Either settle these claims or face years of litigation across multiple municipalities
Décadas después del fin de la dictadura franquista, los fantasmas de las expropiaciones siguen reclamando su lugar en el presente. ERC ha presentado una reclamación administrativa contra el Estado español exigiendo 47.615 euros en concepto de restitución por bienes municipales confiscados en Caldes de Montbui entre 1939 y el ocaso del régimen. Amparada en la Ley de Memoria Democrática de 2022, la acción no es solo un litigio aislado, sino el primer movimiento de un tablero que podría movilizar a decenas de municipios y poner a prueba hasta qué punto un gobierno puede ser responsable de su propia historia.
- ERC ha convertido la Ley de Memoria Democrática —impulsada por el propio gobierno de Sánchez— en un arma jurídica y política, exigiendo compensación por más de 400 propiedades expropiadas en Cataluña durante el franquismo.
- La reclamación de 47.615 euros por Caldes de Montbui es modesta en cifras, pero enorme en precedente: Valencia y las Islas Baleares suman otros 300 inmuebles confiscados que podrían desencadenar una cascada de demandas similares.
- El gobierno de Sánchez se encuentra atrapado entre su dependencia parlamentaria de los partidos separatistas catalanes y el coste político y económico de ceder ante reclamaciones históricas sufragadas por todos los contribuyentes españoles.
- Si Madrid rechaza negociar, decenas de municipios están listos para presentar sus propias demandas judiciales, multiplicando los frentes legales y el desgaste institucional de una coalición ya fragilizada.
El gobierno español afronta una nueva ofensiva legal de ERC, el partido republicano catalán, que ha presentado una reclamación administrativa exigiendo 47.615 euros por bienes municipales que, según sostiene, fueron expropiados ilegítimamente durante la dictadura franquista en Caldes de Montbui, localidad próxima a Barcelona. La acción se fundamenta en la Ley de Memoria Democrática de 2022, que abrió una vía judicial para que las víctimas de las confiscaciones del régimen pudieran reclamar reparación.
El caso no es un episodio aislado. Un estudio municipal concluido en mayo de 2024 documenta el expolio sistemático de centros culturales populares, cooperativas obreras y organizaciones nacionalistas catalanas durante la Guerra Civil y los años que siguieron. La Federació Catalana de Casals cifra en más de 400 los inmuebles incautados solo en Cataluña; en Valencia y Baleares, la cifra supera los 300. No se trataba de propiedades privadas, sino de espacios comunitarios al servicio de las clases trabajadoras y de los movimientos culturales regionales.
Lo que convierte esta demanda en un movimiento de alto voltaje político es su contexto. El ejecutivo de Pedro Sánchez depende del apoyo parlamentario de los mismos partidos separatistas que ahora presentan estas reclamaciones. ERC está, en esencia, llamando al farol al gobierno con su propia ley: o se negocia una solución voluntaria, o se abre un frente judicial que podría extenderse durante años por múltiples municipios y tribunales.
El dilema para Madrid es incómodo en ambas direcciones. Rechazar la reclamación arriesga la ruptura con socios parlamentarios imprescindibles en un momento en que la coalición ya acusa el desgaste de escándalos de corrupción y divisiones internas. Aceptarla implica destinar fondos públicos —de todos los contribuyentes españoles— a reparar agravios históricos de alcance territorial específico. La Ley de Memoria Democrática, concebida para cerrar heridas del pasado, ha demostrado ser también un instrumento capaz de abrir nuevas grietas en el presente.
The Spanish government is facing a new legal challenge from ERC, the Catalan republican party, which has filed an administrative claim demanding compensation for property seized during Franco's dictatorship. The specific case centers on Caldes de Montbui, a municipality near Barcelona, where ERC and local authorities are seeking 47,615 euros in restitution for public assets they say were wrongfully expropriated between 1939 and the end of the Franco regime.
The claim is grounded in Spain's 2022 Democratic Memory Law, legislation that created a legal pathway for victims of Franco-era expropriations to seek redress through the courts. ERC's action is based on a municipal study completed in May 2024 documenting what the town government describes as systematic plunder of property belonging to popular cultural centers, worker cooperatives, and Catalan nationalist organizations during the Civil War and the decades that followed.
What makes this case significant is its scale and precedent. According to the Catalan Federation of Cultural Centers, more than 400 properties were seized across Catalonia alone. The same pattern repeated in Valencia and the Balearic Islands, where another 300 properties were taken. These were not private holdings but communal assets—spaces that served working-class communities and regional cultural movements. The sheer number of potential claims means this single lawsuit is likely the first of many.
The timing of ERC's move is politically charged. The Spanish government under Pedro Sánchez has grown dependent on support from Catalan separatist parties and other left-wing groups to maintain its parliamentary majority. By invoking the Democratic Memory Law—legislation the government itself championed—ERC is using a legal tool the administration helped create. The party is essentially calling the government's bluff: either settle these claims voluntarily or face years of litigation across multiple municipalities and courts.
The government has already been asked to respond through the Ministry of Democratic Memory. If Madrid refuses to negotiate, dozens of municipalities across Catalonia, Valencia, and the Balearic Islands are positioned to file similar suits. Each claim would require judicial review, legal defense, and potential compensation. The cumulative financial and political cost could be substantial.
What complicates the government's position is its own political fragility. Sánchez's coalition relies on the votes of the very parties now pressing these claims. Rejecting ERC's demand risks losing parliamentary support at a moment when his government is already under strain from corruption allegations and internal party divisions. Accepting the claim, however, means spending public funds on historical grievances—money that comes from all Spanish taxpayers, not just those in regions affected by Franco-era expropriations.
The Democratic Memory Law was intended to address historical injustices, but it has also created a legal mechanism that parties can leverage for political advantage. ERC's filing demonstrates how a law designed to heal historical wounds can become a tool for extracting concessions from a weakened government. Whether Madrid settles or fights, the outcome will signal how seriously Spain's current administration takes both historical accountability and its own political survival.
Citas Notables
The claim is grounded in the Democratic Memory Law, which created a legal pathway for victims of Franco-era expropriations to seek redress— Based on the 2022 legislation cited in the municipal filing
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why would ERC file this claim now, specifically?
Because the government is vulnerable. Sánchez needs their votes to stay in power, and they know it. This is leverage dressed up as historical justice.
But the Democratic Memory Law is real legislation. Doesn't that give the claim genuine legal standing?
It does. That's what makes it so effective. The law is legitimate, the expropriations happened, the documentation exists. ERC isn't inventing a legal basis—they're using one the government created.
So the government could actually lose in court?
Possibly. But that's not really the point. ERC doesn't need to win in court if the government settles first. The threat of litigation across 400+ properties is enough pressure.
What happens if Madrid refuses to pay?
Then municipalities start filing their own suits. The government ends up defending dozens of cases simultaneously, spending money on lawyers instead of just paying the claims. It's a worse outcome for them.
Is there a version of this where the government handles it cleanly?
Not really. Either they pay and face criticism for spending public money on historical claims, or they refuse and face litigation plus political fallout from the parties they depend on. Both paths are costly.
What does this tell us about how Spanish politics actually works right now?
That majorities built on narrow coalitions are fragile, and parties know how to exploit that fragility. The law becomes a negotiating tool, not just a mechanism for justice.