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93-708: The organisation was founded on November 11, 2002. Prior to the creation of the FAES, there were five separate foundations, all linked to the PP. These were: Fundación Cánovas del Castillo, Popular Iberoamericana, Popular Iberoamericana de Análisis y Estudios Sociales, Popular Iberoamericana de Estudios Europeos y el Instituto de Formación Política. These five foundations merged, becoming FAES. The FAES seeks to reinforce values such as Western freedom, democracy and humanism. Some of its founding principles include: It specifically advocates liberal and representative democracy because it allows

186-632: A partial transcript of the meeting . The government's handling of the wreckage of the Greek Prestige tanker near the Spanish coast, which resulted in a major ecological disaster, also became a divisive issue. He actively encouraged and supported the Bush administration's foreign policy and the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. He defended it on the basis of secret intelligence allegedly containing evidence of

279-496: A balanced assessment", demonstrate bias, distort history, resort to "pseudo-scientific" methods, manipulation and deliberate falsification, create new myths, tend to be hysterical and cultivate their own "pedagogics of hate". An index of manipulative techniques used by the revisionists contains 5 key methods: 1) use of logical fallacies; 2) relativisation, reductionism and negationism; 3) mystification; 4) psychologization and 5) mythologization. The revisionist authors are "in

372-444: A budget as well as outlining areas of interest. FAES is organized in several departments: FAES has four specialized units: In the ‘2012 Global Go To Think Tanks Report and Policy Advice’ FAES was the best ranked Spanish think tank out of the top 150 think tanks worldwide. It was ranked number 60 in this classification, ahead of other Spanish institutions such as CIDOB , FRIDE , Real Instituto Elcano and Institución Futuro . In

465-412: A confrontational response to historiographic vision generally agreed after 1975. It is at times pictured as a school represented by a new generation of authors often armed with modern scientific tools, some of these authors skilled if not excelling – this is, until they embraced revisionism - in historiographic craft. It is only recently that in course of increasingly heated debate less and less attention

558-567: A debate between these who denounce "false orthodox canon" and these who denounce "revisionism". However, many authors keep flagging revisionism as a social rather than historiographic phenomenon. Revisionists are considered to be motivated by a desire to defame the Republic; their key thesis is that the Civil War was caused by the Left. This underlying bottom message is reportedly sustained by

651-401: A first payment of US$ 700,000 for the first seven months, followed by $ 100,000 monthly payments until it reached the sum of $ 2 million. In an interview with BBC World on 27 July 2006 he voiced doubts about Islamists being the sole culprits of the disputed 2004 Madrid train bombings , "You know in this moment some perpetrators of the attacks, but you do not know who imagined the attack, who is

744-1047: A hotbed of historical revisionism . FAES works internationally with foundations in Latin America, the United States, and throughout Europe. For example, in 2009, FAES established a formal collaborative relationship with CHLI, the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute , which is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that advances the diversity of thought in the US Hispanic community. FAES also works closely with UPLA (an association of center-right parties in Latin America) to defend freedom and democracy in Latin America. FAES also works closely with UPLA (an association of center-right parties in Latin America) to defend freedom and democracy in Latin America. A course at

837-407: A journal (known as Cuadernos de pensamiento político ), reports (known as FAES Papers) and books. Defunct The president of the association is former prime minister José María Aznar . The vice president since 2106 is Manuel Pizarro . The Secretary-General is Javier Zarzalejos . A board of trustees also governs the organization. Their responsibilities include deciding on a plan of activities and

930-408: A major sector of the population rejected the hypothesis that the attacks were perpetrated by ETA and believed the government was lying because of the bombings' possible connection to Spanish support for the invasion of Iraq. This led to a massive drop in support for the PP in the days before the election, and the opposing PSOE 's José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero won the election. Aznar remains active in

1023-420: A number of more detailed concepts. One critic listed them in an ironic "decalogue of the revisionist": 1) pretend scientific neutrality; 2) disregard "structural history"; 3) try to demythologize the Republic; 4) present the Republic as exclusion; 5) blame the Left for radical revolutionism; 6) deny CEDA ’s role of a Fascist Trojan horse ; 7) claim that Bienio negro was not so black; 8) underline that violence

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1116-474: A period of privatizations after the previous PSOE government had nationalized parts of the economy. Spanish voters reelected Aznar in the 2000 general election with an outright majority. The PP obtained 44.5% of the vote and 183 seats. The Spanish electorate's participation was the lowest for a general election in Spain in the post-Franco era. After six years of relative political calm, when political debate

