Franco’s reburial is blocked by abbot
A defiant Spanish monk has placed a hurdle in the path of plans to rouse General Franco, the former fascist dictator, from his slumber in a gargantuan mausoleum.
The socialist government has ordered the removal of his remains from the Valley of the Fallen, 50km from Madrid, citing a need to make amends with the past.
But the abbot running the site, Santiago Cantera, a right-wing politician turned Benedictine monk, has refused its request for access, citing the family’s opposition.
Franco’s family, including his seven grandchildren, claim they are being persecuted by the socialists, who came to power in June last year. They argue that a cathedral next to the royal palace in the heart of Madrid would be the only acceptable alternative burial site for the dictator, who died in 1975 after 36 years in power.
But the government, worried that this would become a magnet for neo-fascists, is insisting on a less visible grave in a cemetery on the outskirts of the city.
Either venue would be a big step down from the grandeur in which his remains now lie. The mausoleum is carved into a mountainside and is marked by a 152m cross.
Franco’s tomb has become an occasional rallying point for rightwingers. It is also criticised as Europe’s only remaining monument to a fascist leader.
A previous socialist government passed a ‘‘historical memory’’ law in 2007 that called for the removal of Franco statues from public squares. Most were torn down, but the mausoleum was left undisturbed.
The new government wants to turn it into a memorial for victims of the 1936-39 civil war. Remains of more than 33,000 who fought on both sides of the war are already buried in the mausoleum, which is also the site of a Benedictine monastery.
Cantera, the abbot, is understood to enjoy the church hierarchy’s backing in opposing the government. He wrote to Dolores Delgado, the justice minister, 11 days ago, turning down her request for access to the tomb.
But the government insists it will not be thwarted. ‘‘The obstructive position of the abbot will not prevent the exhumation process from following its course,’’ it said. Months of dispute, possibly involving the Supreme Court, are expected.
Besides battling to rebury Franco’s remains, the socialists are demanding that Carmen Martinez-Bordiu, a granddaughter, be stripped of the title she inherited from her mother, Maria del Carmen Franco y Polo, 1st Duchess of Franco and Dowager Marchioness of Villaverde, who died in 2017. – The Times