Sánchez highlighted the country’s achievements after the dictatorship, but warned of the risks of a possible democratic regression in the face of the advance of autocratic values and fascism in Europe.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez inaugurated the Spain in Freedom programme at the Reina Sofía Museum on Wednesday, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of Francisco Franco and the beginning of the democratic transition in Spain. During his speech, Sánchez highlighted the country’s achievements after the dictatorship, but warned of the risks of a possible democratic regression in the face of the advance of autocratic values andfascism in Europe.
Sánchez urged the new generations to value democracy, reminding them that freedom must not be taken for granted, leaving a message of warning for the future: “If history teaches us anything, it is that freedom is never permanently conquered, it is something that can be lost. It can happen again”.
“You don’t have to be of a particular ideology, left, centre or right, to look back with great sadness, and also with great terror, at the dark years of Franco’s regime. And to fear that this regression will be repeated, it is enough to be democrats”, the Prime Minister pointed out.
“The fascism that we thought we had left behind is now the third political force in Europe”, he warned, also pointing to Elon Musk as the leader of a “reactionary international” that promotes hatred and disinformation. “And the reactionary or ultra-right international, led by the richest man on the planet openly attacks our institutions, incites hatred and openly calls to support the heirs of Nazism in Germany in the next elections“.
Notable absence of Feijóo and Abascal
The event, which was attended by members of the government, trade unions and cultural figures, was marked by the absence ofKing Felipe VI, and of the leaders of the Popular Party and the far-right Vox party.
Sánchez stressed that defending democracy is a commitment that transcends ideologies: “You don’t need to be progressive, you just need to be a democrat”. He also called for the fight against fake news, which he described as “the main weapon of the enemies of democracy”, and to learn from the mistakes of the past to avoid repeating them. Sánchez closed by vindicating the road travelled by Spain over the last 50 years: “No one coming from so far back has come as far as democratic Spain”.
