Posted by despertaferro on 03 Mar 2022, 12:47
Hi,
thank you very much for your kind words.
Bill,
I would not call Spanish democracy modern, not even full democracy. The transition between dictatorship and democracy was not made like the Portuguese, consequence of a Revolution and erasing all traces of the authoritarian past, but as a result of a tacit pact where it became clear that Franco's elites would not be subjected to any scrutiny or never pay for the crimes they committed. It was a weakness on the part of democratic forces but also a sign of how Spain is a country, like Turkey or Russia, where democracy is an accident that happens from time to time but where it has not deep enough roots to protect it from authoritarian adventures. The result of such a shamefull pact was that there is still a king and a royal family of a dynasty reintroduced by Franco and where the main Francoist families retain all the power and capacity for influence within the ruling hierarchy, mainly among the great fortunes, the administration of justice and the bureaucracy.
I struggled with this during my youth, and, at my 61, I'm still there on the civil fight.
Yes, they are Milestones. It is not very clear on the pictures, but viewed from the top, the basing shows a road's edge, like if the gun was placed along it.
Koshkimishki, the Basque Indara battalion is already on the top of page 2...