The Superior Court of Justice of Castilla-La Mancha has ruled that the Ayuntamiento de Ciudad Real must restore the original names of five streets changed in 2021 to comply with Spain’s historical memory law. The court found that the people commemorated had no active or impressive role in the military uprising, the Civil War or the subsequent dictatorship, and ruled that their names should not have been removed.
The ruling follows a legal challenge by Luis Juan Blázquez, a former city councillor and provincial president of Vox, over the city council’s 2021 resolution to rename nine streets associated with figures or events from the Civil War and Francoist period. The judgment is partial: it covers five streets named after individuals. The court upheld the renaming of four others that referred to battles or locations, which the judges considered clear cases of glorifying the Civil War.
The five names to be restored are Pasaje Gutiérrez Ortega, calle José María Aparicio Arce, calle Gregorio Sánchez-Puerta, Plaza de Fernando Merry del Val y García Zapata, and the group of viviendas Vicente Galiana. They were renamed Pasaje de la Pandorga, Manuel Herrera Piña, Irene Villa, Plaza Gloria Fuertes and grupo Adolfo Suárez, respectively. The court distinguished between holding a position or belonging to a particular party during the Franco era and having a direct connection to the uprising or dictatorship. Affiliation alone, it concluded, does not justify removing a street name.
The ruling also turns on Article 15.1 of Spain’s historical-memory law and the evidence connecting an individual to the military uprising, the Civil War or the dictatorship. The judges found that brief biographical references did not provide sufficient grounds to remove the names. In practical terms, the dispute was over whether the individuals’ documented roles met the law’s threshold, not whether they had held posts or affiliations during the Franco period.
The ruling also cites Supreme Court jurisprudence and a 2025 Supreme Court decision requiring Madrid to restore plaques for Largo Caballero and Indalecio Prieto. That comparison puts Ciudad Real’s dispute within a wider debate over how courts assess historical context and the legal basis for removing commemorative names and symbols. The cases concern different public memorials, but both have put the interpretation of historical-memory measures before the courts.
The original changes in Ciudad Real followed recommendations from the now-defunct Mesa de la Memoria Histórica, a committee of experts and officials. The group considered several of the people whose names are to be restored prominent Falangists or figures who held impressive roles in the Franco regime. The court, but, found no evidence of their direct involvement in the uprising or repression and ruled that the names should be restored.
Political reactions have been swift. The Partido Popular, which now governs Ciudad Real after ending its coalition with Vox, has criticized the previous Socialist administration for what it called a partisan approach. Former mayor Pilar Zamora, now a senator for the PSOE, has called on the city to appeal, arguing that honoring those who defended democracy should not be seen as political bias.
Historians involved in the original renaming process say the restored names remain closely tied to the Francoist past, particularly its early fascist phase. Isidro Sánchez, a historian and former member of the Mesa de la Memoria Histórica, called the ruling a step backward and pointed to the individuals’ ideological backgrounds. He said some, including Gutiérrez Ortega, were known for hardline positions and public statements supporting repression during the dictatorship.
The debate in Ciudad Real reflects wider tensions in Spain over how to address the legacy of the Civil War and Francoism. Similar disputes have arisen in other cities, including Madrid, where legal battles over historical-memory measures have drawn national attention. In a recent case in the capital, courts halted the eviction of an elderly tenant, highlighting the intersection of legal decisions and local policy as reported in a related Madrid housing dispute.
Spain’s Law of Historical Memory, enacted in 2007, aims to recognize victims of the Civil War and dictatorship and remove public symbols that glorify the regime. Its application remains contentious, and courts continue to interpret the law’s requirements in disputes over street names, plaques and other public commemorations.
