Julián Grimau
Encyclopedia
Julián Grimau García was a Spanish Communist
member.
, he joined the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) upon the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War
. Grimau spent the war years in Barcelona
, where his father had been a police inspector. When the Second Spanish Republic
was defeated by Francisco Franco
's armies in 1939, he took exile to Latin America
, and then settled in France.
Grimau became one of the PCE leaders, a member of its Central Committee
after the Congress it held in Prague
(1954). In 1959, he decided to take over direction of the "internal" wing of the Party - the clandestine one in Francoist Spain, and resided illegally in the country at various intervals.
Subsequently, Grimau became one of the most sought-after enemies of the regime - which is why many who have looked into his life story wonder about the reason for his ill-fated 1962 arrival in the capital, an episode which has not found a reasonable explanation. Former members of the PCE leadership, such as Jorge Semprún
, have suggested that general secretary
Santiago Carrillo
had wished Grimau removed from the leadership position, and had created circumstances for his arrest in November.
Julián Grimau was ambushed while traveling by bus, the only other two passengers being members of the Spanish secret police. He was taken to the Puerta del Sol
headquarters of the General Security Directorate (DGS, nowadays the seat of the Comunidad de Madrid administration). Grimau fell from a second-storey window, suffering serious injuries to his skull and both of his wrists. He later explained to his lawyers that he had been subject to torture while in the building, and had actually been flung arms forward by his investigators. The Minister of the Interior Manuel Fraga Iribarne
replied that Grimau had been treated with care, and had thrown himself out the window
for an "unexplainable" reason - which appears to be highly improbable.
". The accusation came despite the 25
year statute of limitations
, and it was attempted to establish that criminal actions would have been continued beyond the legal date (as a provision necessary for the penalty to apply). Grimau was investigated on hearsay that he would have acted as torturer and executioner in a checa
(political detention center) while in Barcelona. Incidentally, the charge was backed by anarchists
- who accused Grimau of being a prominent member of the Republic's political police, the Servicio de Información Militar (SIM), and of having tortured and execute Anti-Stalinist soldiers in the International Brigade. Such charges were not only not backed by evidence, they also explained placed Grimau's presence in Madrid.
Jorge Semprún
(Federico Sanchez), member of the Executive Committee of the PCE, wrote in his well-known Autobiografia de Federico Sanchez the following: "Following Grimau's arrest, and above all after his murder, when I took part in the preparation of the book [Julián Grimau — El hombre — El crimen — La protesta, Éditions Sociales, 1963] that the Party dedicated to Grimau's memory, I gradually learned some details of Grimau's biography that I was unaware of while I shared with him our underground political work in Madrid [in 1962]. I did not know, for instance, that Julian Grimau a few weeks after the beginning of the [Spanish] Civil War [in July 1936], while he was still a member of the Federal Republican Party -he joined the Communist Party in October- became a policeman, working initially in Madrid Criminal Brigade. One day, while Fernando Claudin
and I worked in the preparation of the aforementioned book, he, quite disconcerted and with obvious unease and displeasure, showed me a testimony, just received from Latin America
, about Grimau. There, somebody stated with quite a detail the activities of Grimau in Barcelona, fighting the fifth column
ists, but also, and this was what caused Claudin's unease, fighting the POUM
. I did not keep a copy of that document, and I do not remember every point of what the Latin American witness reported to the last detail quite naturally. I only can swear that Grimau's involvement in the repression against the POUM was clearly established by that testimony, that was softened and censored in its most problematic aspects before being published, very shortened, in the book.".
Since Grimau was tried by a military tribunal
, and there were few military jurists available, his prosecutor was a man of limited experience - in fact, Manuel Fernández Martín had never studied law, and could hide the fact (as many other Francoist lawyers did) by stating that he had studied as the war went on (the claim was proven false only three decades later, after which Fernández Martín was jailed). Grimau's defender, Alejandro Rebollo, was the only person with legal experience in the courtroom.
The trial opened in Madrid on Thursday April 18, 1963, in front of a room packed with journalists. Rebollo argued that the trial was null and void in accordance with the laws of the time. The charges were never backed by evidence: witnesses for the prosecution declared that they knew of his actions "by hearsay", the rumors never being confirmed. It was only proven that Grimau had been a policeman. The continued rebellion charge was made improbable by the fact that he had spent more than 20 years in exile; the prosecutor intervened to cut short testimonies by Grimau and pleas of his lawyer, while the latter's conclusions were disregarded altogether. After less than five hours of trial, Grimau was sentenced to death
, without deliberation
.
