Five parties agree on bill setting one-year deadline to remove Tortosa's Francoist monument

Five Catalan parliamentary parties – the Socialists, Junts, Esquerra Republicana (ERC), Comuns and CUP – have agreed on a democratic memory law setting a one-year deadline to remove the Francoist monument in Tortosa and two years to remove other Francoist symbols from public spaces.

The monument, which stands in the Ebre river and has been the subject of legal disputes, will be removed following a public tender. 

The legislation establishes fines ranging from €200 to €150,000 for offences including glorifying Francoism, opening mass graves without authorisation and damaging memorial sites. It also provides for the removal of honours and medals awarded to Franco supporters.

A support office for victims will be created, while a new independent technical commission on democratic memory must be established within six months.

The commission will have two years to investigate human rights violations committed during the 1936-1939 Spanish Civil War and the Franco dictatorship, and to recommend measures to redress victims' suffering and prevent further abuses.

The law covers the period from the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic on April 14, 1931 to the first post-Franco Catalan elections in 1980, while leaving open the possibility of future legislation addressing repression after that date.

It also recognises the Roma people as victims of Francoism and addresses victims of the Franco-era Patronato de la Mujer, which sought to police women's behaviour,

The bill is due to face a final vote in the Catalan parliament during the week of October 20, unless it is referred to the Council for Statutory Guarantees for review. 

The legislation brings together three existing laws covering historical memory, mass graves and legal redress for victims of Francoism into a single legal framework. The bill was approved by Salvador Illa's government in December 2024.