PP and Vox condemn the Law of Historical Memory in front of the victims' families

PalmThe People's Party (PP) and Vox definitively repealed the Balearic Islands' Democratic Memory Law on Tuesday after eight years in effect. Relatives of victims of Francoist repression attended a tense plenary session. Vox defended the proposed repeal, and the far-right party's deputy spokesperson, Sergio Rodríguez, presented himself as a victim of the Republicans and accused the Socialists of belonging to a "party of murderers." The PP abstained from applauding the repeal at the end of the vote, amidst criticism from the left-wing benches. The regional president, Marga Prohens, was pressured to pose for photographs with far-right leaders, including Congressman Jorge Campos, who was also in the audience.

This is the first legislative initiative promoted by Vox in almost three years of its pact with the PP. The president of Memoria de Mallorca, Maria Antònia Oliver, placed a protest scarf on the president's seat as a reproach for the PP's conduct, given that they participated in the approval of the Memory Law two legislatures ago. Outside the chamber, some family members shed tears after the vote. Inside, Rodríguez asserted her "intellectuality and moral superiority" within the PSIB and blamed the Popular Front for the start of the Civil War in 1936. In her view, the Memory Law "is based on a false premise, that the war was the result of a confrontation between the good guys and the bad guys." She also explained that her family members were murdered by Republicans. "How do you think I feel, as a victim, when they hold acts of recognition, erect statues, and name streets after Lluís Companys?" she asked.

On behalf of the People's Party (PP), Cristina Gil defended the repeal of the law as part of the PP-Vox budget agreement. She also described the law as partisan. "It doesn't seek to remember, but rather to select, exhume some dead and bury others in oblivion," she lamented, and urged "reconciliation among Spaniards." In addition to the PP and Vox, the former far-right deputies, now independent, Xisco Cardona, Idoia Ribas, and Agustín Buades, also voted in favor of eliminating the law. However, the deputy for Formentera, Llorenç Córdoba, broke with his usual support for the PP and voted against it. "The problem wasn't the law itself, but the political and partisan use that has been made of it," he explained: "Parliamentary majorities cannot alter the value of dignity, memory, and respect."

The left accuses Prohens of "treason"

The PSIB spokesperson, Yago Negueruela, accused Prohens of "betraying her word," first supporting the law last December with the left, and then ultimately appeasing Vox by eliminating it in exchange for the budget. "Memory laws are far more important than the hatred and rage they've brought here," he added, addressing Vox directly: "A hatred and rage that the PP fosters vote after vote, until they become like them." "This law recognizes all the victims; it wasn't about revenge, but about acknowledging what happened," he lamented. Meanwhile, the spokesperson for MÁS per Mallorca, Lluís Apesteguia, argued that "memory is not an individual matter, but a social and collective one." "For 40 years, a narrative of good guys and bad guys was constructed, and the defeated members of the Republican side were systematically blamed," he said. He also lamented the effects of the law's repeal. "Should we allow the Francoist and Falange flags to be hung in our streets?" he criticized. Joana Gomila, from Més per Menorca, said that the government lacks "convictions": "The repeal was thanks to the PP, we never want to forget that." Meanwhile, Jesús García, from Unides Podem, said that the PP has been "distorted as a democratic party."

The plenary session with the largest audience of the year

The families of the victims and supporters of upholding the law had to sit shoulder to shoulder with the top brass of Vox, who also came to show their support for their members of parliament, and the young members of the PP's new generation. Tense scenes unfolded between them at the entrance to Parliament, a reflection of the back-and-forth between the parties that highlights the difficulties Spain faces in confronting its recent past.

Vox members of parliament were greeted with shouts of "out" at the entrance to the Parliament building. The parliamentary group's spokesperson, Manuela Cañadas, responded with a mocking gesture, and Rodríguez said she feared for her safety. Meanwhile, PSIB deputy Omar Lamin went to the building's entrance to calm tempers after a man complained and shouted "Long live democracy!" when security asked him to put down a photograph of his murdered godfather.

The debate was moderated by the Speaker of Parliament, Gabriel Le Senne, who is under investigation for an alleged hate crime for having torn a photograph of Aurora Picornell and Les Roges del Molinar during a plenary session. Sources from his team claim that the parliamentary session was prepared in anticipation of potential criticism. Thus, he maintained a distant tone throughout the debate, although he refused to remove from the official record the statements made by Vox, which linked the Socialist Party to "murders." On the left-wing benches, members of parliament placed photographs of victims of repression in front of their seats.