Various associations linked to historical memory, among them the Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory of Extremadura (ARMHEX), have launched a public campaign with a signature collection to demand the immediate removal of the Cross of the Fallen located in the Plaza de América in Cáceres, considering it a direct vestige of the Francoist dictatorship.
At the same time, these entities have announced that they will present allegations against the file opened by the Junta de Extremadura to declare this monument as a Good of Cultural Interest (BIC), a procedure that, in their opinion, aims to "force its permanence in the public space."
In this regard, they announce that they will formally appear in the BIC declaration file in order to access the reports and documentation held by the Junta de Extremadura.
The memorial organizations maintain that the initiation of the BIC responds to a "political maneuver" derived from the agreements between PP and Vox to "evade compliance" with Law 20/2022 of Democratic Memory.
They denounce that this administrative route seeks to "block" the resolution of the Government of Spain that already ordered the removal of the Cross and its inclusion in the Catalog of symbols contrary to democratic memory.
They also remind that the monument has been listed since 2018 in the Catalog of Francoist vestiges of the Diputación de Cáceres and that there is a plenary agreement of the Cáceres City Council, from December 16, 2004 and approved unanimously, in which the removal of the cross and its transfer to the municipal cemetery was established.
Among the arguments put forward by the promoters of the campaign, they point out that the Cross has its roots in fascist propaganda, having been conceived in 1937 and erected during the Spanish Civil War, and that it was designed "with the explicit aim of glorifying the Francoist dictatorship."
Likewise, they consider that its permanence in the square is an affront to the victims, as it represents "a symbol of pain for the families of the more than 677 people executed by Francoist repression in Cáceres between 1936 and 1943, many of whom remain missing."
The memorialist entities also argue that there has not been a true "re-signification and artistic value" of the monumental ensemble, since the removal of the plaques in 1984 "did not alter its function of totalitarian exaltation." They add that the technical reports qualify the work as "of simple and repetitive design that lacks the exceptional artistic value to be protected as BIC."
For all the above, they demand the immediate halt of the processing of the file that seeks to grant the maximum heritage protection to the monument, as well as the effective application of article 35 of Law 20/2022 and the resolution of the Secretary of State to proceed with the removal of the Cross.
In the interest of administrative transparency, they also demand the full publication of the regional technical reports and the formal consideration of the resolutions issued by the General Administration of the State.
The signing associations defend that historical memory should be promoted "through pedagogy and research in museums and books, not by maintaining monuments of totalitarian exaltation in shared public spaces."
Finally, they advance that all the signatures collected will be sent to both the Junta de Extremadura and the City Council of Cáceres to be included in the respective files.
Among the promoters of the initiative are ARMHEx (Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory of Extremadura), Historical Memory Group of Garciaz, ARMH José González Barrero, AMHD Tierra de Barros, AMECECA, Group of Relatives of the disappeared of the Civil War and Francoism of Feria, Collective of Future Memory of Alburquerque, AFAMEVVA, AMECADEC, and AMHD-CS.
The Association of Young People of the Jerte Valley, the Matilde Landa Association, the Association of Victims of Francoism of Fregenal de la Sierra, AVF Valverde de Llerena, Families of Republican combatants disappeared in the Extremadura Front, Group of Relatives of Victims of Zarza la Mayor, the Delegation in Extremadura of the Amical de Mauthausen and other camps and of all the victims of Nazism in Spain, as well as the La Corujá Association of Bodonal de la Sierra, also participate.