Puerto Real will be able to remove Francoist honors with two-thirds of the Plenary

The Puerto Real City Council has definitively approved the specific amendment of Article 17 of its Regulations on Honors and Distinctions, which will allow for the revocation of distinctions and honors incompatible with democratic memory legislation. The plenary agreement became final as no objections were filed during the public information period and is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Cádiz no. 202, of October 20, 2026 (announcement No. 338,767).

A 2010 regulation overwhelmed by the law

The current text was definitively approved by the Plenary on February 8, 2010, and regulates municipal honorary distinctions, the granting procedure, inherent rights, and causes for loss. Its Article 17 allowed for the withdrawal of a distinction, despite its irrevocable nature, only when the holder became unworthy of possessing it due to causes that seriously affected honor, and required a secret ballot and unanimity of the Plenary for this purpose.

The file, processed under number 9913/2026, maintains that this regulation predates Law 20/2022, of October 19, on Democratic Memory and Law 2/2017, of March 28, on Historical and Democratic Memory of Andalusia, which oblige administrations to remove recognitions that constitute an exaltation of the 1936 Coup d’État, the Spanish War, and the Franco dictatorship. According to the agreement, the regulation’s silence on this scenario cannot be interpreted as an impediment to complying with the law.

From unanimity to two-thirds

The Plenary initially approved the amendment on July 30, 2026 (item 8 of the agenda) with 14 votes in favor, from the groups Confluencia de Izquierdas para la Gente, ADELANTE Andalucía, and PSOE; 1 vote against, from VOX; and 4 abstentions, from AxSÍ Andalucistas and PP. The favorable report from the Information Commission on Services had been issued on July 23, regarding the proposed resolution PR/2026/2388, of July 11.

The new Article 17 maintains the reinforced nature of the majority but replaces unanimity with the favorable vote of two-thirds of the legal number of members of the Corporation, via secret ballot and following the instruction of an administrative file. The agreement justifies the change on the grounds that unanimity had been conceived for files of an honorary or disciplinary nature and had become a blocking mechanism incompatible with compliance with the law.

Three grounds for revocation

The new wording lists the causes for which distinctions and honors granted by the City Council may be revoked:

• When the natural or legal person, institution, or beneficiary entity engages in actions that make them manifestly unworthy of retaining them, or when causes arise that seriously affect honor, the public interest, or democratic values and principles.
• When their maintenance is contrary to Law 20/2022 on Democratic Memory, Law 2/2017 on Historical and Democratic Memory of Andalusia, or the regulations that replace or develop them.
• When so imposed by a provision with legal status, by a final judicial resolution, or by a final administrative act of the competent Administration.

Procedure, publication, and appeals

The file includes the report from the Head of the Citizen Participation Unit, Nuria Sanz Mateos, dated July 3, 2026, and the mandatory report from the Acting General Secretariat dated July 10, which concluded favorably regarding the fulfillment of the procedures. The public information announcement was published in the BOP no. 159, of August 19, 2026, with a thirty-day period that elapsed without claims.

The agreement will be sent to the State Administration and the Regional Government of Andalusia within fifteen days and is published in full in accordance with article 70.2 of Law 7/1985, of April 2, Regulating the Bases of the Local Regime. A contentious-administrative appeal may be filed against it before the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Andalusia, based in Seville, within two months from the day following its publication. The announcement is signed by the mayor-president, Aurora Salvador Colorado, and the acting general secretary, Yazmín Pérez Pedrianes, in Puerto Real, on October 2, 2026.

The modification unlocks the removal of public recognitions linked to the Dictatorship in a municipality that until now required unanimity for any revocation, such that the change affects both the individuals and institutions already honored and the future regime for granting distinctions.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Cádiz, no. 202, of October 20, 2026, section I, page 4 (official reference: announcement No. 338,767).