Spain: Reform of secrecy laws to cast light on civil war and Franco regime

Spain: Reform of secrecy laws to cast light on civil war and Franco regime

The Spanish government has begun reforming the secrecy regime that prevented papers from the civil war and Franco’s dictatorship from being published.

The Socialist-led coalition of Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister, said a commission had been established to bring Spain’s freedom of information legislation up to date.

The Official Secrets Law of 1968 lacks an expiration period keeping documents out of the public eye.

Previous calls for reform were blocked by the Socialist Party (PSOE) and the conservative Popular Party (PP) in keeping with the country’s “pact of silence” – the deal between parties not to look too deeply into the past in order to ensure a smooth transition following the dictator’s death.

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