The years 1974-1975 were decisive for Southern Europe. Within a short period, the dictatorships in Portugal, Greece, and Spain collapsed, paving the way for democracy. Yet the paths of transition, from revolution and rupture to negotiation and compromise, were profoundly different, shaping each country’s political culture and collective memory in distinct ways.
Building on the comparative dialogue that began last year in Athens, the Contemporary Social History Archives (ASKI) from Greece and the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation offices in Athens and Madrid are organizing the international workshop Atado y Bien Atado. The End of Dictatorships in Southern Europe (Madrid, 24–28 November 2025).
The event is part of the cultural initiative ¿Atado y Bien Atado?, a collective project addressing the “amnesia of impunity” surrounding Spain’s democratic transition. The initiative brings together Verso Books, Amauta, turba! comunicación, the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, Viento Sur, and MIRCo–UAM, in collaboration with Teatro del Barrio and Sala Mirador, supported by the Comisionado para los 50 años en Libertad.
The workshop will bring together historians, researchers, and activists to examine the resistance movements that challenged authoritarianism, the democratization processes that followed, and the ongoing struggles over memory, justice, and accountability. It will also open a dialogue with Latin American experiences, exploring how Chile and Argentina confronted repression and torture, and how museums, archives, and digital history projects continue to nurture democratic culture and collective remembrance.
Structured around key questions, the discussions will reflect on dictatorship and democracy in Southern Europe from a comparative historiographical and political perspective, highlighting the power of collective action in shaping democratic change and addressing the challenges facing democracy today, fifty years after the fall of the dictatorships.
Organized by:
Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung Athens, Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung Madrid, MIRCo-UAM
In collaboration with:
Betiko, Contemporary Social History Archives-ASKI, ¿Atado y Bien Atado? Cultural Initiative, Verso, Viento Sur
With the support of:
Espana en Libertad, Gobierno de Espana-Ministerio de Cultura