1209-629: A place in academic discourse. The anti-revisionist authors are presented as driven by their own prejudice, ideologically motivated, "politically committed" and named "small group of historians determined to defend at all costs the vision of a sacred and ‘heroic’ republican democracy". Their supposed political sympathies are clearly described as Left-wing, with references to "historiografía ‘progresista’", "nueva [progressist] religión civil", "anti-Fascist historiography", "political correctness", "post-Marxist ideology", "militant history" and "anti-Francoist, progressive historians". Their principal objective

1302-476: A recommended historiographic approach. They note that authors who strive to re-write history of Spain of the 20th century do not actually deserve the name of "revisionist" and should rather be called manipulators and liars; they are dubbed "self-proclaimed revisionists". Others reserve the term for intellectuals like de Felice , Nolte , Lachmann or Furet and underline that the likes of Moa or Vidal are nowhere near their stature. There are authors who agree that

1395-538: A signatory to the Kyoto Protocol in 1998, and it appeared that he had subsequently changed his mind about climate change. In 2009 Aznar was due to speak to a Heartland Institute conference , which was billed as the "world's largest-ever gathering of global warming skeptics ". He withdrew at short notice, and in the absence of a public explanation there was speculation that he did so in order to spare his party embarrassment. The People's Party distanced itself from

1488-485: A video that directly attacked the political left. The video claimed that the bomb attack of March 11, 2004 was a political ploy to influence the general election , which took place three days later. The video alleges that the PSOE leaders, especially Zapatero, skillfully used the attack to blame the PP party, divide the Spanish public opinion and politically coerce voters to support the left. Some leftist authors consider FAES

1581-491: Is "Moaist revolution". There is no name commonly applied to scholars who criticize supposed revisionism, though some coined the term "contrarrevisionismo". They are at times referred to as "pequeño grupo de historiadores" who intend to monopolize the discourse by means of social, political and infrastructural network they had built. To this end, they allegedly attempt to stigmatize all these who do not comply as pseudo-scientists, busy with dirty political agenda and not deserving

1674-579: Is a Spanish politician who was the prime minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He led the People's Party (PP), the dominant centre-right political party in Spain. A member of the Frente de Estudiantes Sindicalistas , a dissident Falangist student organisation, in his youth, he studied law at the Complutense University of Madrid and first worked in the public sector as an Inspector of

1767-452: Is cast against the background of Holocaust denial and revisionism being punishable by law in countries like Germany. Authors referred to as revisionists do not adopt a uniform stand. Some implicitly accept the label since they openly format their works as challenge to alleged "myths", reportedly prevailing in historiography. Some joined the anti-revisionist campaign and turned from iconic revisionists to iconic anti-revisionists. Some ignore

1860-579: Is described as further mythologization of the Republic; this stand is ironically referred by remarks that "Republic was not a Little Red Riding Hood ". Some revisionist authors take charges of their supposed Francoist sympathies very seriously. They demand from periodicals which published such opinions the right to reply and require individuals advancing such claims to retract them; these demands usually produce no result except claims that by "threatening quasi-legal language" they intend to administratively limit free speech. They also claim to have never endorsed

1953-409: Is made to distinguish between "Francoist historiography" and "revisionist historiography". The former is deemed actually orthodox in its Francoist set of old-style schemes and traits, immune to discourse, straight continuation of pre-1975 narrative and represented by authors of older generation like Ricardo de la Cierva , Vicente Palacio Atard and Fernando Vizcaíno Casas . The latter is deemed to be

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2046-449: Is paid to tell Francoist historians from revisionist historians. Both groups might be bundled together, many threads and motives are supposed to prove continuity of their historiographic vision, and revisionism is painted as "almost 'Blue'". Some critics of revisionism go even further and claim that it is actually an orthodox Francoist reading of history. There are some 10-15 books which come up repeatedly as negative points of reference of

2139-417: Is that instead of establishing the truth their aim is to dismantle "liberal-left myths". Since they are not honest they do not qualify as scientists, even though they very much pretend so and constantly raise claims to a myth of scientific "objectivity" and "impartiality", qualities which they are also denied. The revisionists reportedly lack "modus operandi propiamente historiográfico", fail "to provide

