On the anniversary of Francisco Franco’s death, Spain’s Socialist-led government is set to roll out sweeping changes to its national education curriculum, aiming to shine a brighter light on prominent leftist figures from the country’s republican past.
The move, spearheaded by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s administration, will affect history instruction across secondary schools, vocational programs, and pre-university education. The goal? To embed what the government refers to as “democratic memory” deeper into classroom teachings.
Officials argue the changes are urgently needed to counter what they describe as a troubling surge in revisionist narratives and historical denialism among young people—trends they blame on misinformation online and in certain media and political circles.
One figure set to receive renewed attention is Dolores Ibárruri, famously known as “La Pasionaria,” a communist icon with ties to the politically charged events surrounding the assassination of monarchist leader José Calvo Sotelo in 1936. Her reappearance in textbooks is part of a broader initiative to restore the visibility of left-wing leaders who have been, according to the government, historically overshadowed or erased.
This educational pivot forms part of a larger campaign that includes nearly €500,000 earmarked for compiling a national census of individuals executed under the Franco dictatorship. At the same time, publicly funded exhibitions aimed at younger audiences are being launched across Spain to reinforce historical awareness.
The campaign also dovetails with the government’s ongoing efforts to assert greater control over the Valley of the Fallen—Franco’s controversial burial site and a potent symbol of Spain’s unresolved civil war legacy.
With critics calling it ideological indoctrination and supporters defending it as long-overdue historical justice, the initiative marks yet another chapter in Spain’s heated struggle over how its past should be taught—and remembered.
