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Ten Senate Parties Petition to Remove Manuel Fraga Bust From Spanish Senate Corridor

The filing invokes Spain's Democratic Memory law to argue a democratic chamber should not display tributes to officials linked to Franco-era repression.

Overview

  • Twenty-four senators from PNV, ERC, Junts, EH Bildu, Geroa Bai, BNG, Compromís, Más Madrid, Agrupación Socialista Gomera, and the senator for Pitiusas registered the request on February 20.
  • The written petition cites the 2022 Democratic Memory law and links Fraga to the March 3, 1976 Vitoria-Gasteiz killings, stating he was the minister responsible for public order at the time.
  • The Senate’s governing Mesa must now consider the request, after previously rejecting similar bids, most recently in April 2023 when PP and PSOE members ruled the law did not apply.
  • The bronze bust, located on the corridor leading to the hemicycle, was installed on January 15, 2013 following a Mesa decision, at the PP’s request and expense.
  • PNV called Fraga’s continued presence in the chamber insulting, while EH Bildu argued that honoring a figure tied to state violence conflicts with the law’s duty of memory.