happened, they consider, is an infringement of the Ley de Memoria Histórica.

The Historical Memory Law (2007) principally recognises the victims on both sides of the Spanish Civil War, gives rights to the victims and the descendants of victims of the Civil War and the subsequent dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, and formally condemns the Franco Regime.

The law ordered 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.

This law, when it was passed, was rejected in Congress (lower house) by the conservatives (PP) who consider that it had gone too far, and rejected by the Catalan republican party (ERC) because they considered that it hadn’t gone far enough.

It was back in 1963 that the then franco-appointed mayor decided to bestow a gold medal on the dictator, Generalissimo Franco for being… well… just him.

Party Spokeswoman, Inma Omiste, says that her party’s decision should be understood as a “democratic action against fascism.”

Editorial comment: there are those that consider that there are far more important thing to worry about at present than to dig around in the past, whilst others consider these anomalies have persisted far too long and should be rectified as there will always be excuses not to do it, if not.

(News: Motril, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)