The lecturer in Art History at the University of La Laguna, Maria Isabel Navarro, who coordinates the catalogue of Francoist remnants that the Canary Islands Government is advocating to repeal, regards the Tenerife Council’s intent to redefine the monument to Franco in Santa Cruz as a “monument for Concord” as “an insult.”
This past Sunday, the Canarian Coalition and the PP declared their intention to present a motion at the upcoming plenary session of the Tenerife Cabildo, the governing body where they share power. They propose to transform this sculptural feature, located at the intersection of the Rambla de Santa Cruz and Francisco Laroche Avenue, into “a space of remembrance that fosters peace and understanding among citizens.”
In comments made to EFE, María Isabel Navarro asserts that from the perspective of Francoism’s victims and the initiatives undertaken in the Historical Memory and Democratic Memory laws, “these remarks regarding the use of the term concord constitute yet another affront.”
She elaborates that certain political figures “through their statements, present themselves as though they were advocates for the victims. Why do they have the authority to determine that the solution is to label it as a monument to concord?” she questions.
Furthermore, the Art History professor describes it as “a humiliation to the victims,” claiming it also seeks to “make civil society complicit in unlawful actions” by disregarding existing legislation.
In her view, it represents an exercise in collective amnesia, as it “overlooks the fact that – within this sculptural assembly – Franco is depicted as a religious hero,” along with the metopes crowning the front of the structure, which embody the nine judicial districts of the province “as an endorsement of the military uprising.”
Maria Isabel Navarro insists that within the catalogue of Francoist remnants approved in the last legislative session and subsequently repealed by the current Canary Islands administration of CC and PP, “the demolition of the monument was never contemplated; instead, it focused on the removal of elements that mock the true history” of that uprising and the Civil War.
These elements include the portrayal of the island of Tenerife, which features the mountain upon which the figure of the angel rests, as well as the representation of the ‘Dragon Rapide’, the aircraft that Franco used to fly from the Canary Islands to Morocco; the depiction of Franco “as a medieval crusader,” equipped with a cloak and sword, alongside the nine shields of the provincial judicial districts, which serve as “a representation of the legal endorsement of the Civil War as just and legitimate.”
The Art History professor questions why the Tenerife Council has launched the proceedings to declare the monument as an asset of cultural interest (BIC) when the judicial ruling it is based upon “merely necessitates” initiating the processes that lead to this declaration if the reports “could substantiate that there are elements to validate this conclusion.”
Navarro perceives “a convergence between judicial actions and particular claims that resonate within certain institutions.”
Specifically, in relation to the Santa Cruz City Council, which “at any cost insists on preserving” the monument “as if such a grand and enduring display of support for the honour of Franco, as the instigator of the uprising, could be viewed as a blessing for our nation,” she asserts that “it is a symbol of honour for the city.”
Concerning the assertion by the Mayor of the capital, José Manuel Bermúdez, that the city council bears the responsibility for renaming or recontextualising the monument, she calls for “responsible management” of this “awkward heritage,” urging adherence to the law.
Navarro contends that the situation surrounding the Franco monument in Santa Cruz de Tenerife represents “a democratic anomaly,” where “the successors of those who instigated the war and military uprising remain entrenched, so to speak, in a trench of coexistence among confrontational groups.”
“The only viable path to harmony is to confront the responsibilities” that rest with each individual, she concludes.
