The Socialist Group in the Cabildo of Lanzarote has celebrated that the motion presented by the Popular Party to replace the cross and the stone balls of the Francoist monument located in the Plaza de Las Palmas, next to the Church of San Ginés, in Arrecife, has not prospered. The motion was rejected with the vote against of the PSOE and the abstentions of Coalición Canaria and Óscar Noda.
From the PSOE they consider that the initiative of the Popular Party responds to "an evident attempt to whitewash symbols linked to Francoism", by trying to "present as a neutral element what in reality was part of a monument dedicated to those who fell for God and for Spain", slogan used to "glorify the victors of the Civil War".
“There is no possible reinterpretation or excuses that are worth: the cross that was removed was part of a Francoist monument and has no place in a full democracy”, said the spokesperson for the Socialist Group, Ariagona González.
“What the Popular Party intended was not an act of respect or heritage conservation, but a clear setback in democratic advances. Lanzarote has taken a firm step by rejecting this motion”, he added.
The socialist spokesperson has also questioned the lukewarmness of Coalición Canaria, which “prefers to look the other way and not commit to the defense of democratic values, nor to the memory of those who were persecuted by the dictatorship”.
From the PSOE of Lanzarote they have insisted that democratic memory "is not a settling of accounts, but an act of justice and reparation with the victims of Francoism", and have reiterated that the institutions are "obliged to guarantee that the public space is free of symbols that represent an exaltation of totalitarianism".