Acontece que no es Poco | 1978: El abandono político de las familias durante las exhumaciones tempranas en Extremadura

Podcast: Todo Concostrina
Host: Nieves Concostrina (SER Podcast)
Date: November 17, 2025

Overview

This episode, hosted by Nieves Concostrina, explores one of Spain’s most painful unresolved historical legacies: the abandonment faced by families seeking to exhume and reclaim the remains of loved ones executed during and after the Spanish Civil War. Focusing on the year 1978 in Extremadura—against the backdrop of the upcoming 50th anniversary of Franco’s death—Concostrina narrates the struggle, loneliness, and political neglect endured by those demanding truth and dignity for their murdered relatives, particularly tracing the case of Casas de Don Pedro in Badajoz, scene of one of Spain’s first grassroots exhumations during the so-called "Transición".

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Historical Context and Personal Reflection

• Carlos opens the discussion acknowledging the period’s significance as Spain marks 50 years since Franco’s death ([00:26]).
• The theme centers on the families of the executed, long neglected in the name of "reconciliation," and the flawed transition to democracy.
• Concostrina sharply critiques the misuse and manipulation of "reconciliation" both during the dictatorship and Transition:

  "...los mismos que nos habían tenido sometidos a una dictadura empezaron a manejar la misma palabra para tapar sus crímenes, casualmente la reconciliación. La mala noticia es que a esta farsante reconciliación se sumaron sin dudarlo muchos políticos." ([01:14])

2. Early Exhumations in Extremadura (Casas de Don Pedro, 1978)

• The episode dives into the story of Casas de Don Pedro, where on 13 May 1978, the first exhumation of republican victims in Extremadura—and one of the first in Spain—was carried out, driven solely by families ([04:34]).
• Research from Paloma Aguilar (catedrática de Ciencia Política) is cited as a basis for recounting these early exhumation efforts.

3. Asymmetry of Rights and Memory

• Concostrina outlines the immediate postwar situation:
  • Families of those killed by republicans (often clergy or right-wing) could openly pursue exhumations; laws and orders (like that of 1940) facilitated these efforts and even lauded the deceased as martyrs ([05:30]).
  • Republican-sympathetic families, however, remained forbidden from any such attempts—illegal and dangerous even to ask ([08:03]).

    "Las familias... tuvieron prohibido recuperar los restos. Y mucho cuidado con reclamarlos porque también habría una fosa para los reclamantes..." ([08:07])

4. Details of the Casas de Don Pedro Exhumation

• The testimony of Felisa Casatejada, who spent 40 years fighting to recover her two brothers, is central:

  • Thought the advent of democracy would enable change, but met opposition from both local authorities and her neighbors ([10:31]).
  • Ultimately secured the exhumation permit only after bureaucratic obstacles and explicit threats of punishment if the act became a political statement:

    "...el gobernador civil de Badajoz, que le dijo en su no saquen banderas, no digan ningún viva a fulano, porque ustedes van a estar muy vigilados... A usted la cogen y usted pagará." ([12:00])

• Subsequent families faced increasing hurdles, such as the demand that each victim’s relative sign individually for a mass grave’s exhumation, a nearly impossible requirement ([12:03]).

5. Political Abandonment and Silence

• Notably, no political or labor representatives, including progressive parties, supported or attended the first exhumation. On the contrary, leading local socialists discouraged it as too dangerous and untimely ([14:03]):

  "En la primera exhumación de Casas de Don Pedro no apareció ni uno. Ni socialistas, ni comunistas, ni sindicalistas. No les fuera a ver alguien..." ([14:03])

• Concostrina links this silence and inaction with a lasting sense of injustice, directly calling out figures like Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ibarra for complicity ([15:16]).

6. Cultural Reflection and Unresolved Legacy

• Through poems and songs (notably Pablo Guerrero’s "Tiene que llover"), the episode evokes the mood of hope for real change in the 1970s, contrasting it with today’s perceived stagnation:

  "Pero ya sabes, no llovió tanto, no llovió a cántaros. Llovió un poco y luego solo ha estado chispeando." ([15:16])

• There remains an enduring demand for truth, justice, and reparation for victims of Francoism ([15:16]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On manipulative reconciliation:

  "Hace casi 50 años los mismos que nos habían tenido sometidos a una dictadura empezaron a manejar la misma palabra para tapar sus crímenes, casualmente la reconciliación."
  — Nieves Concostrina ([01:14])

• On postwar exhumations:

  "Aquellos restos de los caídos de la ultraderecha fueron trasladados honrosamente a sus pueblos. Fueron recibidos por autoridades civiles y militares con derecho a entierro y por supuesto, con derecho a funeral."
  — Nieves Concostrina ([06:27])

• On political abandonment:

  "Felisa Casatejada... creyó ingenuamente en 1976 que con el bicho Franco ya pudriéndose... había llegado el momento de solicitar los permisos para sacar a sus muertos..."
  — Nieves Concostrina ([10:31])

• On repression during exhumations:

  "Esta fue la bonita amenaza. Y eso había que hacerlo sin que nadie se enterara."
  — Nieves Concostrina ([13:57])

• On lack of progressive support:

  "En la primera exhumación... no apareció ni uno. Ni socialistas, ni comunistas, ni sindicalistas. No les fuera a ver alguien..."
  — Nieves Concostrina ([14:03])

• On enduring injustice:

  "Y por eso, 50 años después, la ultraderecha del Partido Popular se ríe de los ineficaces y acobardados progresistas que se acomodaron en aquellos años y que se durmieron en los laureles..."
  — Nieves Concostrina ([15:16])

Key Timestamps

• 00:26: Introduction; 50 years since Franco’s death; focus on Spain’s "pending subjects"
• 01:14: Concostrina’s opening critique of "reconciliation" and political abandonment
• 04:34: Introduction of Casas de Don Pedro as focal point (first exhumation in Extremadura)
• 06:18: Legal asymmetry postwar (1940 Order)
• 10:31: Felisa Casatejada’s story and bureaucratic/adversarial climate for families
• 12:00: Threats and obstacles surrounding the exhumation process
• 14:03: Total absence of progressive support; local political context
• 15:16: Final commentary on historical inaction and enduring demands of victims’ families

Conclusion

This episode provides an intimate and critical reflection on the marginalized plight of families seeking historical justice in Spain, underscoring not only the cruelty of the Franco regime but the complicity and inertia of the subsequent political establishment. With a blend of personal testimony, historical rigor, and cultural evocation, Concostrina gives voice to the silenced, invoking a call for truth, memory, and genuine reconciliation—still urgently needed after fifty years.