Isha Sesay
PALMA DE MALLORCA is working to wipe out the memory of dictator Francisco Franco by renaming 12 streets at a cost of €40,000.
Mayor Jose Hila said that ‘erasing Franco’s heritage from the streets was not only a legal obligation, but also a moral obligation towards his victims.’
Amongst the changes will be Avinguda Joan March, which will now be known as Avinguda Gran i General Consell.
This pays homage to the main governing institution during the Kingdom of Mallorca and puts Joan March to rest – once one of the richest men in Spain who was known to be Franco’s personal banker.
The remaining 11 streets will be named after famous cartographers, musicians, poets and politicians from the Second Republic, including anarchist Federica Montseny.
The Council’s move has however received criticism after being slammed as ‘unnecessary’ and ‘mistreating history’.
One person not in favour of the changes was Toledo mayor, Milagros Tolon, who vented his anger to the mayor over Twitter about Carrer de Toledo being wiped off the map.
He said: “Toledo is a World Heritage City and I have proposed that it continues to have a street named after it in the Balearic capital.”
Some 1,800 people died under the Franco regime in Mallorca with the remains of some of the victims found on the island in recent weeks.
“We will continue to change street names, open graves and identify bodies so that we can return them to their families,” said Hila.
READ MORE:
- Executed victims of General Franco to be exhumed from mass grave on Spain’s Costa Blanca
- The failed coup in Spain: Today marks the 40th anniversary of when Franco supporters tried to overthrow democracy
