Thousands of Spaniards remember Franco

VALLE DE LOS CAIDOS, Spain -- Thousands of Spaniards have flocked to the tomb of Generalissimo Francisco Franco to mark the 25th anniversary of the dictator's death.

For most Spaniards Franco is now a distant memory or a just chapter in the history books, but those who gathered at his imposing tomb outside Madrid were expressing a yearning for the order and moral certainties of life under El Caudillo.

His daughter, Carmen Franco de Polo, was greeted with hearty cheers and applause, raised flags and salutes when she arrived at the ceremony.

Franco wielded absolute power for 36 years after his Nationalist forces staged an uprising and defeated the left-wing forces of the Republican government in the 1936-39 civil war.

His tomb at the Valley of the Fallen is a cavernous basilica carved into a hillside about 50 km (30 miles) northwest of Madrid marked by a stone cross that towers 43 metres (142 feet) above it.

"Franco represented security, unity, moral values," said Federico Gutierrez, who brought his wife and two teenaged children to pay tribute. "There is a lot we can learn from him."

Journalists were barred from a memorial Mass for the soldier who seized power in what he said was a battle against "anarchy, communism and godlessness."

Spain's transition to democracy was rapid after Franco's death in 1975 but he still has supporters. Many wore red and yellow arm bands, carried flags, sang anthems and raised their arms in a fascist salute.

"They want us to forget Franco, but there are still plenty of people who remember the good he did," said Ana Zorrilla from the northern city Santander.

"He was a good ruler and provided a social justice much better than what we have today," she said.

Built by thousands of Republican civil war prisoners, the imposing tomb is also the resting place of numerous forced labourers who perished during the task.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Francisco Franco, a biography

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