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MADRID (AP) - Hundreds of people nostalgic for Spain's fascist past have held a rally outside Madrid's downtown Royal Palace to commemorate the 38th anniversary of dictator Francisco Franco's death.
Eduardo Arias, president of the right-wing Spanish Patriotic Knot association, addressed the gathering and exhorted the government to oppose immigration at a time when the country has sky-high unemployment. Sympathizers made stiff-arm salutes and waved Spanish flags before singing anthems dating from Franco's 1939-1975 rule.
Stalls sold far-right, fascist and Nazi memorabilia to curious passers-by on the fringes of Sunday's rally.
On Saturday an anti-fascist protest was held outside El Valle de los Caidos, a giant mausoleum north of Madrid where Franco is buried.
Franco won the 1936-1939 civil war with the help of Nazi Germany and fascist Italy.
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