The election campaign restricted certain commemorations and affected how public memory was honored. Victims of the Central Market bombing in Alicante are remembered, with many communities finding ways to mark the massacre at the Alicante square. The memorials still proceeded, though not by every political party, with some choosing to abstain.
Early in the morning, at the market gates, a small gathering placed flowers on a plaque dedicated to those who perished in the air raids that caused significant losses during the Civil War. The act was a quiet tribute, framed by the tension of ongoing political campaigns and the broader obligation to remember past violence with dignity.
Aitana Mas, accompanied by Compromís members and Manolo Copé from United for Alicante, participated in the ceremony, a moment captured by photographers documenting the remembrance. The scene reflected a cross-party impulse to honor the victims, even as political divisions persisted in the public square.
At the government level, Vice President Aitana More attended alongside representatives from the coalition. The mayor of Alicante, the deputy for the city, and the current spokesperson and Valencian Parliament candidate were present. Also present were a minister from Esquerra Unida and local candidates from United for Alicante, with several party figures in attendance for the moment of memorial reflection. The gathering underscored a lasting commitment to memory and to the rehabilitation of spaces linked to the Civil War era, including discussions about anti-aircraft bunkers and the broader task of preserving historical sites.
This was the mortar of 2022 in Central Market
Hours later, those aligned with PSOE chose not to miss the opportunity to honor the bombing victims. After a party event at the market, a municipal candidate laid flowers at the monument, joined by other members from the local slate. The act reinforced the tradition of paying respects within the community, even as electoral calendars moved forward.
Ana Barceló and other members of the PSOE slate later joined the commemoration, continuing to emphasize remembrance as a civic duty and a shared memory for the people of Alicante. The moment reflected a broader pattern of public acknowledgment in the face of political contestation, with participants balancing ceremony and campaign timelines.
Another candidate, Adrian Santos Pérez, shared on social media a vision of the Central Market influenced by Alicante’s Dream from start to finish as a tribute to May 25, 1938. The post illustrated how memory can intersect with modern tools and storytelling to keep historical events alive in public consciousness.
He serves as a member of the Town Planning Committee and, despite the campaign constraints, reiterated a commitment to memory. The stance included ongoing efforts to rehabilitate historical structures and to keep the memory of past air raids present in the community’s ongoing dialogue about urban space and resilience.
Without PP or Vox
Among those who chose not to participate in the memorial in any formal way were representatives from the Popular Party and Vox. A local inquiry sought comment from the Popular Party but no remarks were provided. The absence highlighted the political rifts that shape how communities remember violence and honor victims.
“A bomb fell on my grandfather’s counter and they continued to sell it until the bomb squad arrived”
Vox comments framed the memorial as a platform to promote harmony and cautioned against using the victims for partisan purposes. While the party expressed disagreement, it also asserted that victims deserve unconditional respect, while resisting the display of certain ideological symbols in memorial contexts. The debate underscored the tension between remembrance and political messaging, a dynamic observed in several public commemorations across the city.