Volver: The Return of/to Transitional Justice Politics in Spain

Generational dynamics in Spain: Memory transmission of a turbulent past

“…7 This phase began from 2000 onwards with the creation of several memory associations that managed to insert some of their demands into the political agenda of some leftist and nationalist parties, eventually leading to the adoption of a relatively comprehensive reparation law in 2007 ( Law 52/2007, which recognizes and expands the rights, and establishes measures in favor of those who suffered persecution or violence during the Civil War and the dictatorship ), also known as the Law of Historical Memory (LHM). 8 The factors that contributed to this unexpected development in the Spanish politics of memory have already been addressed extensively elsewhere (Aguilar and Ramírez-Barat, 2014; Golob, 2008). Here, we will outline only those most relevant for our argument.…”

“…25 Although it is not the only generation to have mobilized around memory demands, the renewed irruption of the past in Spain in 2000 and the political measures undertaken subsequently by the socialist government cannot be explained without its initiatives, and the strength and both logistic and emotional support it has given the older generations. The cooperation between three or even four generations, already underlined by Golob (2008: 134) and Renshaw (2011: 234–235), is crucial to explain the exhumations that began after 2000 (where personal testimonies have been decisive in locating mass graves), and many of the cultural activities that are now taking place, where young activists invite elders to tell their personal stories. It has also resulted in judicial initiatives, including the lawsuit presented in Argentina in 2010 with the active support of the third generation, in which some members of the second generation, tortured in Francoist prisons in the 1960s, have joined forces with victims of the Civil War and the post-war period, belonging to the first generation.…”

How I learned to love the bomb: excavating pueblo politics, love, and salvaged technologies after conflict

“…The legal limitations of Law 52/2007 (i.e. the Law of Historical Memory) and the dismissal of Judge Baltasar Garzón Real, who was in charge of investigating the crimes of Francoism within the framework of international law (Golob ), have left the administration of exhuming up to relatives of the Republican dead, civil society organizations, and academics. With limited resources, little state oversight or support, and the absence of a national forensic protocol until 2011, the exhumations have largely shifted from a legal endeavour to a political one (Ferrándiz & Robben ).…”

Mujer y memoria en las series de prime time de La 1 de TVE (2008-2017): La Señora, 14 de abril. La República, Isabel y El Ministerio del Tiempo

“…La Transición, por tanto, aflora como un el eje de conflicto en la identidad unitaria de la que presume la democracia. Si seguimos con la línea de justificación de nuestro marco temporal, veremos como el hito histórico sobre el que se articula la problemática de la «desmemoria» (Golob, 2008) es precisamente el proceso de instauración democrática tras la muerte del dictador Francisco Franco. Este proceso resulta de alguna manera fraudulento, en tanto que el nuevo sistema político se descubre 7 construido sobre los privilegios asentados durante anterior régimen y no logra superar, por tanto, el binomio de vencedores y vencidos.…”

“…Concretamente, la organización política se posiciona entre las voces que critican el sistema democrático español por haber perpetuado en el poder a los mismos grupos sociales que lo ostentaron durante la dictadura de Franco a través de un sistema bipartidista y neoliberal, cuya gestión derivaría no solo en una crsis financiera sino en una crisis política que reclama una «nueva transición» (Para más información al respecto, ver: http://www.laopinioncoruna.es/elementosWeb/gestionCajas/MMP/File/2017//Plan_2020.pdf [último acceso: 21/05/2018]) para todos. Por un lado, como dice Golob (2008), la promoción de la recuperación de la memoria histórica en España coincidió con un movimiento internacional que impulsó una serie de estándares globales para cualquier democracia después de una transición, que incluía la libre investigación del pasado y la rendición de cuentas del Estado. Como resultado, la comunidad internacional (ONU, Amnistía Internacional, etc.)…”