The Valencian government has begun the procedures to approve the decree that must regulate the granting of subsidies for projects and initiatives related to Valencian democratic memory, as established by the laws and decrees approved by the Botànic in this area. The intention, explain sources from the Presidency of the Generalitat, is to comply with current regulations and recognize these rights.
The decree processed by Carlos Mazón’s executive provides for granting subsidies to projects and initiatives that aim to promote and disseminate the Valencian democratic memory, as well as the implementation of actions related to it, such as the enhancement of the places of the memory, and the removal of vestiges related to the civil war and the dictatorship.
A process that began on March 20 with the publication in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat Valenciana (DOGV) of the draft decree. Just one day before the parliamentary groups of PP and Vox presented a battery of legislative proposals, including a Concord Law that will serve to repeal the Democratic Memory Law of 2017.
However, the Presidency insists on the need to comply with current regulations, which is why they have not hesitated to initiate the procedures to grant this year’s aid to memorial entities. Another thing, the same sources explain, is that after the implementation of the future law – which is expected to be approved before the end of the session in Les Corts – the bases of the aid may change.
However, they clarify in the environment of the Valencian president, Carlos Mazón, the objective is to expand the number of beneficiaries of the subsidies and not cut it. The same sources highlight that exhumations have not been paralyzed and that the idea is that the new bases can include more victims without harming those already recognized in the historical memory laws advocated by the different left-wing governments (both at the national and regional levels). ).
In this sense, the first vice president of the Consell and Minister of Culture, Vicente Barrera (from Vox), yesterday summoned the media to convey to them that, although they do not like the Valencian democratic memory law (something he wanted to make very clear) , the executive will not fail to comply with it while it is in force. Another thing, the Vox leader warned, is that once the new norm promoted by his parliamentary group and the PP is approved, a new draft of the bases for granting the awards will be made. In the PP they insist that this new wording will be done to include all victims.
Yesterday, Barrera defended the need to “promote equality for all victims and not only recognize the pain of one of the parties to the conflict.” In his brief intervention, he wanted to emphasize that Valencia was the last place where the Government of the Republic remained “and from 31 to 39 a lot of things happened.”
Regarding the inclusion of new victims, it does not seem that there will be friction. The problem may come from the part of the subsidies that, according to left-wing regulations, is intended for the removal of the symbols referred to in article 35 of Law 20/2022, of October 19, on democratic memory. , or elements contrary to the Valencian democratic memory.
Vox sources are not in favor of removing the so-called crosses to the fallen that honor the victims of one of the two sides. Furthermore, the future norm whose debate begins today in the Valencian parliament with the taking into consideration foresees considering places of concord those spaces, buildings or places in which “events of singular relevance for their significance, historical, symbolic or for their impact on collective memory”. A point that can come into conflict with state law. In fact, the Government has already announced its intention to take the Valencian law to the Constitutional Court when it is approved.
