The recent plenary session of the Arona City Council was characterised by a clash between Vox and the PSOE following a proposal to honour the victims of Franco’s repression. The motion, put forth by the PSOE, aimed to fulfil an agreement unanimously approved in 2019 to pay tribute to Dr José Rivera, as well as to teacher Manuel Solana and his wife, Pilar, who were murdered and incinerated in the ravine of La Tahona, in the Camel, following the military coup against the Second Republic.
All political parties supported the initiative, with the exception of Vox. The PSOE labelled this rejection as an “insult to the victims and their families,” asserting it reflects “the disdain of their party towards the reprisals of Franco.”
Naím Yánez, a councillor from Vox, defended his party’s stance by claiming that the PSOE exhibits a “sectarian” viewpoint and aims to “foster national ideological discord.” Yánez indicated that his party proposed an amendment to broaden the tribute to “all victims of the civil war, regardless of their ideologies.” He stated that Vox’s intention is for “history not to divide,” but rather to acknowledge “the suffering of all those affected by the conflict.”
The mayor noted that the amendment from the far-right party suggested recognising all victims of the civil war and the subsequent post-war period “without ideological prejudice”, as well as organising educational and cultural initiatives “to promote an objective understanding of history.” Among the proposed initiatives were conferences with historians, documentary exhibitions, and collaboration with institutions “to ensure a more thorough and diverse perspective of the past.”
The PSOE, in its statement, claims that Vox is “the only party refusing to pay tribute to the memory of these victims, despite being a member of the current municipal government alongside CC and the PP.”
