Francisco Franco Foundation is now closer to extinction

The Francisco Franco Foundation is now one step closer to its full extinction after the Spanish culture ministry signed the legal procedure required to force its shut down.

Culture minister Ernest Urtasun signed the document following the legislation in place after the Law of Democratic Memory came into force in 2022. The law looks to promote knowledge of Spain's democratic history and to honor the victims of the Spanish Civil War and the Francoist Dictatorship.

The legal proceeding to shut down the organization is now one step closer to an end after the minister signed the required documentation. The foundation was established in 1976, a year after Spain's dictator passed away, and is "mainly focused" on promoting "the human and political figure" of the ruler.

After the culture ministry informed the foundation of the proceedings, the organization now has several days to appeal the decision. Once the deadline is reached, there will still be some more back-and-forth before a judge rules to shut down the foundation.

Its goods will be donated to a non-profit organization.

The whole process will take nine more months, after the first investigations started in June 2024.

Ernest Urtasun said that they had prepared a "1,000-page document with solid evidence" that the foundation "does not comply with the Law of Democratic Memory."

He also explained that the government will "not allow for any foundation with tax benefits" to work against the law.

In 2018, Barcelona city council urged authorities in Madrid to ban the organization.

The Francisco Franco Foundation said that the process to extinguish the organization is the "most solid proof of the lack of basis for this liberty-crushing, or freedom annihilating, claim," a statement issued on Friday reads.

The statement mentions that in late November, Francisco Franco's death will be the 50th anniversary. The organization believes that this is the "only context in which this resolution lacks a legal base " and could be submitted.