Fully 32 years after transition from the dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco to civilian government in the form of a constitutional monarchy, Spain's moving toward enactment of la Ley de Memoria Histórica, the Law of Historical Memory. Proposed last summer by the government of President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, a Socialist, the bill's been opposed by right-wing politicians who "argu[ed] it reopened wounds that would further divide the country," the Los Angeles Times reported. Disputing that claim was Deputy Prime Minister María Teresa Fernández de la Vega (below left), who declared, "Nothing could be further from the truth." Her position prevailed, and the lower house of Parliament okayed the bill earlier this month. Senate approval is expected soon to follow.
Among the features of the law, which focuses on Spain's Civil War of 1936-39, would be: annulment of convictions of dissidents; restoration of citizenship to dissidents forced into exile; banning of fascist rallies at Franco's burial site; and government exhumation of mass graves.Just as NGOs like Asociación para la recuperación de la memoria histórica have worked to uncover events during Franco's regime, private groups already have undertaken some exhumations. Francesc Torres' photographs of mass graves are now on exhibit at the International Centre for Photography in New York. Speaking at once of his work and of la Ley de Memoria Histórica, Torres told London's Guardian:
(photo above right (c) 2007 Francesc Torres)'There can be a good use of memory, a setting the record straight, and making sure things like this never happen again.'