2232-571: Is the case of books published by Álvarez Tardío, Villa García, del Rey Reguillo or others. Works from both categories most frequently charged with revisionism are listed below, precedence given to volumes which stand most prominently as key vehicles of revisionist narrative. The debate is centred on the Second Republic and to some extent on the Civil War, though occasionally also Restoration period or Francoism might come under scrutiny. A thesis initially advanced by anti-revisionist scholars

2325-407: The 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings . Initially, the government and the opposition stated publicly that it was possible the bombings may have been the work of ETA . However, the PP government continued to blame ETA even after evidence that the attacks may have been the work of an Islamist group emerged, having the minister of foreign affairs, Ana Palacio , instruct all Spanish diplomats to place

2418-631: The 2000 general election this time obtaining an absolute majority of 183 deputies (out of 350) in the Congress. The economy kept growing and unemployment finally began to fall during his second term. In foreign policy , Spain adopted a neoconservative approach and grew closer ties with the United States and the Bush administration , in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks . Aznar supported

2511-536: The Alliance of Civilizations initiative "stupid." His reference to apologies was a response to the demonstrations asking the Pope to apologize. One PP official clarified Aznar's speech by saying the prime minister thought it is pointless to apologize for historical events. The American magazine Foreign Policy ranks him among the "five worst ex-presidents of the world" for his post-presidency behavior. According to

2604-639: The British House of Commons Aznar said Israel is needed by the European Union. He said his report recommends that due to its Western culture and the benefits it brings the European Union, Israel should become a full member of the EU without pre-conditions. Aznar's government posthumously granted a medal of Civil Merit to Melitón Manzanas , the head of the secret police in San Sebastián and

2697-630: The Canary Islands Coalition , in order to govern with additional support from the Basque Nationalist Party. He was voted in as prime minister with 181 votes in the Cortes Generales on 4 May and sworn in the next day by King Juan Carlos I . Aznar's government has been described as the first conservative government since 1983, or since the death of Francisco Franco. The Aznar Government maintained

2790-548: The Club de Madrid , an independent non-profit organization created to promote democracy and change in the international community, composed by more than 100 members: former democratic Heads of State and Government from around the world. Aznar was also one of the signatories and promoters of the Prague Charter . Aznar was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from CEU Cardinal Herrera University . Since 2013, Aznar has served on

2883-622: The Colegio del Pilar in Madrid. As a sixteen-year-old, Aznar espoused an independent brand of Falangism as a member of the Frente de Estudiantes Sindicalistas (FES), a Falangist dissident student organization opposed to the Francoist regime. Primordially a university organization, a teenage Aznar became responsible for the high-school branch set up in the late 1960s, and was tasked with promoting Falangism amongst Spain’s school-going youth along

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2976-465: The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service . Additionally, he teaches a course on political leadership, convened by Professor Carol Lancaster, with former Polish President Kwasniewski . Aznar leads public dialogues on pressing contemporary concerns in collaboration with other members of the faculty; he was awarded an honorary degree at Universidad Francisco Marroquin . In 2007, Aznar was appointed to

3069-598: The Friends of Israel Initiative , with the stated goal to "counter the attempts to delegitimize the State of Israel and its right to live in peace within safe and defensible borders". Referring to the ill-fated takeover of the Mavi Marmara by Israeli commandos, Aznar said in 2010 that the world must support Israel because "if it goes down, we all go down". He said that "In an ideal world, the assault by Israeli commandos on

3162-828: The Leadership Council for Concordia , a nonpartisan, nonprofit based in New York City focused on promoting effective public-private collaboration to create a more prosperous and sustainable future, and is a member of the Board of Directors of Afiniti , a US based artificial intelligence business. He received the America Award of the Italy-USA Foundation in 2019. In 2022, his cumulative salary since he began advising Rupert Murdoch in 2006 exceeded $ 4 million. Defunct In October 2008, on

3255-484: The Mavi Marmara would not have ended up with nine dead and a score wounded. In an ideal world, the soldiers would have been peacefully welcomed on to the ship." He criticized Turkey for placing Israel "in an impossible situation" in which it would have to either give up its security or face world condemnation. Aznar concluded that Israel is the West's first line of defense, and must be protected. In 2014, in an address at

