PP and Cs abstain in Senate vote to condemn Franco dictatorship

The Spanish Senate condemned the Franco dictatorship on Wednesday, but members of the People’s Party (PP) and Ciudadanos (Cs) abstained.

The two big right-wing groups did not vote in favor of the motion, which was presented by the ruling Socialists.

The text of the motion “strongly condemns” the Franco dictatorship and “any kind of exaltation” of the regime.

The senators also celebrated the decision to exhume the dictator's body from the Valley of the Fallen, saying it helps to put an end to an historical “anomaly.”

The motion was passed by 97 votes in favor from the Socialist party (PSOE), Podemos and Catalan and Spanish nationalists.

The PP, which hold an overall majority in the upper chamber, abstained, as did Cs and other smaller conservative parties. In total, there were 136 abstentions but no votes against, meaning the text could be approved.

Senators from the Spanish socialists regretted the PP decision to abstain, arguing that in any other European country the text would have been passed “unanimously.”

The motion included, beyond a strong condemnation of the Franco regime, a call to declare null and void all rulings by the fascist judiciary, especially in regards to death penalties and political persecution.

The text also referred to a recent motion passed by the European Parliament that urged member states to ban any organization that “glorifies” fascism or Nazism. In Spain, the Franco Foundation is still legal, despite growing calls to illegalize it.