The Technical Commission of Historical Memory has agreed by majority this Monday to inform in favor of the content catalog of Francoist symbols, streets, monuments and mentions in Santa Cruz de Tenerife proposed by the Ministry of Education, Universities, Culture and Sports and carried out by the team of research made up of doctors María Isabel Navarro, Yolanda Peralta and doctor Ricardo Guerra, from the University of La Laguna (ULL).
MAP | Complete list of the Francoist vestiges in Santa Cruz de Tenerife
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The proposal has achieved the favorable vote of almost all the members that are part of the commission, except for the two representatives of the Santa Cruz City Council, its mayor, José Manuel Bermúdez (CC), and first deputy mayor, Guillermo Díaz (PP), who have voted against, not because they disagree with the content of the catalog, since they have stated that they mostly agree, but, as he has assured, because of the procedure followed, when considering, based on a legal report, that it is not adequate for approval.
Julio Pérez, Minister of Public Administrations, Justice and Security of the Government of the Canary Islands and president of the body, reported at the end of the session that this resolution had been adopted after studying a report made by a working group appointed by the commission itself, which included Mercedes Pérez, representative of the Tenerife Historical Memory Association; Candelaria González, representative of the University of Las Palmas, and José Juan Pestano, from the Genetics Laboratory of the Institute of Legal Medicine of Las Palmas, who have had the technical advice of the sociologist and expert in Historical Memory Dailo Barco.
Except for the aforementioned two votes against, the rest have supported both the content and the procedure followed to inform the catalog and also the observations that are going to be transferred to the Ministry of Education, Universities, Culture and Sports, so that it can take them into account. account for approval. In the first place, that it does not include the review of honors and distinctions, understanding that it is not specific to the catalog nor does it require its approval, but that it is the competence and responsibility of each local entity to carry it out.
Reference has also been made to some specific vestiges such as the consideration of the report prepared by the Association of Surveyors of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in relation to the location of the bust of Joaquín Amigó, and the advisability of removing the shields of the Franco regime that continue being in the windows of the Subdelegation of the Government and the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC).
Julio Pérez explained that with the agreement adopted this Monday, the intended objective is achieved, which is to comply with the law, since it is not about applying a subjective criterion or a political opinion, but the law, and doing it as has happened today after “a serene, thoughtful and constructive debate”. Now, he added, the following steps remain to be taken by the Ministry of Education, Universities, Culture and Sports and the various local corporations.
The following catalogue, Las Palmas
The councilor has also announced that the next catalog proposal to be reported by the Historical Memory Technical Commission, as indicated by the Deputy Minister of Culture and Cultural Heritage, Juan Márquez, will be that of Las Palmas.
In the session held this Monday by the Historical Memory Technical Commission, the Ministry of Public Administrations, Justice and Security, in addition to its owner, were present, the Deputy Minister of Justice, Carla Vallejo; the general director of Relations with the Administration of Justice, Mónica Vallejo, and the head of the Justice and General Affairs section of the DGRAJ, Jana Millares, as secretary of the Commission. The vice presidents of the same, the Minister of Education, Universities, Culture and Sports, Manuela de Armas; Juan Marquez and Mercedes Perez.
As members, together with the two representatives of the Santa Cruz City Council, expressly invited by Julio Pérez, they have attended Candelaria González, representative of the ULPGC; José Juan Pestano, for the IML; the president of the Association for the recovery of the Historical Memory of La Palma, Félix Andrés González; the president of the Abducted Minors Association, Francisco González, the second vice president of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Berta Pérez, on behalf of the Canarian Federation of Islands (Fecai); the head of the Historical Archive of Las Palmas, Samuel García, and the representative of the Arucas Historical Memory Association, Manuel Ortego. Dailo Barco has been a guest.
The Government of the Canary Islands had recommended that the ULL not participate in the debate on this point, after having signed an agreement with the Ministry of Education, Universities, Culture and Sports, for the production of these catalogues, nor the professor author of the study that has served as the basis for the catalog of Santa Cruz, María Isabel Navarro. Neither the ULL nor Navarro have attended the Historical Memory Commission on Monday.
