Fighting after funeral of fascist leader in Spain

After the burial of the body of the fascist leader José Antonio Primo de Rivera (1903-1936), there have been clashes in Spain between the police and right-wing extremists. Some 200 supporters of the founder of the fascist Falange movement attempted to violently storm the cemetery containing the new grave of Primo de Rivera in southwest Madrid on Monday. They were prevented from doing so by officials, state television channel RTVE and other media reported, citing authorities. Three people have been arrested, police said.

Primo de Rivera’s remains had previously been removed from what was once the “Valley of the Fallen” northwest of Madrid and taken to the Cementerio de San Isidro. The fascist leader was executed at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). The body’s burial took place under the “Law of Democratic Remembrance” that came into effect last fall.

The left-wing government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had already pushed through the reburial of dictator Francisco Franco in October 2019. The bones of the fascist tyrant (1892-1975) were then exhumed from the vast mausoleum containing the basilica and a 155-meter high granite cross and taken to a cemetery on the northern outskirts of Madrid.

The remains of about 35,000 dead from both warring factions are still buried in the gigantic mausoleum, which is visited annually by about 400,000 people and is now called “Cuelgamuros Valley”. The place was a place of pilgrimage for people who worship the dictator Franco and Primo de Rivera and cultivate far-right ideas. With the reburials, the government wants to put an end to this and turn the valley into a “place of reconciliation”. (sda/dpa)