The removal of the Francoist monument in Tortosa: is it now possible?

BarcelonaAs the 90th anniversary of the Civil War approaches, a new battle is being fought on the Ebro River. Fortunately, it's a longer one, and only a judicial one. A battle taking place in the courtrooms to remove or maintain the Francoist monument erected in Tortosa to honor the fascists who achieved victory. The case has reached the Supreme Court, which will have the final say.

The far right has filed an appeal to the high court after the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) rejected its petition against the Territorial Land Commission's delisting of the monolith approved by the POUM, which established that it is no longer a protected heritage asset. This announcement was made by the Collective for the Reinterpretation of the Monument to the Battle of the Ebro (Corembe), which has been working for some time to maintain the monument and which received firsthand judicial information because it shares a lawyer with the far right (after years of presenting itself as an "apolitical" platform).

Aside from the recent appeal, Corembe points out that there are two pending legal proceedings: one concerning the license for the monument's removal and another concerning the bidding and awarding process for the works. However, these two appeals are subject to a Supreme Court ruling, as the Tortosa Commission for the Removal of Francoist Symbols emphasizes. "Until the Supreme Court rules on the delisting, the Tarragona court will not resolve the other appeals," says Marisa Panisello, spokesperson for the organization that wants to remove the monument. However, the removal will not be imminent because the entire process will have to be restarted with a new tender for the works, a municipal permit must be requested, and the approval of the Ebro Hydrographic Confederation must be obtained.

In any case, Panisello emphasizes that the TSJC's approval of the delisting makes the removal of the largest remaining Francoist architectural vestige in Catalonia, 45 meters high, "closer." "We are very hopeful and, if the Supreme Court does not admit the appeal, we will demand that the Tarragona court lift the injunctions."

Machines ready for 2021

In fact, on July 1, 2021, when the machines were already preparing to begin work to remove the monument on the 18th of the same month, the day the Civil War began, the administrative court of Tarragona stopped them. He did so after accepting Corembe's two appeals, which demanded that he take a position on whether the Generalitat can remove the monument, despite not being its owner, and award the works. "The Historical Memory Law establishes that the jurisdiction lies with the Generalitat," Panisello counters.

The process to remove the controversial monument is not a bed of roses. The Parliament approved a motion to remove it on March 10, 2016, but that motion was forgotten. As if that weren't enough, the Tortosa City Council called a referendum on May 28 of that year to hear the opinions of residents and won the option to keep it. 29.73% of the Tortosa population participated in the referendum, and 68% voted to maintain-it. Of course, by reinterpreting it, something that has never been done.

"We've come from years of forgetfulness, and there's been no education about the monument's significance, and we're still paying the consequences," laments Selene Alberich, a CUP councilor who, along with the Commission, opposed the referendum, but also opposed it just like the PP. Unlike then, when there was a CiU government that was against its dismantling, the new executive, a coalition of the PSC and Comuns, ERC, and the CUP, signed a commitment before the elections to remove the monolith, which Junts also failed to sign. The mayor, the eco-socialist Jordi Jordan, is confident of closing this "controversial episode and looking to the future," and warns that "an exercise of justice and reparation is necessary."