Challenging the Symbolic Representation of the Franco Dictatorship: The Street Name Controversy in Madrid

Abstract:This article examines the controversy surrounding the street names symbolizing the Franco dictatorship (1939–75) in Madrid. The Memory Law, passed in 2007, which sought to eradicate Francoist symbols in the public sphere, was ignored by Madrid’s conservative mayoral administration until 2015 when a new mayor announced the official removal of Francoist street names from the cityscape. The article discusses the negotiation of contested memorialization processes and how different political forces shape commemorative practices in urban space. By addressing the political, discursive, academic and legal fields of action, it focuses in particular on civil society’s and grassroots attempts to replace Francoist street names with new ones demonstrating how a cityscape is a vehicle for ongoing struggles over memory in the present.