It was a democratic anomaly that Primo de Rivera remained buried in Valle de los Caídos until last Monday. The exhumation is inopportune in time, not because it took place just a few days before a decisive election campaign (it was the family who chose the date), but because it should have been carried out decades ago.
Some nostalgic people say that it's okay to move the dead and "desecrate graves". The argument is respectable, but an important nuance should be added: those names on the tombstones must never occupy preeminent positions.
The exhumation of Primo was broadcast on social networks, as already happened with that of Franco. This time there was no helicopter or funeral officiated by a son of Tejero in Mingorrubio, but a private and low-key family event.
But discretion was not exactly the attribute of the nearly 200 Falangists who gathered at the door of the San Isidro cemetery, in Madrid, to do what their relatives did not want. The successors of Primo de Rivera? Traitors, lamented the unkempt nostalgics.
It was not a pleasant Monday for the Falangists. The group was large. Right arms raised, "Arriba España". Some retired, but also many of working age. "José Antonio, present", said the banner. Maybe they asked for the day off from work. It was a Monday in the sun for Falangism. Many more to come. long faces "Criminal Government". Where will they now go on a pilgrimage every November 20?
The Falangists broke the police cordon. tension pushes "José Antonio Primo-de-Rivera", they chanted. More raised right arms. Riot police stopped them. Face the sun. But is this legal? Justice will now have to determine if there was a hate crime. Their faces are clearly identifiable and the videos are on Twitter and TikTok.
The Monday in the sun of the Falangists crept into the political clash. On the left, justice has been done. In the rows on the right there are nuances. Vox says that "our history" is being desecrated. For the PP of Génova there is electoralism from Moncloa. According to Díaz Ayuso, "since Zapatero, the civil war sentiment has been encouraged to eliminate the transition".
When the debate centers on exhuming remains, the maxim should be: everyone has the right to know where their relatives are. It's called repair. Because there are still people who want to bury their relatives in a dignified place and cannot do so.
