Urtasun justifies the extinction of the Francisco Franco Foundation: “It humiliated the victims with tax benefits”

The Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun has defended the decision to sign the resolution to terminate the Francisco Franco Foundation and has alluded to the tax exemptions enjoyed by institutions like this one declared of general interest.

““He was advocating Francoism and humiliating the victims with tax benefits from the administration and this could not be.”argued the head of Culture in an interview on TVE collected by Europa Press in which he alluded to the Democratic Memory Law according to which “foundations that do not serve the general interest and that defend Francoism with humiliation of the victims cannot operate.”

Regarding the archive of the Francisco Franco Foundation, it has trusted in its full conservation as everything has been digitized. “We know everything there is,” argued Urtasun, who also recalled, the instruction given to the State Attorney’s Office to “judicially claim the archive“.

As explained, the Ministry of Culture has prepared a report on the content of the file as they are documents that belong to the Administration. Therefore, he is sure that “no paper will be lost.”

What the minister has not commented on is the deadlines for the dissolution of the foundation. “I have done my job as quickly as I can and I want this to be resolved as quickly as possible.but it is a long process because there has been a lot of guarantee and the foundation has been given the opportunity to plead.

And, according to Urtasun, “now it is up to justice to act”, although he has been convinced of the success of the resolution. “It will go to a court of first instance but a very solid file has been built and, with the law in hand, it is evident that the foundation does not comply with it.” In this sense, He recalled the favorable report from the State Attorney’s Office and emphasized having “full confidence that it will move forward.”

The Ministry has also initiated the procedure for the extinction of four other additional foundations “that advocate Francoism” such as the Blas Piñar Foundation and the Queipo de Llano. “That work continues“explained the head of Culture.

In the process, Urtasun has regretted not “having had greater support from the opposition” and has described the position of PP and Vox as “extremely negative.” Now, as he has admitted, his biggest concern is that “practices that were believed to be forgotten are brought back to Spain” in reference to “censorship in autonomous communities with PP and Vox governments“.

In this sense, he has alluded to the cancellation of the Periferias Festival in Huesca or the controversy over the suspension of the live theatrical performance in Collado Villalba (Madrid), as well as the upcoming tribute to Miguel Hernández in Orihuela despite attempts to “PP and Vox so that it did not take place”

In this context, the minister has warned that he will be “faced if censorship is exercised or attempts are made to bring in this type of practices.”