The Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, highlighted “the commitment of the Government of Spain to the principles of truth, justice, reparation and guarantee of non-repetition, pillars of the Democratic Memory Law”.

Torres, who presided over the act of handing over to his relatives 21 remains exhumed in Manzanares (Ciudad Real), along with, among others, the second vice-president of the Government of Castilla-La Mancha, José Manuel Caballero, and the mayor of Manzanares, Julián Nieva, recalled that “our democracy can look to the past without fear and to the future with hope and pride in this country that, with acts such as this afternoon, reaches the highest level of human dignity.”

Victims of the War and the dictatorship in Manzanares

In Manzanares the horror of the War was experienced. Between July 1939 and November 1940, this municipality witnessed mass executions: “Men, trade unionists, workers, pastors, militiamen, day labourers, communists or socialists, with one thing in common, each and every one of them defended democratic legality, fruit of the ballot box, each and every one of them faced an uprising, which sought, as it happened, to return Spain to caciquism and slavery,” the minister said.

“Today we are living a moment to honor those who were silenced, to recognize their memory and to reaffirm that Spanish society has not forgotten them. We remember his strength and resilience and his legacy will endure in our collective memory, inspiring us to fight for a fairer present and future,” he added.

The act of homage celebrated today in Manzanares is the end of a long journey traveled by their relatives, who never fainted to recover the bodies of their ancestors. That is why the minister has addressed his families today: “Receive your loved ones, those who left an indelible mark on every home, every school, every archive that preserves the truth. His patience, serenity and insistence have been a guide for us, and this act of reparation would not be possible without his strength.”

Torres has indicated that this act is not an end, but a further step to continue on the road map with greater conviction: “It is our legal and moral duty. We can’t take a single step back.”

25N

Torres has also made reference to women, today, 25N, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. “In Castilla-La Mancha there was also a harsh repression against women who refused to abide by the role that had historically been assigned to them. Women like Blasa Jiménez, ‘the lawyer’, from the province of Ciudad Real, Republican mayor of Alhambra. Her husband and son were shot and she was imprisoned. Or the teachers purged to follow the precepts of the Free Institution of Teaching. Courageous women, pioneers of freedom. Without them, we would not be here, because feminism has been and is one of the fundamental engines of progress.”