The district mayor of Villafranco del Guadiana, an entity dependent on the Badajoz City Council, Juan Daniel Sánchez Guerrero, has shown his rejection of the decision of the Government of Spain that, through the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, has officially notified them of the obligation to apply the Democratic Memory Law and proceed with the modification of the name of the town.
As he explained on his social networks, collected by Europa Press, he has conveyed to the inhabitants of Villafranco del Guadiana news that, "honestly," causes him "enormous indignation and concern".
"A decision that we do not share and against which we are going to defend ourselves through all the legal channels available to us. We are not talking simply about a name. We are talking about our history, about our roots, about our attachment and about our identity as a town," he said, also referring to the first settlers and the families that settled in the area "with illusion, effort and sacrifice, and who raised Villafranco from its beginnings".
He has also mentioned the generations that were born, raised and developed their lives in the district, as well as customs, memories and everything that links them, to admit that he does not find it "right" that "a decision adopted from an office," applying a rule that he considers "deeply sectarian," can "override the feeling and the will of so many neighbors who feel Villafranco as what it is: our town, our home and part of our life".
Along these lines, he stressed that "from the city council, we are not going to look the other way. We are going to study and appeal this decision with our legal services, exhausting all legal possibilities to defend the name of our town. But this is not only a matter for the city council. It is a matter for everyone," highlighting that for this reason he is making an appeal to the entire population.
He addressed both those who were born in the population center and those who joined later, older people and young people: "let’s put aside our differences and unite in what identifies us. This is not about defending one party or another. It is about defending Villafranco. About respecting our history and those who made it possible for us to have the town that we have today".
To conclude, Sánchez Guerrero insists that the name of Villafranco del Guadiana is an essential part of its past and that it must be respected. "We are going to defend it together, with determination, with responsibility and as far as the law allows us to go. Because Villafranco is not only a name. It is our town," he has emphasized.
Gragera announces resources against the change of name
For his part, the mayor of Badajoz, Ignacio Gragera, has also addressed this issue on his social media, reported by Europa Press, where he said that "the majority feeling of the residents of Villafranco is clear, the name is not touched" and that "this is not about left or right, it is about identity and a sense of belonging".
"We will appeal wherever necessary so that that identity, the history and the collective memory of a town are respected," Gragera has said.