The law applied (Ley de Responsabilidades Políticas, "Political Responsibilities Law") had been created especially for prosecuting Republic supporters (in 1938), and had not been consistently applied ever since the years immediately following the war. Moreover, the government had just approved the creation of a Public Order Tribunal (on April 1), which was to replace the old legal institutions created during the war. Franco himself ordered for the law to be postponed until after Grimau's shooting.
n capitals. Stevedore
s in several ports refused to unload cargo
from Spanish ships, and over 800,000 telegrams were sent to Madrid, asking for the dismissal of the kangaroo court
. Nonetheless, Franco stood by his theory of "a freemason
-leftist conspiracy
against the political establishment".
The trial coincided with the presentation of Not on Your Life
in the Venice Film Festival
, a Spanish black comedy about the death penalty.
After the court's decision, the only legal solution was the commuting
of Julián Grimau's sentence into a prison term by Franco himself. Various chiefs of state appealed to the Spanish Caudillo
, including Pope John XXIII
and Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev
(a notable event in itself, since it was the first time a Soviet politician addressed the Spanish regime). The pressure was echoed in Spain itself, with several personalities asking for clemency. The government met on April 19, in a session that lasted ten hours: although Fernando Castiella
, the Minister of Foreign Affairs
, declared himself in favor of the pardon (bearing in mind the consequences on Spain's image), his opposition was timid. Franco imposed voting on the matter, and the final verdict was unanimity for Grimau's execution.
was ordered to complete the act, and shot him twice in the head. He later confessed that the macabre experience made him seek the help of a psychiatrist
.
Julián Grimau was buried in Madrid's civil cemetery.
(from 1975), the possibility of Grimau and other victims' reassesment arose. Nevertheless, agreements such as those concluded in the Palacio de la Moncloa
effectively imposed a moratorium
- paradoxically, one favored by the PCE. In generic terms, there was an attempt at leaving behind the more obscure aspects of the previous regime, and the burial of legacies left by the Republic and the Civil War. In the 1980s, according to PCE members and people close to Grimau, the Madrid City Council, during a session led by Socialist
Enrique Tierno Galván, had discussed renaming the Avenida del Mediterráneo Julián Grimau, only for the proposition to be rejected by the communists. Several avenues and public buildings in Spain are named after Grimau nowadays.
The new climate of the 1990s brought forward public debate about the fate of Franco's adversaries. Numerous attempts originated with the Izquierda Unida
, a coalition joined by PCE after it ousted Carrillo. On April 15, 2002, it presented an initiative to the Cortes Generales
for Grimau's "public and democratic exoneration", which was backed by all parties represented, with the exception of the conservative
People's Party
(PP); since the latter had absolute majority, the proposal was not passed into law. The PP opposed exoneration on the grounds that it went against the moratorium. It also resented the shadow the proposal cast over the figure of Fraga, who had in the meanwhile become a founding member of the PP.
In May 2005, Izquierda Unida launched a similar process within the Community of Madrid Assembly, one blocked yet again by the PP (majority party in the Community).
Grimau's death is the subject of a song by Violeta Parra
, as well as of one by Thanos Mikroutsikos
(lyrics by Wolf Biermann
).
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
member.
Political activities
Initially active in the Federal Republican Party and the Republican LeftRepublican Left (Spain)
The Republican Left was a Spanish left-wing republican party founded in 1934.The party was founded in 1934 following the left's defeat in the 1933 election, by the merger of Manuel Azaña's Republican Action, part of Marcelino Domingo's Radical Socialist Republican Party and Santiago Casares...
, he joined the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) upon the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
. Grimau spent the war years in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, where his father had been a police inspector. When the Second Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
was defeated by Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
's armies in 1939, he took exile to Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, and then settled in France.
Grimau became one of the PCE leaders, a member of its Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
after the Congress it held in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
(1954). In 1959, he decided to take over direction of the "internal" wing of the Party - the clandestine one in Francoist Spain, and resided illegally in the country at various intervals.
Subsequently, Grimau became one of the most sought-after enemies of the regime - which is why many who have looked into his life story wonder about the reason for his ill-fated 1962 arrival in the capital, an episode which has not found a reasonable explanation. Former members of the PCE leadership, such as Jorge Semprún
Jorge Semprún
Jorge Semprún Maura was a Spanish writer and politician who lived in France most of his life and wrote primarily in French. From 1953 to 1962, during the era of Francisco Franco, Semprún lived clandestinely in Spain working as an organizer for the exiled Communist Party of Spain, but was expelled...
, have suggested that general secretary
General secretary
-International intergovernmental organizations:-International nongovernmental organizations:-Sports governing bodies:...