3348-423: The invasion of Iraq . In 2004, a general election in Spain was scheduled for 14 March, which was not contested by Aznar, but by his successor as lead of the PP, Mariano Rajoy . On 11 March, the 2004 Madrid train bombings occurred, which killed 192 people. The government claimed the bombings were perpetrated by ETA . In the few days between the bombings and the election, the PP defended this position: however,

3441-499: The 14 members of José María Aznar's government from 2002 to 2003 were imprisoned or prosecuted for influence peddling, money laundering and tax fraud. Aznar himself is suspected by the Spanish justice system of having benefited from a party slush fund between 1990 and 1996 for an amount of 782,695 euros. He was summoned by the courts in March 2021 to explain the 'B fund' that the PP had allegedly maintained for more than twenty years. This

3534-499: The 2013 Campus FAES event, titled “A New Atlantic Relationship”, was dedicated to international policy. It addressed the idea of the creation of a transatlantic free trade area. This conference is one of many FAES conferences that brought together prominent Spanish and foreign politicians, scholars and experts. Jos%C3%A9 Mar%C3%ADa Aznar José María Alfredo Aznar López ( Spanish pronunciation: [xoˈse maˈɾi.a alˈfɾeðo aθˈnaɾ ˈlopeθ] ; born 25 February 1953)

3627-611: The AP's National executive committee. He became Assistant Secretary General in February 1982. On 26 October 1982 he was elected to parliament, representing Ávila . On 22 June 1985 he was appointed to the presidency of the AP in Castile and León . On 2 December 1986 AP leader Manuel Fraga resigned following fierce internal party fighting in the aftermath of another failure to dislodge the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). Aznar

3720-691: The American-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq . In 2002, he faced harsh criticisms for the government's response to the Prestige oil spill in Galicia . Support of the PP further declined after the invasion of Iraq, which was not supported by the majority of the Spanish population, but was nevertheless carried out with Spanish support for the U.S. and the UK. A 2003 poll conducted by the public research institute CIS found that 91% of Spaniards were against

3813-750: The Finances of the State ( Spanish : Inspector de las Finanzas del Estado ). He joined the People's Alliance , which was re-founded as the People's Party in 1989. He led the Junta of Castile and León from 1987 to 1989 and was Leader of the Opposition at the national level from 1989 to 1996. In 1995, he survived an assassination attempt from the Basque separatist group ETA . The People's Party, led by Aznar, won

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3906-495: The Iraqi government's nuclear proliferation. On 30 January 2003, Aznar signed The letter of the eight supporting US. policy on Iraq . The majority of the Spanish population, including some PP members, were against the war. Spain's major cities were the scene of the largest street demonstrations ever seen in the country as a result of the government's participation in the invasion. Aznar lost some support from those who had voted for

3999-497: The PP in 2000. On a live TV interview aired on the public station while demonstrations were taking place in the streets, he asked the Spanish people to take his word assuring there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, of which he had evidence. This is now regarded as incorrect. On the economic front, the government pursued the privatization of public enterprises and focused its attention on debt reduction . Investment in research

4092-586: The People's Party was set to win a third consecutive election on the strength of the economy. An opinion poll carried out by the government-run CIS (which had estimated that 92% of the Spanish people did not support the War in Iraq) in February 2004 estimated that the PP would win an election with 42.2% of the vote while the PSOE would only get 35.5%. Three days before the 2004 general election , 10 bombs killed 191 people in

4185-427: The Republic and claim that historiography is about debate and plurality of opinions. On this basis they maintain that no such thing as revisionism exists, that the term is artificial construction which bundles together various scholars and opinions, and that by means of similar arbitrary judgments even icons of anti-revisionism like Preston might be counted in. A somewhat sympathetic term alternative to "revisionism"

4278-411: The Second Republic and the Civil War. Moa's books triggered adverse response. It was first embodied in a 1999 manifesto titled Combate por la historia ; signed by historians, writers and public figures, it was the first to apply the term "revisionistas" to a group of unnamed Spanish historians, charged with distortions and falsifications. In the early 21st century the name filtered into newspapers and

4371-585: The academic realm. Most authors who rebuke attempts to distort and falsify history do not go into such detail and refer to "revisionismo histórico" and "revisionistas". The name denotes an attempt to revise a generally accepted, proven scientific version of recent Spanish history and is applied to both "historiadores coyunturales" and "historiadores profesionales"; recently the term is applied not only to professionals in historiographic science but also to scholars who until their "enigmatic evolution" had been global icons of scientific Hispanism. Sometimes in such cases

