Although this Sunday marked the 47th anniversary of the death of the dictator Francisco Franco, one has the increasingly evident impression that the Francoists have taken hold of an important part of the narrative of Spanish politics and, without anyone stopping them, have made their presence more and more noticeable in the architecture of the state, at strategic points, and most particularly, in the senior judiciary and the media. For many years, Franco's phrase, atado y bien atado - "very well secured" - was remembered as an exclusive or preferential reference to Spain's military, but today we know that it went far beyond the uniformed officers and barracks.
There are many ways to verify that Francoism remains latent and that there is a deep state that has a life of its own and acts outside of political power. A few days ago we learned that general Fernando Alejandre, chief of the Spanish defence staff (JEMAD) in 2017, unilaterally activated, although later backed away from, a plan to intervene militarily in Catalonia. The soldier explained this in a book, and the Spanish government has only responded on the matter in a written reply to the MP Jon Iñarritu, who considers it very serious, even though the executive completely ignores it. I will not go into the subject of the sentence of the independence process trial issued by the Supreme Court, but these days there are many lawyers who consider that it was not in accordance with the law and that the sentences were exaggerated.
Not to mention the renewal of the Constitutional Court, which the General Council for the Judiciary (CGPJ) is obliged to carry through by constitutional mandate, and on which the judicial body has turned its back. There are the conservative members of the CGPJ - in fact, even the so-called progressives on that body scarcely deserve the term - blocking the renewal and already two months have gone by since the breach began. All this, to maintain their majority in the Constitutional Court as a bargaining chip in the sedition reform agreed by the Spanish government with ERC. Until the de-judicialization of politics is properly addressed, the judges will not be put back in their place, that is, they will not become one of the powers of the state - in contrast to what they are now, which is the only power of the state.
That people sought to take advantage of November 20th this year to start an international campaign and demand the closure of the Barcelona police headquarters in Via Laietana, a symbol of torture and harassment, so that it is handed over to the Catalan institutions and converted into a centre of memory and reparations, is another example of the democratic deficiencies of the Spanish state. A total of 176 organizations from twenty countries have joined the petition to the Spanish government to change the function of the police station. We are talking about a building that under normal conditions would have already been given another use, if only to erase the unfortunate memories which many Catalans have of it.
Taking advantage of Spain's 20-N to exhibit everything that remains to be done reminds us that there was a physical death, but that the resistance of sociological Francoism continues to affect the behaviour of the state, and affect it very much.