23-F and/in historical memory in democratic Spain

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between 23-F and historical memory in Spain. On the one hand, the events of 23-F activate historical memory, recalling the discourse of the Dos Espanas [‘Two Spains’], the tradition of the alliance between the political and the military and, therefore, images of a division of the national community. On the other hand, historical memory refers to the events of 23-F, taking it as an important point of reference for retrospective political, social and cultural practices and reflections. These uses of 23-F have two dimensions: first, the coup was a media event that created iconic signs of great persistence; second, 23-F assumes the function of a lieu de memoire. As a symbolic point of reference that indicates both the ‘triumph of democracy’ and the cleavages that run through the country’s historical memory, 23-F can be considered a paradigmatic ‘site of memory’ of post-Francoist Spain.