4464-543: The advisory board of Centaurus Capital, a London-based hedge fund , an appointment which proved to be short-lived. In 2006, he was appointed to the Board of Directors of News Corporation , the media conglomerate of Rupert Murdoch . He is also member of the European Advisory Panel of The European Business Awards and the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation . Aznar is a member of

4557-511: The anti-revisionist discourse, though further volumes might be referred less frequently or even occasionally. They roughly fall into two different categories.One is composed of loose essays, formatted for non-specialized reader and deprived of back matter, which usually forms part of scientific apparatus; this is the case of volumes published by Moa, Vidal, Martín Rubio or others. Another one is composed of fully fledged historiographic studies aimed for more experienced if not professional audience; this

4650-486: The anti-revisionists; from that moment onwards the conflict was no longer between amateurs and scholars, but between the scholars themselves. It reached another milestone in 2010-2011, the years when Manuel Álvarez Tardío and Roberto Villa García published a general work on the Second Republic and when RAH -edited Diccionario Biográfico Español published a biography of Francisco Franco . The latter caused heated controversy mostly in popular discourse; according to many,

4743-887: The attacks were not exclusively perpetrated by Islamists. After leaving office on 17 April 2004 he presided over the FAES think tank , which is associated with the PP. After a 2005 reform, promoted by Prime Minister Rodríguez Zapatero, former prime ministers were admitted into the Council of State , a position from which he later resigned. Aznar was appointed Distinguished Scholar in the Practice of Global Leadership at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. in April 2004. In this position, he teaches two seminars per semester on contemporary European politics and trans-Atlantic relationships in

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4836-454: The best “possible coordination between the nation's democratic exercise of power and the defense of individual rights.” FAES supports a market economy because it is most suited to allow “efficient allocation of resources, the boosting of reform, the strengthening of the middle class and the promotion of individual liberty.” The link between the US and Europe is essential to defend against threats such as terrorism and fundamentalism and will benefit

4929-467: The biography was revisionist and scandalous. The former had a low-profile but more lasting effect, and became a negative point of reference for many works confronting revisionist historiography. The discussion on revisionism kept escalating and assumed increasingly militant tone. The next milestone was reached when in 2014 Stanley G. Payne published his biography of Franco (co-authored by Jesús Palacios Tapias ); at that point some concluded that revisionism

5022-456: The blame on ETA at every opportunity. The public perception that the government hid information from the general population gave rise to a public outcry. Two days after the Atocha bombings, demonstrations took place across Spain demanding news from the investigation, where chants such as "We want the truth before we vote" and "Who is responsible?" were heard. Three days after the train bombings,

5115-522: The commitment of the previous government to join the European Union's single currency and showed itself willing to take political risks in order to meet the requirements for membership. Aznar also announced the sale early in 1997 of the nation's remaining minority stake ( golden shares ) in the Telefónica telecommunications company and the petroleum group Repsol . This marked the beginning of

5208-536: The creation of a free trade area. FAES aims to create, promote and spread ideas based on political, intellectual and economic freedom. Many of these ideas provide political alternatives to socialism. The purpose is to transform these ideas into programs of political action to better the future of Spain. Instruments used to achieve these goals include discussion groups, seminars, lectures, summer conferences, and training courses. FAES’ ideas and political proposals are also disseminated through electronic publications such as

5301-464: The economy grew and Spain met the criteria to participate in the creation of the eurozone , but unemployment remained moderately high. Some relevant events in Aznar's first term were the assassination of PP politician Miguel Ángel Blanco by ETA. Aznar attempted to negotiate with ETA between 1998 and 1999, but the parties did not reach an agreement and violence continued. Aznar also got the most votes in

5394-580: The end of March 1990. In November the PP moved from the Conservative group in the European Parliament to the more centrist Christian Democratic European People's Party . On 6 June 1993 the PP again lost the general election , but improved on their previous performance by obtaining 34.8% of the vote. The PSOE lost its absolute majority and needed to form a coalition government with other parties in order to continue governing. The result

5487-572: The environmental views of Aznar, classing him among a "sceptical minority" within its membership. However, some People's Party politicians favored Aznar and wanted a public debate on climate change, most notably Esperanza Aguirre . In 2010 it was reported that Aznar would chair the Advisory Council of the Global Adaptation Institute, a new body concerned with adaptation to climate change . In 2010, Aznar founded

