President Illa warns 'democracy is not a gift' 50 years after Franco's death

"Democracy is not a gift," President Salvador Illa has warned on the 50th anniversary of the death of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco.

"Democracy must be defended and exercised every day," Illa wrote in a message posted on social media on Thursday morning.

"The death of the dictator Franco, fifty years ago today, opened up a future of hope. Our duty is to remember all those who sacrificed themselves so that today we can live in a democracy." 

Later on Thursday, speaking in Barcelona at the General Assembly of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR), Illa said:  "Today marks 50 years since the death of the dictator Franco. We remember and honour the generations who fought for freedom, coexistence, and democracy in Catalonia and Spain, values that continue to be at the heart of the European project."

Sánchez warns against Francoist nostalgia

Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, published a letter in eldiario.es to mark the 50th anniversary of Franco's death, warning that "precisely now, when some people idealise authoritarian regimes and cling to the nostalgia of a past that never truly existed, we must take a step forward in defending a freedom that was taken from us for so many years."

"When pessimism gets the better of us, and the noise of politics and confrontation prevents us from seeing the light at the end of the tunnel," he writes, "let us remember that we live in a unique country."

"We are living a present that would have seemed almost impossible fifty years ago. Spain and the Spanish people will never allow this miracle to disappear."

Do foreigners know who he was?

Nina is a Belgian living in Barcelona, she speaks Catalan and English. "A Spanish dictator, from around the 30s until 1973-74, when he died," she said.

Franco ruled Spain between 1939 and 1975, after winning the Spanish Civil War (1936 - 1939).

Susanna, who traveled from Denmark to Barcelona, said that his regime took place during decades and "it was a very tough time for Spain," as he was a "very cruel dictator," she told Catalan News.

Igor, for example, a Russian living in the Catalan capital, was aware of his existence after visiting the Joan Miró Foundation.

"I knew that the work he was doing was targeting the Franco regime, and I also had been on a guided tour dedicated to Franco," Igor told this media outlet.

Hanna, visiting Barcelona from Poland, said that he was a nationalist, but doubts when thinking of any positive outcomes from his regime.