With Feixina, there's nothing to be done

The initiative by Vicenç Vidal, the Mallorcan deputy from Sumar, to request that the fascist monolith of La Feixina be included in the state catalog of Francoist symbols is undoubtedly laudable and necessary. As is the determination of Pedro Sánchez's government to stand firm on democratic memory and against any praise of the dictatorship. The problem is that all this comes to Feixina when it's already too late. With Feixina, there's nothing to be done. There's nothing to be done now, nor tomorrow, and I don't think there will be for many years to come.

A minimum of honesty is in order. Because when the left-wing parties that govern the State today did have the power here to demolish the monument, not only did they not do it, but they looked the other way. They didn't dare. They stalled. They dragged out the deadlines. And, what's worse, they ended up whitewashing the monument with legal excuses, institutional fear, and political calculation. All this, despite clear, unequivocal, and repeated reports from the heritage experts of the Consell de Mallorca—who are, or should be, the authority on this matter—who said exactly the same thing they say today, and even said it in court: La Feixina has no heritage value whatsoever. Zero. None. It is a Francoist symbol beyond redemption. This opinion is not some technical extravagance. It is shared by a significant part of Mallorcan society and, without a doubt, by the majority of left-wing voters. But nothing was done when it could have been. And when an attempt was made to react, everything was meticulously orchestrated: tailor-made reports, administrative files riddled with irregularities, and a judicial web designed to save a monument inaugurated by Franco in the late 1940s. Today, the reality is worse; it is almost obscene. Because the Feixina is already a protected heritage site, officially recognized and therefore shielded by administrations governed by the right, with the far right either on their side or stalking them. With the Heritage Law in hand, the Feixina will not be taken. In Palma, it has even just been decided that a street will be dedicated to its architect. And all around, the far right continues to celebrate its anniversaries with impunity. Everything in order.

It is clear that the Feixina must be included in the state catalog of symbols that threaten democratic memory. Of course. But let no one be deceived, this will not undo the damage done. It will not reverse the political cowardice shown for years by those who refused to confront a conflict they knew existed, nor the determination demonstrated by others as soon as they gained power to perpetuate it.

For now, and unless things change drastically, Feixina teaches us a bitter lesson. When democracy falters, fascism takes root. And looking the other way is not neutral. It has consequences. And they often last for decades.