On Wednesday, the regional government published a resolution in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands (BOC) initiating a hearing in the process of revoking the catalogue of symbols, streets, monuments, and references to Francoism that was previously approved by the government in relation to Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The Ministry of Universities, Science, and Innovation and Culture has now published in the BOC an announcement from the General Directorate of Culture and Cultural Heritage, making public a resolution issued by this body on April 19.
This resolution involves granting a hearing to interested parties in the revocation process of the Order dated November 4, 2022, of the former Ministry of Education, Universities, Culture, and Sports, which approved the catalogue. This action was prompted by the inter-administrative requirement put forward by the Autonomous Body of Culture of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council on July 7, 2023.
In response to this request, the City Council of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has called for the repeal or revocation of the aforementioned order from the previous Ministry of Education, thereby rendering it legally ineffective.
The Director of Culture and Cultural Heritage, Miguel Ángel Clavijo, has stated that it is legally justified to accept this request in compliance with the provisions of the Law of the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations.
It has been decided that prior to drafting the proposed resolution, the concerned parties or their representatives will have the opportunity to present any relevant documents and justifications within a period of no less than ten days and no more than fifteen, as allowed by the law.
The public hearing process will be announced when it is deemed to be in the public interest by the competent authority.
Therefore, a notice has been issued for the opening of the hearing process to interested parties within a ten-day period, during which they can make pleas and submit relevant documents and justifications regarding the revocation of the order approving the catalogue of Francoist symbols, streets, monuments, and mentions in the Canary Islands territorial area in 2022.
The documentation can be reviewed at the offices of the General Directorate of Culture and Cultural Heritage in the two Canary Islands capitals, with the possibility of requesting analysis via email.
Any observations, objections, or inquiries must be directed to the General Directorate of Culture and Cultural Heritage and can be submitted through the means specified in the Law of the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations.
Furthermore, the resolution will be notified to the Autonomous Body of Culture of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council, granting them ten business days from the day following the notification to present their arguments and relevant documents.
The catalogue of Francoist remnants in the Canary Islands identifies 79 symbols in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, including monuments, sculptures, objects, shields, inscriptions, street names, urban spaces, and honours related to individuals involved in the military uprising, the Civil War, and the dictatorship’s repression.
This list encompasses coup soldiers, volunteers, and casualties from the Civil War, as well as political officials, ideologues, and collaborators of the regime. Recommendations within the catalogue include the removal of the sculptural group from the Franco monument, which symbolizes Tenerife’s contribution to the military uprising, and various allegorical figures associated with Franco’s early war actions.
The Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council had previously contested the limited scope of the catalogue to just the capital of Tenerife. The Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) subsequently issued two orders to suspend it as a precautionary measure following requests from the Asociación Reivindicativa de la Memoria Historico Raíces and the Association for the Research and Protection of the Historical Heritage of San Miguel Arcángel.
