Thirteen town halls in Mallorca have been told to eliminate symbols of the Franco regime that are under municipal ownership and have been warned that they face being fined if they do not.
These orders have been sent from the Balearic ministries for the presidency and democratic memory and they refer to Balearic law for democratic memory which requires the removal of such symbols. These are principally street names - individuals associated with the regime.
The regional secretary for democratic memory, Jesús Jurado, explains that there were some eighty examples. "In Ibiza they have been very efficient and have removed practically everything, but in Mallorca this is proving to be more difficult. This is why we have issued the demands, a step prior to the opening of disciplinary proceedings that can end with fines. Our aim is not to collect money; we want fascist symbology to be eliminated because the law says so."
Municipalities in Mallorca which have complied with this law or are in the process of removal include Arta, Bunyola, Calvia, Manacor and Son Servera. Certain others, such as Inca and Palma, have only "partially" complied. These are two of the thirteen, the others being Ariany, Capdepera, Llucmajor, Mancor de la Vall, Marratxi, Muro, Puigpunyent, Sa Pobla, Santanyi, Ses Salines and Soller.
As well as street names, there are certain monuments, one of them being in Palma's Sa Feixina Park. A plan to demolish this has been blocked by the courts. The Supreme Court in Madrid has ordered the Council of Mallorca to list it for its heritage value, the Balearic High Court having previously ruled that it does not violate the Spanish law of historical memory. The national law was cited when the demolition was originally planned (in 2015); the Balearic law came later.