The imperial spire that still stands in the sky of Maó

PalmHalf a century after Franco's death and with the 90th anniversary of the start of the Civil War approaching next year, the mark of that dark period in our history is still very much present for the descendants of the more than 2,000 victims murdered and the more than 10,000 people imprisoned during the conflict. Although this debate has traditionally centered around the Fajina of Palma, the tallest monolith built by the Franco regime in the Balearic Islands to glorify its victory in the Civil War was erected in Mahón and still stands, 86 years later, overlooking the gardens of the military residence located next to the Plaza de la Explanada. It is 21 meters high and was conceived by the then military governor of Menorca, Eduardo Recas, based on a design by the engineer Cerdó, which was executed by the municipal architect Josep Maria Claret.

With the sweat of the Republican slaves

The monolith was erected with the sweat of Republican slaves on the site of a talayot, which had crumbled. Stones from the talayot and other sites—according to sources and contemporary witnesses from Cornia Nou and Talatí—were used to create what was known as 'Agulla' at the time. "That the obelisk was placed on top of one of Menorca's most iconic sites, a talayot, was not an innocent act," emphasizes archaeologist Cristina Rita, a point corroborated by the article in the newspaper. Spain arrives Published on October 30, 1939, on the occasion of its inauguration, the text reads: "On the base of this stone monument, a talayot ​​represents that, upon the old Menorcan tradition, rises the vertical spire of the State's new hope. Above this talayot, at the bottom of the monolith, the Imperial Coat of Arms symbolizes the hierarchical submission of the island to the State. As is the altar and the ona, as ona, as that, and as if it were the island itself. Patriotism has no meaning if it is not guided by religious faith." The monument was even illuminated to make it stand out even more in the square. But the most serious issue, in his opinion, is that "they were very concerned about safeguarding the Church's heritage and not at all about the archaeological heritage, which they destroyed." In fact, building it was seen "as fulfilling a divine mandate, and what better way than to use the symbols of the Egyptian pharaohs, who also placed a small pyramid on top. This imperial aesthetic, which the Romans also followed, was very characteristic of the Franco regime."

The newspaper Spain arrives It was announced that the monolith had been erected "in memory of those who fell for God and for Spain in the Holy Crusade against communism," but archaeologist and former member of parliament Cristina Rita disagrees. "Menorca's historical heritage was used as a symbol of power over the vanquished," she summarizes, "but also as a symbol of legitimizing the dictatorship and appropriating and modifying its meaning. It was instrumentalized to give greater prominence to the Uprising." The intention was thus to fulfill the dictates of the Generalissimo who, verbatim, deemed it necessary "to engrave on the minds of our children, in simple concepts, the truths of our doctrine and the firm idea of sacrifice for our unity, built upon eternal principles drawn from our history and precepts."

When the Democratic Memory Law came into effect on October 21, 2020, the State was asked for the last time to demolish the monolith, but the response from the then Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, was negative. In response to questions from Senator Elisenda Pérez, of the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), she argued that in 2009 the references to Francoism had already been removed and the coat of arms replaced with the constitutional emblem.

The issue has not been raised again, but now that Deputy Vicenç Vidal is also again requesting in Congress that the Fajina of Palma be removed, Miquel López, of Memorias de Menorca (Memories of Menorca), believes it may be a good time to revive the debate on the island. "It's an uncomfortable topic, but right now, in academic circles, the prevailing view is to reinterpret it. That is, the option of removing the monument would be the majority view, but not simply eliminating it, rather leaving a trace that explains what was there," he states.

López recalls the precedent of Tortosa, where the largest Francoist vestige in Catalonia is located, a 45-meter monument about which the local council even held a referendum. 68% of those who participated in the popular consultation voted to keep it, but reinterpreting its meaning. When construction was about to begin in 2021, the court halted the project after accepting two appeals from the Collective for the Reinterpretation of the Monument to the Battle of the Ebro (Corembe). Four years later, the issue remains unresolved in the courts.

The Sacred Heart, at the top of the Bull

The monolith on the Explanada is the most striking example of the "reinterpretation" of Menorca's monuments as a consequence of the Franco regime, but it is not the only one. The other major emblem is the Sacred Heart statue atop Toro hill, erected in 1928 in memory of the Menorcans who died in the Rif War and transformed in 1944, with the addition of the figure of Christ the Redeemer, into a symbol of power and exaltation of the new order. Historian Miquel López points out, however, that this case "has gone largely unnoticed," to the point that "many people are unaware that it too was subjected to the Franco regime." For this reason, he proposes installing at least a panel that tells its story.

Other monuments from the Franco era still stand, but the memorials to the fallen, a symbol of the regime that was visible in every municipality, from the plain of the Migjorn Gran church to the Plaça dels Pins in Ciutadella, are no longer there. All the street names that the Franco regime dedicated to the protagonists of its military victory have also been replaced.

The preliminary plan for the renovation of the Explanada will destroy the monolith.

The winning preliminary design for the Explanada's design competition proposes occupying the entire area belonging to the Ministry of Defense, including the monolith, and demolishing it. The two buildings of the current military residence would be converted into buildings for community organizations, and an underground parking garage is planned. The architect, Juan José Gomila, justifies the proposal to remove the monolith by stating that, "in any case, the future will have to be negotiated between the City Council and the Menorca Military Consortium."

The winning proposal in the ideas competition, Gomila recalls, not only integrates the space currently held by the Ministry of Defense into the future plaza, but would also connect the Explanada with the bus station, Ses Moreres, and the area around the Menorca football stadium. The team of architects led by Juan José Gomila has previously designed both the bus station and the renovation of the Teatro Principal, two of the most ambitious renovation projects in the city in recent years. But the City Council prefers to proceed step by step. Three years after the ideas competition was decided, Mayor Héctor Pons has now announced that the process will resume in 2026, when the drafting of the final project will be put out to tender. In its first phase, this will only affect the land that is already municipally owned. The initiative, included in this year's Island Cooperation Plan (PIC), has a budget of €240,000, which will be used to cover the work carried out by the drafting team, based on the winning proposal from the ideas competition. The future of the monolith will be decided, when appropriate, in later phases.