Santiago Carrillo
Santiago Carrillo
Santiago Carrillo Solares is a Spanish politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Spain from 1960 to 1982.- Childhood and early youth :...
had wished Grimau removed from the leadership position, and had created circumstances for his arrest in November.
Arrest
Puerta del Sol
The Puerta del Sol is one of the best known and busiest places in Madrid. This is the centre of the radial network of Spanish roads. The square also contains the famous clock whose bells mark the traditional eating of the Twelve Grapes and the beginning of a new year...
headquarters of the General Security Directorate (DGS, nowadays the seat of the Comunidad de Madrid administration). Grimau fell from a second-storey window, suffering serious injuries to his skull and both of his wrists. He later explained to his lawyers that he had been subject to torture while in the building, and had actually been flung arms forward by his investigators. The Minister of the Interior Manuel Fraga Iribarne
Manuel Fraga Iribarne
Manuel Fraga Iribarne is a Spanish People's Party politician. Fraga's career as one of the key political figures in Spain straddles both General Francisco Franco's dictatorial regime and the subsequent transition to democracy. He served as the President of the Xunta of Galicia from 1990 to 2005...
replied that Grimau had been treated with care, and had thrown himself out the window
Defenestration
Defenestration is the act of throwing someone or something out of a window.The term "defenestration" was coined around the time of an incident in Prague Castle in the year 1618. The word comes from the Latin de- and fenestra...
for an "unexplainable" reason - which appears to be highly improbable.
Trial
Surprisingly, Grimau was not placed under investigation for his activities in the clandestine movement (which would have attracted imprisonment), but rather for his role in the Civil War - prosecutable as the crime of "armed rebellionRebellion
Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...
". The accusation came despite the 25
year statute of limitations
Statute of limitations
A statute of limitations is an enactment in a common law legal system that sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that event may be initiated...
, and it was attempted to establish that criminal actions would have been continued beyond the legal date (as a provision necessary for the penalty to apply). Grimau was investigated on hearsay that he would have acted as torturer and executioner in a checa
Checa
Checa is a municipality located in the province of Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 364 inhabitants....
(political detention center) while in Barcelona. Incidentally, the charge was backed by anarchists
Anarchism in Spain
Anarchism has historically gained more support and influence in Spain than anywhere else, especially before Francisco Franco's victory in the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939....
- who accused Grimau of being a prominent member of the Republic's political police, the Servicio de Información Militar (SIM), and of having tortured and execute Anti-Stalinist soldiers in the International Brigade. Such charges were not only not backed by evidence, they also explained placed Grimau's presence in Madrid.
Jorge Semprún
Jorge Semprún
Jorge Semprún Maura was a Spanish writer and politician who lived in France most of his life and wrote primarily in French. From 1953 to 1962, during the era of Francisco Franco, Semprún lived clandestinely in Spain working as an organizer for the exiled Communist Party of Spain, but was expelled...
(Federico Sanchez), member of the Executive Committee of the PCE, wrote in his well-known Autobiografia de Federico Sanchez the following: "Following Grimau's arrest, and above all after his murder, when I took part in the preparation of the book [Julián Grimau — El hombre — El crimen — La protesta, Éditions Sociales, 1963] that the Party dedicated to Grimau's memory, I gradually learned some details of Grimau's biography that I was unaware of while I shared with him our underground political work in Madrid [in 1962]. I did not know, for instance, that Julian Grimau a few weeks after the beginning of the [Spanish] Civil War [in July 1936], while he was still a member of the Federal Republican Party -he joined the Communist Party in October- became a policeman, working initially in Madrid Criminal Brigade. One day, while Fernando Claudin
Fernando Claudin
Fernando Claudin was a Spanish communist ideologist and historian best known for his two volume study The Communist Movement: From Comintern to Cominform.- Within the Spanish Communist Party :...
and I worked in the preparation of the aforementioned book, he, quite disconcerted and with obvious unease and displeasure, showed me a testimony, just received from Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, about Grimau. There, somebody stated with quite a detail the activities of Grimau in Barcelona, fighting the fifth column
Fifth column
A fifth column is a group of people who clandestinely undermine a larger group such as a nation from within.-Origin:The term originated with a 1936 radio address by Emilio Mola, a Nationalist General during the 1936–39 Spanish Civil War...
ists, but also, and this was what caused Claudin's unease, fighting the POUM
Workers' Party of Marxist Unification
The Workers' Party of Marxist Unification was a Spanish communist political party formed during the Second Republic and mainly active around the Spanish Civil War...
