The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, presided this Monday in Madrid the commemorative act of the 'Day of Remembrance and Tribute to all the victims of the military coup, the War and the Dictatorship', in which a tribute has been paid to twenty personalities, among them, Consuelo Berges, an outstanding figure of feminism and civil rights born in Ucieda, Cantabria.
The event, held at the National Music Auditorium, was also attended by the delegate of the Government in Cantabria, Eugenia Gómez de Diego, who claimed "the importance of preserving the memory of women like Consuelo Berges, an example of strength, courage and independence in a context of enormous adversity". Gómez de Diego has highlighted the legacy of Berges as a translator, journalist, writer and defender of equality, as well as her role in the fight for women’s vote, aligned with figures such as Clara Campoamor.
Consuelo Berges (Ucieda, 1899) was a woman of firm convictions and an intellectual restlessness that marked her career. In his press and magazine collaborations, he defended libertarian ideas and fundamental rights in a time of profound inequalities. A member of the Masonic Lodge of Adoption Amor in Madrid since 1931, he dedicated part of his life to the achievement of equal rights between men and women, a commitment that was added to his political and social activism.
The tribute, which included the recognition of around twenty personalities, is part of the Government’s efforts to recover and dignify the memory of the victims of Franco’s regime, in line with the Democratic Memory Act.
During the same, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, announced that the Executive will promote, throughout 2025, the commemoration of 50 years of freedom in Spain, on the occasion of the coming year five decades of the death of the dictator Francisco Franco and the beginning of the Spanish Transition.
50 years of freedom
Under the name ‘Spain in freedom’, this commemoration will take place with a “single objective” that is “to value the great transformation achieved in this half century of democracy, and to pay tribute to all the people and groups that have made it possible” -explained the President-. A time in which our country went from “being a dictatorship, poor and isolated, to one of the most full democracies in the world. A modern, open and sustainable economy, a tolerant and inclusive society, and an international power, committed to multilateralism, Europeanism and peace.”
The commemoration will result in “more than a hundred cultural activities and events of various kinds that will flood our streets, schools, universities and museums, starting on January 8.”