Spanish govt to ban glorification of Franco dictatorship – Socialist Party

The Spanish government plans to make it illegal to glorify the regime of former dictator General Francisco Franco as part of a reform of the criminal code, the Socialist Party said on Monday.

Franco, who ruled Spain from 1939 until his death in 1975, ordered the execution or imprisonment of tens of thousands of his enemies, while as many as 500,000 people died in the preceding civil war, Reuters said. His legacy still divides Spain and looms large over its political system.

“In a democracy you don’t pay tribute to dictators or tyrants,” parliamentary spokeswoman Adriana Lastra said. She did not spell out what would constitute “glorification.”

Socialist PM Pedro Sanchez, whose left-wing coalition government came to power in January, made addressing the legacy of the dictatorship a pillar of his electoral campaign.