The Valley of Cuelgamuros without the Francoist symbols. The cross would be demolished and turned into
stone pieces while the other symbols would be exposed in a museum | Photomontage: Núria Ricart
The Valley of
Cuelgamuros
The Dictator
Undoubtedly, the decision to exhume the corpse of the dictator, Francisco Franco , out
of the three military rebels, is a powerful action with an immediate impact that put some
distance with previous governments. It is also a strategic initiative and, to a certain extent,
easy to put into practice as it is an irreversible action - once executed, no democratic
government would dare to bury Franco again in the Valley. The focus of the media is only
on this decision and not so much on the future of this site, the actions to be taken and the
way to respond to the multiple questions left opened by this exhumation: what to do with
the 33,847 bodies buried there? what to do with the Benedictine community and the place
of worship? what should be explained in this site and how? does the entire monument
have to be preserved? how should it be managed? For the moment, the announcement
of the dictator’s exhumation has placed all attention on this measure. Meanwhile, it is
still unknown what the future will bring for the Valley of the Fallen, the largest and most
representative Francoist and National Catholic monument of the dictatorship.
Expert’s view
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