Spanish lower house passes legislation to disband associations that glorify Franco

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) - Spain’s lower house of parliament on Wednesday passed legislation aimed at disbanding organizations that glorify Francisco Franco, the authoritarian leader who ruled from 1939 to 1975, local media reported.

The Congress of Deputies approved the bill introduced by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). The legislation specifically targets associations that celebrate Francoism, including the influential Francisco Franco National Foundation (FNFF), according to Spain’s public broadcaster TVE.

The bill received support from all political parties, including the right-wing People's Party, except for the far-right Vox party, which opposed it.

In 2017, a petition signed by 200,000 people called on the Spanish government to ban the FNFF.

In June 2024, the Spanish Culture Ministry initiated the process to outlaw the foundation under the 2022 Democratic Memory Law.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​