5580-486: The first high-profile member of the Francoist government killed by ETA in 1968. Manzanas was widely considered a torturer , and Amnesty International condemned the award. After the 2004 elections it was revealed that Aznar and his government secretly channeled public funds to a United States legal firm to lobby for the bestowment of the Congressional Gold Medal on Aznar. The contract consisted in

5673-451: The label and claim that no orthodox, canonical view of the recent past exists. Both groups blame each other for pursuing a hidden political agenda; those dubbed revisionists are branded conservatives or post- Francoists , their opponents are branded progressists and left-wingers. Until the late 1990s in Spain the term revisionismo histórico was applied to various historiographic debates abroad, often though not always related to Nazism . It

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5766-576: The late 1990s and is applied to a group of historiographic theories related to the recent history of Spain . They are supposedly held together by posing a challenge to what is presented as a generally accepted, orthodox view on the history of the Second Republic and the Civil War . The term is used as stigmatization or abuse, and in usage it is paired with charges of incompetence at best or ill will at worst. Historians named revisionists reject

5859-515: The launch of a new book series called “Biografías Políticas” (Political Biographies) which contains the biographies of important figures in the liberal-conservative tradition of contemporary Spain. In July 2013, FAES presented a report for an ambitious tax reform entitled “Una reforma fiscal para el crecimiento y el empleo.” In English, this translates to “A fiscal reform for growth and employment.” This tax reform seeks to lower taxes in order to promote factors such as economic growth and job creation. At

5952-482: The launch of this the report, which took place on the 2013 FAES campus, Mr. Aznar (president of FAES) advocated such a reform, citing the success that other similarly ambitious tax reforms have had in the past. These include tax reforms undertaken by the Spanish government in 1999 and 2003. In October 2013, FAES presented a proposal for a new national energy strategy. It offers recommendations to increase efficiency and market competitiveness. In March 2005, FAES presented

6045-692: The leader of the attack, who is the idea (sic) of the attack, who established and supported means for the attacks, who defined the logistics of the attacks, who established the strategies of the attack. Nothing...I think that one part of the perpetrators are Islamists, but I think that this is not only an Islamist attack." During a Washington, D.C. conference at the Hudson Institute , a conservative U.S. think tank , on 23 September 2006, referring to Pope Benedict XVI 's comments on Islam and violence, Aznar asked why Muslims had not apologized for occupying Spain for 800 years as Al-Andalus . He then called

6138-427: The legends of Francoist ‘historiography’", serving "re-fried Francoist fables", "almost 'Blue'" myths and even nurturing "filonazismo". The charges are supposed proven by political membership of some historians, their publications in right-wing periodicals or publishing houses, links to right-wing institutions, their set of "ideological bedmates" or who they dined with. At times their presence in public discourse

6231-410: The magazine, Aznar distinguished himself by his "extreme rhetoric" for his negationist positions on the issue of global warming, his rejection of the efforts of inter-religious dialogue or for having declared that the election of an African-American to the presidency of the United States would lead to a "foreseeable economic disaster". In 2015, after a series of cases spread over several years, 11 of

6324-538: The most parliamentary seats at the 1996 general election , but he failed to obtain a majority in the Congress of Deputies , which forced the PP to seek the support of Basque ( EAJ-PNV ), Catalan ( CiU ) and Canarian ( CC ) regionalists. He was finally invested prime minister on 4 May 1996, and his first term was marked by market liberalization , deregulation of the economy, cutting of state expenses and privatization of several state-owned companies. During his first term,

6417-499: The name has been abused and label their opponents rather as "pseudo-revisionists". Finally, some scholars distinguish between "revisionism", the term reserved for amateurish writings of Moa or others, and "neo-revisionism", the term applied to scientifically grounded works pursuing similar yet not identical views. Finally, few authors note that historiographic revision is generally welcome and needed, but "revisionism" by default stands for revision based on manipulation and has no place in

6510-603: The occasion of a visit by the Czech President Václav Klaus to the Spanish capital, Aznar said that anthropogenic climate change is a "scientifically questionable" theory which had become a religion, and whose followers were "enemies of freedom". These views were similar to those expressed by Klaus in his book Blue Planet in Green Shackles , which was published in Spanish by FAES . Aznar's speech caused some puzzlement, as his government had been

