The face of José Antonio Primo de Rivera has appeared on some buses of the Municipal Transport Company (EMT) of the Madrid City Council as part of an electoral advertisement that the Spanish Falange installed on public transport nine days before the general elections of 23-J.
"For José Antonio / vote FE de las JONS / La Falange", reads the message placed on a poster with the face of Primo de Rivera in black and white, and the party symbol made up of several arrows. Advertising has been installed on the back and side of two EMT buses.
The Spanish Falange of the JONS (Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista) is a political party founded in 1999 that competes in the general elections of 23-J. The origin of the formation goes back to the Spanish Falange that José Antonio Primo de Rivera founded in 1933 under fascist ideology.
In April 2023, the remains of Primo de Rivera, son of the dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera, were exhumed from the Cuelgamuros Valley and transferred to the San Isidro cemetery. The hymn of the Falange was the official song of the Franco dictatorship.
What does the EMT say about Falange advertising on buses?
According to the EMT, advertising for the Falange on buses is carried out by Global, a company specialized in the advertising sector. The municipal company explains to Newtral.es that the Falange campaign is contracted from July 14 to 21 in two buses. "Global is in charge of ensuring compliance with current legislation in the requested campaigns," the EMT tells Newtral.es.
The EMT adds that the Global company contacted Autocontrol, a self-regulatory entity of the advertising industry, and the Provincial Electoral Board at the time of receiving the Falange campaign. Both institutions referred Global to the Zone Electoral Board to respond to the query about advertising.
"Autocontrol, the independent self-regulatory body of the advertising industry in Spain, has confirmed that political campaigns do not fall within its scope of action," says an email from the EMT.
What did the Zone Electoral Board respond to Global?
Consulted by Newtral.es, the EMT indicates that the Zone Electoral Board responded to the company in charge of the advertising exploitation of the buses, specifying its powers. "The Zone Electoral Board is in charge of distributing the different free places among the different political formations for the placement of their propaganda posters and banners," says the response of the Board collected by the EMT.
The Zone Electoral Board, cited by the EMT, says that it is not the responsibility of the Electoral Boards "to previously check/supervise the content of the electoral propaganda posters, nor to legally advise any company or entity on the possible illegality of certain electoral propaganda posters".
The Global company refused to answer questions from Newtral.es about Falange advertising on EMT buses. Newtral.es also consulted the Madrid Zone Electoral Board, but at the close of this article there was no response.
Is the advertising of the Falange contrary to the legal framework?
Javier Tajadura, an expert in Constitutional Law from the University of the Basque Country, explains that it is not the responsibility of the Electoral Board to approve the advertising of political parties. "The Board could uphold the appeal if someone appeals it because they consider that the Falange's publicity is contrary to the legal system," he says.
In this sense, he points out that putting up a poster with the face of Primo de Rivera, like the one that the Falange placed on the EMT buses, does not go against the Spanish legal framework "because it is a permissive and guaranteeing framework" of freedom of expression.
At the beginning of July, the Central Electoral Board declared "lack of powers" to suspend a video of the Spanish Falange that included the 'Face to the Sun'. The agency's response was prompted by a query from RTVE in which it asked whether an advertisement for this party with the Falange anthem, used during the Franco dictatorship, was compatible with the Democratic Memory Law and, therefore, legal to be broadcast. Finally, RTVE proceeded to broadcast the announcement.
