The government delegate in Galicia, Pedro Blanco, inaugurated today the cycle of conferences “Dialogues of the Democratic Transition. Educating in a history with memory”, with a call to continue strengthening democracy through the expansion of rights and social cohesion, a task, he said, “that belongs to us today and every day”.

The delegate recalled that the fifty years of freedom that Spain celebrates are “an extraordinary collective achievement that we cannot take for granted” and that it requires “commitment, memory and active defense of democratic values.”

The Government Delegation promotes this cycle within the framework of the Special programming for the 50th anniversary of Spain in Freedom, in collaboration with the Luís Tilve Foundation. This is the first of the three conferences that will also be held in Lugo and Ferrol, in which a dialogue will be promoted between the University, the teaching and a witness of the time to explain from a historical and comparative perspective, how Spain went from dictatorship to democracy, what were its uncertainties, its advances and the keys that make it possible to distinguish today between projects that consolidate democracies or feed autocracies.

The program highlights the importance of bringing these contents closer to young people, through a pedagogical reflection on memory and democratic values.

In today’s session, held in the Government Delegation, Emilio Grandío Seoane, professor of Contemporary History at the USC, Francisco “Tuco” Cervino González, doctor and former deputy of the Parliament of Galicia, and José Antonio Pérez Fernández, teacher and specialist in Franco’s repression participated as speakers. The meeting was moderated by Roxelio Pérez Poza, secretary of the Luís Tilve Foundation. The government’s deputy delegate in A Coruña, Julio Abalde, also attended.

The delegate thanked “the generosity and rigor” of the speakers, recognizing their contribution to bringing together a plural, honest and pedagogical vision of the Transition.

Pedro Blanco recalled that all the subdelegations have an intense programming in progress coinciding with the 47th anniversary of the Constitution, which includes conference cycles in Ourense and Lugo, a day on memory and historical archives, actions in media and social networks to combat hoaxes and bring democratic memory closer to youth, theatrical performances, tributes, etc.

For the commissioner for the Celebration of the 50 years of Spain in freedom, Carmina Gustrán, “celebrating half a century of freedom is also celebrating the plurality that defines us as a country. Spain is a diverse state, rich in territories, languages, traditions and cultural expressions. That is why it makes sense for the commemorative program to be decentralized, so that every corner of our country participates and brings its voice closer to this celebration of the democratic values we share.”