. I did not keep a copy of that document, and I do not remember every point of what the Latin American witness reported to the last detail quite naturally. I only can swear that Grimau's involvement in the repression against the POUM was clearly established by that testimony, that was softened and censored in its most problematic aspects before being published, very shortened, in the book.".
Since Grimau was tried by a military tribunal
Military tribunal
A military tribunal is a kind of military court designed to try members of enemy forces during wartime, operating outside the scope of conventional criminal and civil proceedings. The judges are military officers and fulfill the role of jurors...
, and there were few military jurists available, his prosecutor was a man of limited experience - in fact, Manuel Fernández Martín had never studied law, and could hide the fact (as many other Francoist lawyers did) by stating that he had studied as the war went on (the claim was proven false only three decades later, after which Fernández Martín was jailed). Grimau's defender, Alejandro Rebollo, was the only person with legal experience in the courtroom.
The trial opened in Madrid on Thursday April 18, 1963, in front of a room packed with journalists. Rebollo argued that the trial was null and void in accordance with the laws of the time. The charges were never backed by evidence: witnesses for the prosecution declared that they knew of his actions "by hearsay", the rumors never being confirmed. It was only proven that Grimau had been a policeman. The continued rebellion charge was made improbable by the fact that he had spent more than 20 years in exile; the prosecutor intervened to cut short testimonies by Grimau and pleas of his lawyer, while the latter's conclusions were disregarded altogether. After less than five hours of trial, Grimau was sentenced to death
Death Sentence
Death Sentence is a short story by the American science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the November 1943 issue of Astounding Science Fiction and reprinted in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov.-Plot summary:...
, without deliberation
Deliberation
Deliberation is a process of thoughtfully weighing options, usually prior to voting. In legal settings a jury famously uses deliberation because it is given specific options, like guilty or not guilty, along with information and arguments to evaluate. Deliberation emphasizes the use of logic and...
.
The law applied (Ley de Responsabilidades Políticas, "Political Responsibilities Law") had been created especially for prosecuting Republic supporters (in 1938), and had not been consistently applied ever since the years immediately following the war. Moreover, the government had just approved the creation of a Public Order Tribunal (on April 1), which was to replace the old legal institutions created during the war. Franco himself ordered for the law to be postponed until after Grimau's shooting.
International pressure
Spain's claim to the outside world that the war's legacy had been left behind contrasted with the events of Grimau's trial. An international protest ensued: the press campaigned in his favor, and numerous rallies took place in European and Latin AmericaLatin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n capitals. Stevedore
Stevedore
Stevedore, dockworker, docker, dock labourer, wharfie and longshoreman can have various waterfront-related meanings concerning loading and unloading ships, according to place and country....
s in several ports refused to unload cargo
Cargo
Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...
from Spanish ships, and over 800,000 telegrams were sent to Madrid, asking for the dismissal of the kangaroo court
Kangaroo court
A kangaroo court is "a mock court in which the principles of law and justice are disregarded or perverted".The outcome of a trial by kangaroo court is essentially determined in advance, usually for the purpose of ensuring conviction, either by going through the motions of manipulated procedure or...
. Nonetheless, Franco stood by his theory of "a freemason
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
-leftist conspiracy
Conspiracy (political)
In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of persons united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power. Typically, the final goal is to gain power through a revolutionary coup d'état or through assassination....
against the political establishment".
The trial coincided with the presentation of Not on Your Life
Not on Your Life
Not on your Life is a 1963 Spanish black comedy film directed by Luis García Berlanga. Its original Spanish title is El Verdugo, which means "The Executioner". It is widely considered one of the masterpieces of Spanish cinema.-Plot:...
in the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
, a Spanish black comedy about the death penalty.
After the court's decision, the only legal solution was the commuting
Commutation of sentence
Commutation of sentence involves the reduction of legal penalties, especially in terms of imprisonment. Unlike a pardon, a commutation does not nullify the conviction and is often conditional. Clemency is a similar term, meaning the lessening of the penalty of the crime without forgiving the crime...
of Julián Grimau's sentence into a prison term by Franco himself. Various chiefs of state appealed to the Spanish Caudillo
Caudillo
Caudillo is a Spanish word for "leader" and usually describes a political-military leader at the head of an authoritarian power. The term translates into English as leader or chief, or more pejoratively as warlord, dictator or strongman. Caudillo was the term used to refer to the charismatic...
, including Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
and Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
(a notable event in itself, since it was the first time a Soviet politician addressed the Spanish regime). The pressure was echoed in Spain itself, with several personalities asking for clemency. The government met on April 19, in a session that lasted ten hours: although Fernando Castiella
Fernando Castiella
Fernando María Castiella y Maíz was a Spanish diplomat, Professor of Private International Law, politician, and the minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain during Spain under Franco's regime....
