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Pedro Blanco claims from the Pazo de Mearas the 50 years of democracy and reaffirms the Government’s commitment to democratic memory in Galicia

20/11/2025
Image of the government delegate in the garden of the Pazo de Mearas

The delegate stresses that “defending democracy means repairing, remembering and building a fairer and freer society”

Galicia hosts a wide cultural and institutional commemorative program that is carried out under the impetus of the Government Delegation in Galicia and the Commissioner for the celebration of 50 years of Spain in freedom.

The Government allocates more than 700,000 € in Democratic Memory in Galicia and advances in the files of Ferrol, Mearas and San Simón as Places of Memory

The government delegate in Galicia, Pedro Blanco, today claimed from the Pazo de Mearas the 50 years of democracy in Spain, in a symbolic act in which he stressed “the collective courage and the difficult path that brought us to the plural, prosperous and open country that we are today”.

The delegate recalled that today, November 20, “from this place that represents so much for Galicia, we reaffirm the commitment of the Government with the democratic memory, with the truth, with reparation and with the dignity of the victims and their families.” In this line, he stressed that the Government of Pedro Sánchez is taking firm steps “to put a voice where previously there was silence”, recalling that progress is already being made in the declaration of the Pazo de Mevas, the Island of San Simón and the city of Ferrol as Places of Democratic Memory. “Defending democracy means expanding rights and building a more cohesive society, and that is our commitment today and every day,” he said.

Commemorative programming

Pedro Blanco pointed out that the Government Delegation and the four Subdelegations have in place one special programming of events, which intensifies in these weeks coinciding with the month of November and with the 47th anniversary of the Spanish Constitution.

The programming includes:

Lecture series in Ourense with protagonists of the Transition and experts in democratic memory, in collaboration with the Tilve Foundation.

Conference on Memory and historical archives in Lugo.

Actions in media, internet and social networks to raise awareness, combat hoaxes and bring democratic memory closer to young people.

Representation of the work “Las Alumnas”, by Paula Carballeira, in auditoriums throughout Galicia, followed by meetings with the author.

Tributes to the civil governors murdered in 1936 in the Subdelegations of Lugo, Ourense and Pontevedra, following the one held in A Coruña.

Placing an institutional banner on the facade of the Delegation during the month of December with the motto of 50 years of democracy.

The delegate recalled that throughout 2025 the Delegation already promoted various actions along with the Commissioner of the 50 years of Spain in Libertad, and stressed that “this program is a tribute to the extraordinary transformation achieved by Spanish society and to all the people who made these fifty years of freedom possible”. Pedro Blanco also highlighted the work that the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, with the minister, Ángel Víctor Torres at the head, is developing in Galicia. In this line, he recalled that the dossiers were opened to declare the Pazo de Mevas, the Island of San Simón and the city of Ferrol as Places of Democratic Memory.

He also stressed that the Secretary of State for Democratic Memory has invested more than 500,000 euros in Galicia since 2020, destined for exhumations, research and publications, 50% channeled through the Xunta de Galicia. In addition, he highlighted the agreement with the USC, endowed with 200,000 euros, to prepare the Galician census of victims of the Civil War and dictatorship, developed by the Histagra group, which since 2021 has also been working on the location and exhumation of missing persons.