Madrid town hall votes to change names of streets celebrating Franco dictatorship

The Madrid City Hall on Tuesday voted in favor of changing the names of around 30 streets and squares in the city which honor people or events related to the fascist dictatorship of General Franco, which lasted between 1939 and Franc's death in 1975.

The vote was passed with the support of three of the parties represented in the Madrid city council (Ahora Madrid, Citizens and the Spanish Socialist Party), but with the exception of the right wing People's Party (PP), who voted against the motion.

The local authority's Culture Delegate, Celia Mayer commented that as a result of the vote, in the next six months places such as the Plaza Arriba Espana (a common Francoist cry), and the Plaza del Caudillo (which is how Franco was often known), will be changed, along with many others, such as Calle General Moya, a major plotter with Franco in the 1936 uprising against the Spanish government, and Calle de los Caidios de la Division Azul.

This street commemorates Spanish volunteers who died fighting for Nazi Germany on the Russian front in the second World War.

The cost of the operation will be very low, given that the only expense to the authority will be the 50 euros (55 U.S. dollars) it costs for a new name plaque.

The council has decided that streets and plazas will be renamed after 'relevant events' in the history of Madrid or after 'forgotten people' whose work nevertheless has been significant for the development of the Spanish capital. Endit