Spain's Socialist government said today it wanted to officially recognise victims of the 1930s civil war and offer compensation to relatives of the dead and imprisoned.
However, the opposition accused it of reopening old wounds.
The government wants to recognise and extend the rights of those who suffered persecution or violence during the civil war and dictatorship," said Deputy Prime Minister Teresa Fernandez de la Vega, announcing a bill to be sent to parliament.
Hundreds of thousands of people were killed during Spain's 1936-39 war which was followed by a right-wing dictatorship of the victorious General Francisco Franco until he died in 1975.
Under the proposed law, relatives of victims would be able to request a declaration from a parliamentary commission that family members were unjustly killed or imprisoned, and could apply for economic compensation.
The law would also offer help in finding the remains of victims buried in hidden graves and make it easier for foreigners who fought against Franco in the International Brigades to obtain Spanish citizenship.
Opposition leader Mariano Rajoy, of the right-wing Popular Party which has roots in Franco's movement, accused the government of reopening wounds left by the war which overthrew a democratically-elected Republican government.
"The immense majority of Spaniards don't want to rewrite history, they don't want to talk about the Republic, and they don't want to talk about Franco," said Rajoy.