Remains of Franco-era forced labor camp in Seville threatened by photovoltaic project

Key Takeaways

• Remnants of 'Los Merinales,' a significant Franco-era forced labor camp, are being damaged by construction of a photovoltaic power plant in Dos Hermanas, Seville.
• The site held 11,000 Republican prisoners between 1941 and 1962, forcing them to build the 'Canal of the Prisoners' (Canal del Bajo Guadalquivir) under the 'Redemption of Sentences through Work' system.
• Despite being identified as an archaeological site, the area lacks official protection as a 'Place of Memory,' leaving it vulnerable to industrial development.

Damage to the Historical Site

• Archaeologist Laura Muñoz Encinar, who conducted research at the site, reports that a long trench dug by the firm Grupo Ortiz has destroyed sections of the camp's surveillance and management facilities.
• Further construction for the project's energy evacuation line has impacted areas formerly occupied by officer pavilions and supply warehouses.
• Local authorities in Dos Hermanas and the Andalusian regional government maintain that municipal oversight found no damage to the site, a claim refuted by ongoing site observations.

Regulatory Failure and Advocacy

• While the wider 'Canal of the Prisoners' network was designated a 'Place of Memory' in Andalusia in 2017, the specific site of Los Merinales was excluded.
• Advocacy groups like CGT Andalucía have pushed for its protection since 2003, but institutional cooperation for a proposed 'Merinales Memorial' project has stalled.
• The Ministry of Democratic Memory has granted individual reparations to 46 descendant families of those imprisoned at the site but has yet to officially declare the physical location a protected 'Place of Memory,' citing a lack of formal applications from recognized memorialist entities.