Biggest Francoist monument to remain until at least next year

The biggest Francoist monument is to remain until at least summer 2023 despite initial plans to dismantle it in summer 2021.

The delay is due to time constraints and having to wait until the hotter summer weather causes water levels to drop to install the necessary machinery. 

The Justice minister in Spain believed that courts will not have enough time to be able to respond to open appeals to dismantle the monument, which stands in the river in Tortosa, a southern Catalonion town.

The statue was meant to be taken down in 2021 due to its representation of a major republican defeat during the Spanish Civil War. However, following appeals from the Collective for the Reinterpretation of the Monument of the Battle of Ebre (Corembe) a late court order prevented these plans from going ahead, as reported by catalannews.com The collective believe that the monument can reinterpreted as part of Tortosa’s history. 

Justice minister Lourdes Ciuro has expressed his dissatisfaction with these proceedings, describing the delayed dismantling as “unjustifiable”. 

The monument was built to honour those who died in the Battle of the Ebre, one of the most infamous battles which took place during the Spanish Civil war. Franco’s nationalist forces were victorious in the conflict. 

Before the dismantling can commence, the court must rule in favour of the removal of this Francoist monument. However, the monument may be protected by the new law of democratic memory. 

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