Sunday, January 28, 2007
Long live death!
Credit: US National Archives
Even though he's long dead, Francisco Franco is still the mayor of Salamanca. As Spanish daily El Pais reports, the dictator was declared honorary mayor in perpetuity by the town in 1964. A recent motion to strip the Caudillo of the title was defeated, when Partido Popular councillors voted it down. Not surprisingly, PP declined to debate the matter or give any reason for voting against it. Socialist councillor Fernando Pablos said all PP had to do was abstain from the vote, as had happened recently in the towns of Girona and Granollers, but clearly Salamanca PP members thought there was something worth holding on to.
This is the second time Pablos & Co have failed in removing some unsavoury items from the town's books. Back in December, PP also voted against the removal of a 1936 'motion of destitution' against philosopher and writer Miguel de Unamuno, who at the time was rector of the University of Salamanca. Unamuno's damnation dates from a famous incident during the Civil War, when he clashed with Francoist general Millán Astray at a dinner celebrating the discovery of America.
Astray was the founder of the Spanish Legion, which was modelled after its French equivalent. A borderline psychotic, Astray's was responsible for the legion's nickname of Novios de la Muerte (bridegrooms of death) and its battle cry, Viva la muerte (long live death).
Taking umbrage at Astray's repeated chanting of the aforementioned battle cry during speeches, Unamuno dared to point out its nonsensical nature, prompting Astray to begin shouting 'death to intelligence'. By some accounts, it took the intervention of Franco's wife Carmen, who was also at the dinner, to prevent Unamuno from being lynched. Afterwards, Unamuno was removed from his position at the university and died under house arrest later that year.
Categories: Spain, Politics, Franco
posted by Dick O'Brien at 12:51 PM | link |
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