The Ministry of Culture notifies the Francisco Franco Foundation of the beginning of its dissolution

BarcelonaOutlawing associations that glorify Francoism has never been easy, but the Ministry of Culture has taken a decisive step to to end the Francisco Franco Foundation through legal means (FNFF). The Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, has signed the procedure in accordance with the Democratic Memory Law and has notified the foundation of the agreement for its dissolution. This is a preliminary step to closing the pro-Franco organization, founded in 1976. After half a century of democracy, no government or institution has managed to close the doors of an entity that glorifies the figure of a dictator and, exceptionally in Europe, preserves a large amount of documentation. For the time being, the notification has been sent to the foundation, which has ten days to respond and submit its arguments. Then it will be in the hands of a judge to put an end to the long life of this foundation.

The thousand-page report, prepared by the Secretariat of Democratic Memory and victims' associations, which ARA has accessed, aims to demonstrate that the entity is in breach of regulations. the historical memory law"It glorifies Francoism, praises the coup and the dictatorship, extols its leaders, despises and humiliates the dignity of the victims of the coup, the war, and Francoism, and directly or indirectly incites hatred or violence against these victims." Furthermore, the report cites the Constitution and different court rulings which highlight what the objective of a foundation should be, which would ultimately be the collective interest, something that the Francisco Franco Foundation does not do.

In this regard, a report from the State Attorney General's Office, dated July 5, 2024, states the following: "The FNFF's statutes expressly link its founding objectives—referring to Article 3.1 of the Law on Foundations and Documentaries, ostensibly cultural and ostensibly cultural—to the fact that it appears, at first glance, to be a foundation intended to promote interests of public interest." However, as the report points out, it continues to violate the law and in no case promotes interests of public interest. Furthermore, the FNFF has been modifying its statutes to adapt to legislative changes and avoid going to court. "The FNFF, as its name suggests, exists primarily to disseminate the figure of the leader of a dictatorship expressly condemned by the current Law on Democratic Memory, as well as by international organizations."

The report provides a detailed analysis of the content of the foundation's website. "It presents a unified narrative that blends family memory, Festive nationalism and war mythologizing to exalt the dictatorship and trivialize any criticism." According to the same report, this editorial line implies "contempt and humiliation of the dignity of the victims through the denial of repression" in particularly sensitive matters, such as the occupation of Badajoz, the bombing of Guernica, the case of the stolen children, the construction of the Cuelgamuros Valley and, in general, all the repressive policies of the dictatorship.

5,500 apologetic texts

Furthermore, a report from the State Secretariat for Democratic Memory, dated May 13, 2025, concludes that "the content of the FNFF website is dedicated to the exaltation and glorification of the dictator, the dictatorship, and the rebel side during the Civil War." It particularly highlights the section PresentThe report, which includes nearly 5,500 apologetic texts glorifying the coup, the dictatorship, and its leaders, "fits squarely within the definition of apology" stipulated in the fifth additional provision of the Democratic Memory Law.

In its reports, the Ministry of Culture also includes interviews with many victims of the dictatorship and emphasizes that, through its propaganda, the FNFF reopens wounds and inflicts pain on witnesses. It cites the following examples: the families who have had to fight for years to get parents, grandparents, great-grandparents or great-uncles out of Cuelgamuros"They were transferred, without the knowledge or authorization of their families, from the mass graves and clandestine burial sites where they had been thrown after being murdered," and, as the report details, they have had to endure all the actions undertaken by the FNFF to "obstruct and prevent their right to recover the remains of their loved ones."

The report also highlights the pain of the victims' families buried in mass graves From the Víznar ravine: "See how the FNFF promotes and disseminates, in Granada, every anniversary of Franco's death, celebrations and ceremonies in remembrance and homage to the dictator and the regime that murdered and threw their ancestors into mass graves." "Or with the families of the victims or survivors of the bombing of Guernica, when they read writings that deny the reality of the events in an exercise of historical revisionism. Or with the relatives of the victims of the Badajoz massacre in 1936, when the FNFF denies these events."