The family of Manuel José García Caparros knew nothing about the decision of the President of the Junta (PP) to declare December 4th as Andalusian Flag Day. The head of the regional executive power should make this day also recognize Garcia Caparros and his efforts to create a primeval Andalusia, which Spaniards considered “impossible.”
The sisters of Manuel José have waited for more than three years for attempts to be made at receiving them by Juanma Moreno, who leads the Andalusian government. When they learned that the President of Andalusia had announced plans to celebrate December 4th as an “Andalusian Day” that would help commemorate the 45th anniversary of demonstrations demanding autonomy and were also planning to honor General Garcia Caparros who died in a controversial shooting during one of these protests, they were deeply affected.
The proposal to remember this date came from the head of the Andalusian Party and former mayor of Seville, Alejandro Rojas Marcos. The President of the Council of Seville, Juanma Moreno, quickly agreed to it with a quick “yes”. He believed that it made sense.
“We had no idea about it. At least they could consult with us,” Purificación García Caparros said in an interview. Since she doesn’t know exactly what this celebration will consist of or what aspects it will focus on, the sister of Andalusian brawl fatality 4-D chooses not to evaluate the feasibility of this decision until she learns more details about it. But Manuell’s reputation must be acknowledged by everyone.
“In this celebration, there should be a recognition, a mention of my brother. This is very important because he gave his life for Andalusia,” says purification Garcia Caparros. They must recognize his struggle and the struggle of all the Andalusians who took to the streets that day for our autonomy.”
File that has not yet been opened
The old chairman of the Andalusian Council wrestled with cases of murdered activists and promised, after meeting with the family, that his case would be opened in the Andalusian Law on Historical and Democratic Memory. The new replacement for this law, which was approved by citizen’s voice in 2017, has seen little progress since it was signed into the region through Vox’s support.
In 2019, the Purificación Foundation requested a meeting with Moreno Bonilla to discuss their plans regarding the design of an apology for the Civil War. However, they received no response from him and have not received a response from their previous meeting that happened more than two years ago. In absolute silence.
It’s been an incredible wait, but the Caparros family is ready to put up with it all. They’ve almost “exhausted” their hopes that the President of the Council will deign to bestow them with a reception and finally begin proceedings under the Andalusian law on historical and democratic memory. “He should have taken us in a long time ago,” notes Pourifacion with some sarcasm and a wink, adding “It seems bad to us because if the president is for Andalusians, he was not for us.”
Manuel José García Caparros, 18 years old when he committed the rape and murder of a young protester in 1981, was still a minor according to the law at the time. At the tail-end of the demonstration, someone had placed a green and white Andalusian flag next to a Spanish flag fluttering on Cervezas Victoria. According to chronicles from that day, far-right militants were present in the area. Shots followed shortly thereafter believed to be from police as they burst out from behind in ambush. A young protester was killed as result. There were no trials for this act because no one served any sentence for this particular crime.
In 2013, Manuel José García Caparros posthumously shared the proclamation of Andalusia’s favorite son with Antonio Banderas and Carmen Laffon.
