The withdrawal of the Francoist monument of the Ebro: will it be a reality?

BarcelonaThe majority of battles related to the Francoist legacy are very long. In 2016, Parliament approved the removal of the Francoist monument from the Ebro. In November 2020, the Generalitat announced that the monument would be removed in the summer of 2021. There was a project by architect Antonio López to do so. As with most issues related to the dictatorship, however, the paths are full of obstacles and judicial disputes are prolonged. Nevertheless, perhaps soon the image of the 45-meter wrought iron perforated pyramid, built in 1966 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Francoist victory, could disappear from the river that flows through Tortosa. wrought iron  45 meters, built in 1966 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Francoist victory, could disappear from the river that flows through Tortosa.

On April 14, the plenary session of the Tortosa City Council urged the Generalitat to accelerate the removal of the monument and to ask the court to lift the suspension of the procedure. This Friday, the Minister of Justice and Democratic Quality, Ramon Espadaler, announced that the Government, through the Legal Services of the Generalitat, has requested the administrative litigation court of Tarragona to lift the suspension of the judicial procedure related to the appeal against the building permit for the removal of the monument of the Battle of the Ebro in Tortosa. The argument is that the grounds, which mainly referred to the appeals against the modification of Tortosa's urban planning and the de-cataloging of the monument, had been dismissed by the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC), and the appeals for cassation had been declared inadmissible by the Supreme Court.

All demanding entities

The judicial labyrinth is considerable, because there have been different challenges. The first judicial route was related to the modification of Tortosa's urban planning (POUM), which involved the de-cataloging of the monument, that is, removing its protection. Against this modification, two contentious-administrative appeals were filed by two entities: Despierta España and Raíces. These appeals were processed before the contentious-administrative chamber of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) and were dismissed. Despierta España and Raíces did not give up and filed appeals for cassation before the Supreme Court. They were again dismissed. The ruling is final and this is especially important, because the monument ceases to be protected.

The second judicial route referred to the administrative acts linked to the tender and award of the contract for the execution of the monument's removal works. In this case, the appeal was filed by the Collective for the Reinterpretation of the Battle of the Ebro Monument (Corembe). This case was dismissed because in the end there were no works and the company to which it had been awarded withdrew. The third judicial route is the one that is currently open. It is a contentious-administrative appeal also filed by Corembe with the contentious-administrative court number 2 of Tarragona against the building permit granted to allow the removal of the monument. In this case, the judge ordered precautionary measures and suspended the building permit, pending the resolution of the appeals against the de-cataloging. It is to this court that the Generalitat will have to knock on the door and ask it to lift the precautionary suspension and issue a verdict, because the de-cataloging already has a final ruling.

“We have been working on it since 2009, and there had already been attempts before. It is an element that occupies public space and symbolizes disunity”, states Marisa Panisello, spokesperson for the Commission for the Removal of Francoist Symbols from Tortosa. If the history of this monument is ever told, it will also have to explain why it took so long to remove it,” she adds.