Spain plans to publish new list of Franco symbols to be removed from public view before end of 2025

The Spanish government hopes to have the new catalogue of Franco symbols that should be removed from public view, or given new contexts and meanings, ready before the end of the year.

According to the Minister of Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres, the decree that will regulate the preparation of the list has already been approved.

"Any vestige that is susceptible to being removed can be requested by the administrations, by individuals, or associations," he explained.

In the event that the element has any historical or architectural value, then it will be "re-signified" and given new meanings and contexts. 

In total, it is estimated that around 4,000 such items remain, including the names of seven towns with references to the dictatorship.

A technical commission will be created with 15 experts and representatives of the local world to draw up the new catalogue.

"Once the commission is in place, we will update the catalogue for the whole country every fortnight," Torres added.

Regarding mass graves, Torres said that in recent years almost 9,000 of the 20,000 people who were in ditches throughout the country have been exhumed.

The minister also said that 1,600 families have received annulments of judicial sentences from the dictatorship, including that of Salvador Puig Antich.