Antigypsyism in Spain: Democratic memor and accountability of Franco’s regime
National Research Report
The main aim of this research is to analyse and understand how institutional antigypsyism has been developed throughout history in Spain; how the Spanish State has systematically legislated and acted against Roma; what happened to Roma in Spain during Franco’s dictatorship; how Roma have contributed to Spanish and European history; and most importantly, how antigypsyism became
an institutionalised form of racism.
In the specific case of Spain, the project will contribute to dispel the myth that antigypsyism began with Franco’s dictatorship in 1939 and ended following his dead in 1975. Prior to 1939 there were more than 200 Spanish Pragmatics or antigypsy laws affecting Spanish Roma, including slavery and the first attempt at a genocide of Roma by a Modern State in 1749, better known as the ‘Great Gypsy Round-up’.
Th research presented here hopes to spark further investigation into the recent Roma past in Spain, a subject which has been neglected. There exists for example, no comprehensive study of the persecution of Roma under Franco. While anecdotal evidence is shared among Roma families, this has not been
systematically incorporated into the academic literature. The present research aims to evidence the need for further study in this regard, to better establish the history of persecution experienced by Roma in Spain.
To uncover and acknowledge the historical experience of Roma is of central importance to any recognition of Roma realities in the present. Without recognition, there can be no justice. Establishing and understanding the interconnectedness of antigypsyism past and present, is essential to transforming the lives of Roma in Spain today.
This research could be used as a foundation for the creation of a Work Commission for Roma Memory and Reconciliation under the recently approved Law 20/2022 on 19 October 2022 on Democratic Memory. Further investigation must follow.
Please find the full publication by Pedro Casermeiro Cortés & Anabel Carballo-Mesa, here.
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