Forced Labour in Spain Under Franco’s Rule: Public Debates Over Corporate Accountability in the Twenty-First Century
摘要
This chapter examines the treatment of corporate responsibility for forced labour within public memory policies in Spain during the twenty-first century, with a particular focus on legislation pertaining to the accountability of private companies. First, we provide a comprehensive overview of the legislation on this issue since the end of the dictatorship, with a special emphasis on the measures implemented by both the central government and the autonomous communities. Second, we consider the role of social movements, particularly memory associations and trade unions, and their corporate accountability initiatives, particularly in autonomous communities, but also in the case of the public railway company, RENFE. We argue that corporate accountability efforts are at a very incipient stage in Spain due to the general impunity concerning Francoist crimes, the veto power of corporate actors, and the alliances they forge with political elites, especially right-wing ones. However, intersectoral and cross-regional civil society mobilizations have succeeded in moving forward the debate, an aspect facilitated by the decentralised Spanish political and administrative system.