Generational dynamics in Spain: Memory transmission of a turbulent past

Abstract

Despite the crucial transformations that Spain has experienced since Franco’s death, and in contrast with other countries that have democratized in recent decades, considerable reluctance remains toward implementing transitional justice measures. On the contrary, there is a tendency to hold on to a framework that combines the Amnesty Law of 1977 with partial reparations as the best guarantors of democratic stability. According to extant literature, generational change has played a fundamental role in the direction taken by recent initiatives dealing with the memory of Francoist repression, particularly since 2000. A small but very active part of the “grandchildren’s generation” has driven various initiatives that have influenced political and judicial agendas. We provide empirical evidence showing that while, in general terms, it would be true to say that third and fourth generations have been more supportive of the implementation of bolder memory policies, their contribution must nevertheless be subjected to careful nuancing.

Collective memory and intergenerational transmission in social movements: The “grandparents’ movement” iaioflautas, the indignados protests, and the Spanish transition

“…In 2007, 30 years after the transition—after another generational turnover, so to say—the government under Zapatero passed the Law of Historical Memory (LHM) that conceded families the right to know of the whereabouts of their deceased family members and thus opened the legal way to exhumations, albeit without regular financial or institutional support. With regard to attitudes concerning the LHM, public surveys show clear generational differences among the populace, as Aguilar and Ramírez-Barat (2017) point out in this journal. Whereas the intermediate generation stated fears that digging up the past might provoke political violence and social division, the younger generations, those born after the transition, in tendency supported the law.…”

“…Aguilar and Ramírez-Barat (2017) point to the fact that after 2011, with the land-slide victory of the right-wing Partido Popular (PP), these historical memories initiatives were completely excluded from government support, which abandoned the implementation of the LHM. This was usually justified precisely in the framework of austerity policies, that is, the need for budget cuts in reaction to the economic crisis.…”

“…When this occupation was evicted the following morning, and several of the activists were detained, on 17 May, some 10,000 people went back to re-occupy the Plaza for several weeks, an act that was echoed in Barcelona on Plaça Catalunya and in several other cities. Aguilar and Ramírez-Barat (2017) emphasize that the movement[…] called into question some key features of the political system (such as bipartisanship, lack of social participation, and political disaffection). More importantly, it has directly blamed the democratic transition for these malfunctions and has included, among its main political demands, the need to recover the historical memory.…”

“Too Young to Remember Determined Not to Forget”

“…The analysis of generational shifts in activism in societies in and after conflict sheds light on processes of continuation and change, in the vibrant processes of shaping collective memories. Other case studies have shown important angle of studying the generational shifts in activism in divided societies, especially as related to contested pasts (see, e.g., Aguilar & Ramirez-Barat, 2016;Massalha, Kaufman, & Levy, 2017; and last, as relates to the memory of Yugoslavia and the breakup of Yugoslavia, Plamberger, 2016). 13.…”

From Survivor to Fourth-Generation Memory: Literal and Discursive Sites of Memory in Post-dictatorship Germany and Spain

“…93 Some of these different attitudes to the HML can be explained by the left/right division of the political spectrum, but they must also be understood in the context of generational differences. Most of those opposed to confront the past 'belong mainly to the second generation born after the Civil War', 94 and had grown up during the dictatorship. They were conditioned to silence, as discussed above in the context of the exhumations, impacted by 'their inherited inability to construct a verbal representation of what was happening to them and what had happened to their parents.'…”