The president of the Popular Party of Lanzarote and La Graciosa, Astrid Pérez, has expressed this Friday her "indignation" at the demolition of the Francoist cross in the Plaza de Las Palmas, in Arrecife. The party, which is part of the government groups in the City Council of Arrecife, in the Cabildo of Lanzarote and the Government of the Canary Islands, has defended that although the decision is protected within the Historical Memory Law, this is a "Christian symbol that is part of the original design".
Pérez has assured that the removal of this Francoist vestige "has also shocked a large part of the population of Lanzarote." "As president of the Popular Party of Lanzarote and La Graciosa, I deeply regret the removal of the cross from this historic square in our capital." Pérez added that this fact is the result of "a decision taken without consensus or respect for local history." The president of the populars has expressed that this fact is "an unjustified attack on our Christian and cultural roots."
Against the criteria of the first island institution, of which the Popular Party is a part and which has assured that neither the cross nor the plaque will be placed again by virtue of the Historical Memory Law, Ástriz Péres has maintained that this cross "did not contain any Francoist reference nor did it violate the Historical Memory Law." In addition, she has assured that "it was part of the original design of the square made by the artist César Manrique and has been, for decades, a symbol of identity for the people of Arrecife", although it was actually a request from the Government Delegation of the Dictatorship to the City Council of Arrecife during the 50s so that it would be ready for the dictator's visit to the island.
"I am concerned that there is an attempt to ideologize a religious element with the sole purpose of eliminating it," added Astrid Pérez. "Lanzarote has always been an example of coexistence, and we cannot allow decisions that seek to divide and confront."
The Popular Party of Lanzarote has demanded "respect for our traditions and the immediate replacement of a cross that was not Francoist, but belonged to all the residents of Arrecife".