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'Franco's victims probably deserved to die'

Alex Dunham
Alex Dunham - [email protected]
'Franco's victims probably deserved to die'
Francisco Franco was the Head of the Spanish State until his death in 1975. Screen grab: YouTube

A town mayor in northern Spain has got himself into hot water after saying that those who were sentenced to death during the regime of former Spanish dictator Franco "deserved it".

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Manuel González, the conservative Popular Party mayor of the town of Baralla in the region of Galicia, uttered the unfortunate words during a municipal hearing on July 26th.

The council session included a vote condemning violent acts by separatist group Resistencia Galega.

But when González and his Popular Party entourage were asked to also denounce the murders committed during Spain’s 40-year Francoist regime, the conservative leader said “they probably got what they deserved”.

Baralla’s socialists were immediately appalled by González’s claims, labelling them as “hurtful and inacceptable in a democratic society”.

“If they (the PP) don’t apologize, all they’ll be doing is showing how dictatorial conservative town hall leaders are in Spain,” said the PP in an official statement.

The Galician mayor has insisted “his words were taken out of context” but they were nonetheless “unfortunate”.

Although the exact number of people murdered during the Franco regime is unknown, it is estimated that anywhere from 15,000 to 50,000 Spaniards lost their lives.

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