Pedro Sánchez's Spanish cabinet will approve an executive order this Friday to allow for the dictator Franco to be exhumed from the Valle de los Caídos ("Valley of the Fallen"). In the face of attempts from the Partido Popular, Ciudadanos and various pro-Franco associations to avoid it, the Spanish government now plans to remove his remains in secret to avoid any possible protests.
The Valle de los Caídos was built by Franco near Madrid, reportedly using forced labour, to bury and honour the dead from the Spanish Civil War. Franco himself is buried in the basilica, the only person who didn't die during the war to be buried on the site. The valley and the prominent location of Franco's grave within it remain highly controversial.
The party's deputy secretary general, Adriana Lastra, has told Spanish TV channel Telecinco that they believe the exhumation should take place without notice to avoid controversy. That said, she announced it will be carried out some time in September.
Culture minister José Guirao, in an interview on Catalan radio station RAC1 this morning, took the same line, avoiding giving a more specific dates. He said that "after so long, one month earlier or later isn't considerable".