A fortnight of memorialist associations from Extremadura has filed a complaint this Friday with the Ombudsman in which they demand the "urgent intervention" of this body to clarify whether the declaration of Cultural Interest Asset (BIC) promoted by the Junta can block the execution of the resolution of the Secretary of State for Democratic Memory. This resolution included the Cruz de Cáceres in the Catalog of Symbols and Elements Contrary to Democratic Memory and ordered its removal from public space within a period of three months.
This period ended on August 25 without the Cáceres City Council having proceeded with the removal of the monument, so the associations request the Ombudsman to determine "if the action of the Junta de Extremadura constitutes an inappropriate use of the figure of Cultural Interest Asset to evade the effective application of the Democratic Memory Law."
The memorialist groups describe as "especially serious" the way in which the Junta de Extremadura is processing the file to declare this Francoist vestige as BIC, a process "marked by the controversy generated by the incorporation and use of historiographical works whose authors have publicly denounced that their research has been used to justify a heritage declaration contrary to the conclusions of their own studies," as detailed in a press release.
Consequently, they demand the resignation of the General Director of Cultural and Documentary Heritage of the Junta de Extremadura, responsible for the procedure, "considering that this procedure is damaging the credibility of the cultural institutions of Extremadura and causing an unnecessary social and institutional confrontation."
The associations recall that the Cruz de los Caídos was promoted by the Cáceres City Council in 1937 and inaugurated during the Civil War as a monument in honor of the Francoist fighters, "originally incorporating slogans of exaltation of the regime and Falangist symbolism." They also remember that the municipal plenary unanimously approved on December 16, 2004, within the framework of a remodeling of the environment, its transfer to the municipal cemetery, an agreement that was never carried out.
More than 3,600 supports and allegations against the BIC
The memorialist organizations maintain an active campaign to collect signatures "until achieving the removal of this Francoist vestige from public space" and demand that the current democratic legislation be effectively enforced.
To date, more than 3,600 people have subscribed to this demand, and the entities announce that they will present allegations against the BIC declaration file promoted by the Junta de Extremadura, "an initiative linked to the political agreement between PP and Vox that seeks to guarantee the permanence of a monument erected to honor the victors of the Civil War," they state in the statement.
"We consider that, although the inscriptions and symbols were subsequently modified, their origin, purpose, and historical significance remain linked to the exaltation of the Francoist dictatorship," the signing associations add.
Likewise, they express their gratitude for the support received, including that of the Collective of artists, writers, and creators of Cáceres, which has positioned itself in favor of the removal due to the negative impact that, in their opinion, the permanence of these vestiges has on the image of the city and on Cáceres' candidacy as European City of Culture in 2031.
The entities that subscribe to the complaint before the Ombudsman are ARMHEX, AMHD Tierra de Barros, Association of Victims of Francoism of Valverde de Llerena, Group for Historical Memory of Garciaz, Amececa, ARMH José González Barrero, Afamevva, Amecadec, Collective Memory of the Future of Alburquerque, Association for Historical Memory and Dignity of Segura de León "Silenced Lives," ARMHEx-Calera de León, AMHD-CS, Matilde Landa Association, Group of Relatives of the Disappeared of the Civil War and Francoism of Feria, and Association of Historical Memory of Santa Amalia.