Franco dictatorship splits Spain 50 years afer death

Spain's divisive 50th anniversary of Franco's death sparks political tensions as government and opposition clash over commemorations.

Spain’s conservative opposition will boycott the start of official commemorations marking the 50th anniversary of right-wing dictator Francisco Franco’s death, laying bare the enduring divisiveness of his legacy.

The general overthrew a democratic republic in a brutal civil war that killed hundreds of thousands and ruled with an iron fist from 1939 until his death in 1975.

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has announced around 100 events in 2025 to “showcase the great transformation achieved” in the half-century since the European country initiated its democratic transition.

Madrid’s Reina Sofia art museum — home to Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica” painting, one of the most famous anti-Franco works — will host the first ceremony on Wednesday (January 7, 2025).

Mr. Sanchez will lead it but neither King Felipe VI nor the leader of the main conservative Popular Party (PP), Alberto Nunez Feijoo, will attend.

Mr. Feijoo believes the initiative is an opportunistic ploy by the minority leftist government to distract attention from its political and legal woes.

Corruption investigations are ongoing against Mr. Sanchez’s wife and political allies, while the Socialists have to negotiate painstakingly with an array of fringe and separatist parties to pass legislation.