6603-586: The opposition PSOE won the elections. The subsequent investigations held by a Parliamentary Committee were characterized by bitter partisan exchanges between the different political parties, with dispute over who may have been responsible for the bombings. Aznar appeared before the Committee in November 2004 and declared his belief that the authors of the bombings were not to be found "in faraway deserts or remote mountains." Aznar said in 2006 that he thought that

6696-680: The organisation’s lines. Aznar graduated in law at the Complutense University of Madrid in 1975 and became a Tax Authority inspector in 1976. After the death of Francisco Franco and the restoration of democracy , Aznar joined the Alianza Popular (AP) in January 1979, a few months after his wife. In March he became the Secretary General of the party in La Rioja , occupying the post until 1980. In February 1981 he joined

6789-486: The phenomenon became a widely discussed topic, especially that also other books charged with revisionism were selling very well. According to some scholars, the second term of the Aznar government reinforced the revisionist efforts, expressed e.g. as another education plan advanced by Real Academia de Historia . The anti-revisionist backlash climaxed in 2005-2006 as 3 books produced by professional historians and edited by Alberto Reig Tapia and Francisco Espinosa Maestre ;

6882-412: The private sector, and he sometimes gives his views on current issues. He was a member of the Council of State from 2005 to 2006. He is the president of Spanish think tank FAES and is a director of News Corporation . He held the honorary (symbolic) presidency of the PP until 2016, when he renounced the title. On February 14, 2024, Aznar resigned from his position as a lobbyist for Philip Morris. Aznar

6975-499: The regime and diagnose that though there might have been a modest post-Francoist revival in some sectors of the Spanish media, all professional historians remained immune. They reverse the charges and maintain that it is rather the "contrarrevisionistas" who demonstrate a Francoist heritage: unable of detaching science from politics, they reportedly view history in Manichean terms, refuse to acknowledge their analysis, and got locked in

7068-487: The report ‘Transparencia, el mejor eslogan 2012’ FAES was first in the political foundations transparency ranking. The report ranked the transparency of many foundations linked to political parties and emphasized that FAES is the only foundation out of the 26 analyzed that provides financial information on its website. FAES has published Spanish editions of books on global warming by Václav Klaus and Nigel Lawson , both politicians who deny climate science. May 2013 marked

7161-663: The scheme was embodied e.g. in Plan de Mejora de la Enseñanza , a scheme aimed at re-design of the school curriculum, in 1997 proposed to the Cortes and eventually rejected. In parallel the Right-wing administration mounted a public-discourse counter-offensive, which climaxed in "Operación Moa". Its supposed result was commercial success of 3 books which appeared on the market between 1999 and 2003; written by an amateur historian and far-right propagandist Pio Moa , they focused on

7254-657: The service of the political aims of the present", their goal identified as to "whitewash the history of the Spanish right" and to cover up Nationalist crimes. They are linked to a range of political options and might be dubbed "historiographic Right", "conservatives", "neo-Conservatives", "theo-conservatives", "ultraconservatives", "conservative/neo-Francoist", "pro-Francoists", "filofranquistas", "regime's panegyrists and ideologized 'historians'", "Francoist apologists" and "authoritarians". They are charged with exalting "pure Francoism", sustaining "canon neofranquista", "peddling discredited historical narrative", "repackaging

7347-456: The term and do not take part in direct polemics. Some assumed a combative position and in numerous articles, press statements and books they confront their opponents. There are authors dubbed revisionists who deny having anything in common with other "revisionists" and treat them in a derogatory manner, there are authors who admit sharing similar views. In general, they question existence of an orthodox, generally accepted historiographic vision of

7440-559: The term is qualified as perfectly respectable scientific "revisionismo amable", yet usually no such distinction is made. At times revisionism is divided into purist and comparative branches. Sometimes two labels associated are "denialism" and "negationism", as the authors in question deny or negate generally accepted and supposedly proven historiographic concepts. Though authors classified as revisionists are typically charged with nurturing post-Francoist, pro-Francoist, neo-Francoist, quasi-Francoist or plainly Francoist sentiments, some effort

7533-420: The then French minister for justice. Dati subsequently claimed that another individual, Dominique Desseigne , was the father of her child. In December 2012, a French court ordered Desseigne to undergo a paternity test to see if he fathered Dati's child. A French court decision of 7 January 2016 ruled that Desseigne was indeed the father. Revisionism (Spain) Revisionism is a term which emerged in

