The entry into force of the Democratic Memory Law entails the elaboration of a catalog of symbols and elements contrary to democratic memory, a document that will pay attention to Francoist constructions such as the Monument to Franco, located in the chicharrera capital, but also in the Valley of the Fallen, the Pyramid of the Italians (Burgos) or the obelisk of Llano Amarillo (Ceuta). All of them are likely to be part of that catalogue, although, as is the case with the sculpture of Juan de Ávalos, the future of many is in the hands of justice.
Sources from the Ministry of the Presidency, Relations with the Courts and Democratic Memory confirm to Efe that they are already preparing this catalog of symbols and elements contrary to democratic memory in application of the new law, but they do not provide further details and only take for granted the case of the Valley of the Fallen, renamed Valle de Cuelgamuros and whose resignification is provided for in the regulation itself.
In the absence of the official catalog of the Government, the compilation of Francoist elements is the responsibility of the autonomous communities, as the Canary Islands have already done, city councils or public-private collaboration initiatives such as the website deberiadesaparecer.com, promoted by the Jesús Pereda de CC Foundation. .OO. and that has a subsidy from the Ministry.
“There are a lot of symbols that are breaking the memory law,” Eduardo España, one of the creators of the page, assures Efe, which currently has detected more than 6,000 Francoist elements, including ten monuments that measure more than 20 meters in length. height. Efe has collected the different constructions in a interactive map in which you can know the situation in which each of them is.
waiting for the court
The only monument of this magnitude found in the Canary Islands is the one dedicated to Franco in the capital. The future of this sculpture, which the Government of the Canary Islands has included in the Catalog of vestiges, and demands its removal, is waiting for the court to rule on the refusal of the Cabildo to declare it an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), decision that an association appealed. This appeal has been endorsed by the Superior Court of Justice (TSJC) by stating that the monument cannot be touched until that appeal is resolved.
According to the data collected at deberiadesaparecer.com, 28 Francoist elements have been identified in the Canary Islands to be withdrawn. In Tenerife there are 19, of which 15 are in Santa Cruz, two in Garachico and one in El Tanque. These last two are street names with Francoist names. As for the rest of the monuments that will be in the catalog of the state law, the first is that of Valle de Cuelgamuros (San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Madrid), for which the law provides for the call for an ideas contest to resignify the ancient Valley of the Fallen.