, the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Minister of Foreign Affairs (Spain)
The Spanish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation is the department of Government of Spain responsible for Spain's foreign relations. The present incumbent of the office is Trinidad Jiménez of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ....
, declared himself in favor of the pardon (bearing in mind the consequences on Spain's image), his opposition was timid. Franco imposed voting on the matter, and the final verdict was unanimity for Grimau's execution.
Death
The firing squad he faced was to be composed of Guardia Civil members, who refused to carry out the order. The Madrid captain-general (apparently on direct orders from Franco) resorted to a second option, and called on enlisted soldiers. Young and inexperienced, these fired 27 bullets without being able to kill Grimau. Their commanding lieutenantLieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
was ordered to complete the act, and shot him twice in the head. He later confessed that the macabre experience made him seek the help of a psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
.
Julián Grimau was buried in Madrid's civil cemetery.
Legacy and exoneration dispute
With Spain's transition to democracySpanish transition to democracy
The Spanish transition to democracy was the era when Spain moved from the dictatorship of Francisco Franco to a liberal democratic state. The transition is usually said to have begun with Franco’s death on 20 November 1975, while its completion has been variously said to be marked by the Spanish...
(from 1975), the possibility of Grimau and other victims' reassesment arose. Nevertheless, agreements such as those concluded in the Palacio de la Moncloa
Palacio de la Moncloa
The Palace of Moncloa or Moncloa Palace , located in the Ciudad Universitaria ward of Madrid , has been the official residence for the Prime Minister of Spain since 1977, when Adolfo Suárez moved the residence from the Villamejor Palace on the Paseo de la Castellana...
effectively imposed a moratorium
Moratorium (law)
A moratorium is a delay or suspension of an activity or a law. In a legal context, it may refer to the temporary suspension of a law to allow a legal challenge to be carried out....
- paradoxically, one favored by the PCE. In generic terms, there was an attempt at leaving behind the more obscure aspects of the previous regime, and the burial of legacies left by the Republic and the Civil War. In the 1980s, according to PCE members and people close to Grimau, the Madrid City Council, during a session led by Socialist
Popular Socialist Party (Spain)
The People's Socialist Party was a Spanish political party.The origins of the party dated back to 1954 when the University professor, Enrique Tierno Galván published various academic studies of a Marxist character. In 1965, working together with Raúl Morodo, he formed the Castillian Socialist...
Enrique Tierno Galván, had discussed renaming the Avenida del Mediterráneo Julián Grimau, only for the proposition to be rejected by the communists. Several avenues and public buildings in Spain are named after Grimau nowadays.
The new climate of the 1990s brought forward public debate about the fate of Franco's adversaries. Numerous attempts originated with the Izquierda Unida
United Left (Spain)
The United Left is a political coalition that was organized in 1986 bringing together several political organisations opposed to Spain joining NATO. It was formed by a number of groups of leftists, greens, left-wing socialists and republicans, but was dominated by the Communist Party of Spain...
, a coalition joined by PCE after it ousted Carrillo. On April 15, 2002, it presented an initiative to the Cortes Generales
Cortes Generales
The Cortes Generales is the legislature of Spain. It is a bicameral parliament, composed of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate . The Cortes has power to enact any law and to amend the constitution...
for Grimau's "public and democratic exoneration", which was backed by all parties represented, with the exception of the conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
People's Party
People's Party (Spain)
The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...
(PP); since the latter had absolute majority, the proposal was not passed into law. The PP opposed exoneration on the grounds that it went against the moratorium. It also resented the shadow the proposal cast over the figure of Fraga, who had in the meanwhile become a founding member of the PP.
In May 2005, Izquierda Unida launched a similar process within the Community of Madrid Assembly, one blocked yet again by the PP (majority party in the Community).
Grimau's death is the subject of a song by Violeta Parra
Violeta Parra
Violeta del Carmen Parra Sandoval was a notable Chilean composer, songwriter, folklorist, ethnomusicologist and visual artist...
, as well as of one by Thanos Mikroutsikos
Thanos Mikroutsikos
Athanasios Mikroutsikos was born in Patras, Greece and is one of the leading composers of popular and classical music in his home country. He studied music theory and piano at the Patras Philharmonic Society and at the Greek Conservatory and continued under Yiannis A. Papaioannou...
(lyrics by Wolf Biermann
Wolf Biermann
Karl Wolf Biermann is a German singer-songwriter and former East German dissident.-Early life:Biermann's father, who worked on the Hamburg docks, was a German Jew and a member of the German Resistance....
).