7626-403: The volumes supposedly definitely dismantled the revisionist Moa narrative and at the time they were thought to have terminated the debate. Instead of dying out, after 2005 the debate on revisionism flamed on and was brought to another level. To some extent sustained by adoption of Ley de la Memoria Historica in 2007, the discussion transformed when a group of professional historians challenged

7719-505: Was a disappointment for the PP as the opinion polls had predicted a victory for them. They did well in the 1994 European and 1995 local elections. On 19 April 1995, Aznar's armored car prevented him from being assassinated by an ETA bomb. The PP won the 3 March 1996 general election with 37.6% of the vote, thus ending 13 years of PSOE rule. With 156 of the 350 seats (the PSOE won 141) Aznar had to reach agreements with two regional nationalist parties, Convergence and Unity (Catalan) and

7812-442: Was allegedly used to receive anonymous donations from business leaders in order to pay "salary supplements" to party officials. In 1977 Aznar married Ana Botella , by whom he has three children: José María, Ana and Alonso. Their daughter married Alejandro Agag at El Escorial on 5 September 2002, and they have four children. In 2008 in response to rumours, Aznar denied being the father of Zohra Dati, daughter of Rachida Dati ,

7905-511: Was born in Madrid in 1953, the son of Manuel Aznar Acedo , an army official, journalist and radio broadcaster, and the grandson of Manuel Aznar Zubigaray , a former Basque nationalist broadcaster who later became a Falangist propagandist and a prominent journalist during the Franco era . Both his father and grandfather held governmental positions during the dictatorship . He was educated at

7998-511: Was dominated by a consensus within the ruling party on economics, regional nationalism, and terrorism, several issues arose which polarized Spanish public opinion. Like UK Prime Minister Tony Blair , Aznar actively supported the United States' War on Terrorism , despite public opposition. Aznar met with Bush in a private meeting before the 2003 invasion of Iraq to discuss the situation in the UN Security Council. El País leaked

8091-434: Was drastically reduced, and large cuts were also made in social spending. Social housing construction fell by over 30%, and households went into debt in response to the sharp rise in the price of building land. In January 2004 Aznar called a general election and designated his successor as candidate, Mariano Rajoy , sticking to a pledge of not seeking office for a third term. Despite political tensions, polls suggested that

8184-487: Was embraced by the world's most distinguished Hispanists . Since then the debate has reached an unprecedented level and spilled over to global historiography. It is also reflected in 2018 debates related to proposal of a new Ley de Memoria Histórica. Some scholars who confront the revisionist tide claim that the term "revisionism" as such is not by default deprecatory and some authors considered champions of anti-revisionism declare themselves revisionists, naming skepticism

8277-465: Was equal on both sides; 9) criticize memoria historica as having nothing to do with history; 10) glorify the transition, made possible by Francoism. Historians called revisionists are typically refused scientific credentials, denied both to relatively young scholars and to academic Hispanists who established their position during decades. Some are presented as interested in selling books rather than in historical rigor. The charge raised most frequently

8370-628: Was invested as president of the region , forming an uneasy coalition government with the Democratic and Social Centre (CDS). In 1989 Aznar was voted by the National Executive Committee of AP to be the new leader of the party, re-founded as the Partido Popular ( People's Party , or PP). With Fraga focused on the presidency of Galicia , Aznar was confirmed as leader of the PP at their 10th National Congress at

8463-479: Was not considered senior enough to be a possible successor, and gave his support to Miguel Herrero de Miñón , who lost the leadership bid to Fraga's choice, Antonio Hernández Mancha . As a result, Aznar lost his post as Assistant Secretary General. On 10 June 1987, after having resigned to his seat in the Congress of Deputies, he was elected member of the Cortes of Castile and León in the 1987 Castilian-Leonese regional election , representing Ávila . Soon after, he

8556-412: Was seldom used against the local background and its denotation could have varied, e.g. in 1988 the expression was employed to stand for scientific historiography. According to scholars who later confronted revisionism, this general setting changed in the mid-1990s; the new government of José María Aznar launched a bid to revise the dominant historiographic view of the recent past. In administrative terms

8649-428: Was that after 1975 "mayoritario sector" of Spanish historiography agreed a propaganda-free opinion on the Republic and that in post-Francoist Spain there was no ideologically-motivated "war of historians"; revisionists were marked as these who tried to open such a war. Recently this position has changed and some anti-revisionists admit that indeed there might be some "areas of contention" and controversies, embodied in

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