Inca raises a civil wall against the retreat in democratic memory

Palma“My mother, who died a few years ago, was able to see the tributes that were made to my grandfather and hear all the stories, from home, from the neighbours… She even got to inaugurate a square in Inca that bears her father's name. The family is very satisfied even though they haven't found the body”. These are the words of the president of Memòria de Mallorca, Maria Antònia Oliver, granddaughter of Andreu París Martorell from Inca, who was imprisoned in Can Mir (Palma) in 1936 and disappeared the following year.

Oliver's mother did not live to see the mural where the artist Roc Blackblock painted París and other repressed individuals. Inaugurated in February 2025, it was a message that Inca sent about the importance of democratic memory as a structural policy of the municipality. In 2019, the City Council created a specific area with a clear idea: to give it its own identity and prevent it from being diluted among other responsibilities.

“Memory must have a place to depend on and not be vague”, explains the head of the area, Alice Weber (MÉS per Inca). For the councillor, it is not just about organizing one-off events, but about consolidating a public policy with continuity. “If you truly believe in it, you have to give it substance”, she summarizes.

From tributes to a public policy

Before the creation of the area, Inca was already promoting initiatives linked to democratic memory. Since 2015, every February, tributes have been organized to figures repressed by Francoism. But 2019 marks a turning point: memory is expanded and diversified with conferences, theatre, screenings, and educational activities.

“We saw that isolated events were not enough. We had to go further”, points out Weber. The cycle Inca has memory.

In parallel, the collaboration with the Autonomous Secretariat of Democratic Memory of the Government revealed an uncomfortable reality: Inca was one of the municipalities with the most Francoist vestiges and action was needed. "We wanted to do it well so that no one could attack us," explains the councilor. The City Council drew up an action protocol that became a model for other municipalities.

Repeal

The definitive turn comes with the announcement of the repeal of the Law of Democratic Memory of the Balearic Islands by the PP and Vox. “When we saw that a law that had cost so much could be repealed, we decided to act”, states Weber.

The councilwoman is particularly critical of the Popular Party, whom she accuses of having broken the consensus with which the norm was approved. “Their word is worth nothing because there was an agreement here”, she says. On the other hand, she differentiates Vox's position: “They do what they are expected to do”.

Weber emphasizes that “at that time, a great effort was made to dialogue with the PP so that it would be a law of consensus and remain”. “That it would be a law for everyone, not something for the left. It could have been approved without the PP and the tone and exposition were greatly lowered so that they would feel comfortable and could approve an autonomous law that was here to stay”, she adds.

Therefore, she considers that the debate should not be ideological: “We are German, and in Germany this is not about right or left. History is accepted and condemned as such”.

Given this scenario, Inca decides to act at the local level with its own ordinance of democratic memory. The objective is clear: to guarantee the continuity of these policies, regardless of the regional context. “We are creating a local regulation that can replace the regional one if it is eliminated”, explains Weber.

The text was drafted with the participation of jurists, experts and entities, and incorporated very valuable contributions from organizations such as Amnesty International and Memòria de Mallorca and from individuals such as the president of Obra Cultural Balear, jurist Antoni Llabrés. “Democratic memory is a collective responsibility and, therefore, this text has been born out of consensus and cooperation with civil society”, remarks the councillor.

Commitments

The approved document establishes a series of commitments that directly affect local public policies. Among other things, it provides for the removal of Francoist symbolism, support for victims and their families, and the creation of spaces for remembrance. The City Council also commits to promoting educational and commemorative activities, preserving and digitizing historical archives, and facilitating the institutional recognition of victims. All of this is channeled through the Municipal Council for Democratic Memory, a plural participation body with institutional, social, and memorialist representation.

"With this initiative, the City Council reaffirms its firm commitment to the recovery of memory, the dignity of victims, truth, justice, and the transmission of these values to new generations," remarks councilor Andreu Caballero (PSOE Inca).

One of the most relevant aspects of the text is that it explicitly recognizes the repressive role of Francoism in Inca and names some of the local victims such as Antoni Mateu Ferrer, Llorenç Beltran Salvà, Andreu París, and the Sancho brothers, among others.

Although the PP at the regional level had long insisted on the repeal of the democratic memory law, the PP of Inca voted in favor of it.

The granddaughter of Andreu París, Maria Antònia Oliver, intervened at this plenary session and stated: "All democrats must embrace the public policies that are implemented for the recovery of democratic memory. The memory of these victims belongs to all of us, it is the heritage of our town."

One of the central pieces of the new regulation is the creation of the Municipal Council for Democratic Memory, a body that integrates trade unions, memorialist entities, social groups, and political representatives.

Although the Inca City Council has been working for years with civic and memorialist groups in favor of democratic memory, Caballero points out that this Municipal Council "must allow for better organization and coordination of all these initiatives and formalize cooperation with the entities."

However, he emphasizes, "it is also a clear political and institutional stance in defense of democratic memory, at a time when certain discourses question its necessity and meaning, and when some institutions relativize it or even disown it."

“A council can be a photo or it can be a real tool. It depends on whether people make it their own”, warns Weber. Its function goes beyond symbolic participation: it is about generating a network that makes democratic memory its own and guarantees its continuity.

The idea is that, in the face of any attempt to dismantle these policies, it is civil society itself that demands their survival. “If you want to destroy it, you may be able to, but the movement will continue in the streets”, he affirms. And he sums it up with a clear reference to Aurora Picornell: “With what bullets will they kill ideas?”.

An open and evolving space

The Council includes unions such as CCOO, UGT, and STEI; memorialist entities like Memòria de Mallorca and the foundations linked to Aurora Picornell and Darder-Mascaró; in addition to the Obra Cultural Balear, local researchers, and municipal representatives from the PP, PSOE, and MÉS.

Weber points out that, despite having contacted all entities in Inca so they could participate, once the ordinance was published, other organizations wanted to join and the door is wide open for them.

On an operational level, the Council is establishing a permanent commission that will meet at least twice a year to develop proposals and work plans.

The Council was constituted on February 24th in Sant Domingo. It is not a random date, but rather coincides with the assassination of the republican mayor of Inca, Antoni Mateu Ferrer, executed in 1937 along with Emili Darder, Alexandre Jaume Rosselló, and Antoni Maria Ques Ventayol.

For this very reason, the cycle Inca has memory fills the city with events every February. "The challenge is to give the Council content that makes everyone who participates perceive it as a useful, their own, meaningful body," he remarks. Weber points directly to the current context: "We are facing a worrying resurgence of revisionist and far-right discourses, which trivialize or even deny Francoist repression. Thus, we send a clear message: Inca does not forget, Inca defends democratic values."

In this regard, Maria Antònia Oliver underlines that for years civil society has had to organize itself to demand these claims. And she emphasizes that it is necessary for everyone to "take memory as a tool to combat hate speech that is returning once again".

"It is a fantastic tool to fight fascism and prevent events from happening again. Everyone must take this memory as their own because it is and as a matter of human rights," emphasizes Oliver.

Thus, in the capital of Raiguer, democratic memory is no longer just an exercise of occasional remembrance, but a public policy that aspires to be safeguarded over time and protected by a citizen wall.u