24.2.2019

Ministry of Justice, Palacio de Parcent, Madrid

The Minister of Justice, Dolores Delgado, accompanied by the Undersecretary of Justice, Cristina Latorre and the Director General of Memoria Historico, Fernando Martínez, present the program with the various events that will take place on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Spanish Republican exile. It is the first time that a Spanish Government has paid institutional tribute to the thousands of men and women who fled to France, North Africa and the American continent, to save their lives and keep fighting for democratic values. "The Retreat" was a mass diaspora, estimated at more than 480,000 people, long lasting and plural, because it included all social, political and economic strata. For Minister Dolores Delgado, this recognition must surpass any partisan interest, becoming a matter of state. The planned programme brings together more than a hundred events to be held in 43 different cities in 10 countries around the world. Three are the objectives of the celebration of this anniversary, to recover for Spanish society the memory of the Spanish republican exile and to publicize its contributions to the restoration of Spanish democracy, send to the host countries a message of gratitude, and transmit a message of tribute and recognition to the members of the exile and their descendants.