A Monument to Fear

Spain is still grappling with Franco's dictatorship, not having really come to terms with its 40-year legacy. There are still visible signs of it, most notably the Valley of the Fallen monument, a pantheon to Franco and his supporters during the civil war. Many regard it as an insult to the memory of those who lost the war and what came after. Some still gloss over the brutality of the regime, as being "authoritarian but not totalitarian", as a historian recently called it.

Now, some are calling for the dismantling of this shrine and the putting up of another monument that would include those who died in the losing side and the removal of Franco's remains to a less exalted place. The fact that this is being proposed in a rather timid way is a sign of how much Franco weighs still on the national conscience. This pussyfooting around the issue shows that Spain hasn't really put franquismo behind totally.

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