Canary Islands Committee Rejects Heritage Status for Franco Monument in Tenerife

The Canary Islands’ technical committee on architectural heritage has reached a major turning point in the long-running legal battle over the Franco monument on Avenida Francisco La Roche in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The advisory body has voted by a near-unanimous margin against granting the sculpture, created by Juan de Ávalos, the status of an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC).

This decision is a significant setback for the Cabildo of Tenerife, which began the process of seeking monument status in October 2024. The Cabildo had initiated this move following a court order prompted by the San Miguel Arcángel association. Under the leadership of Rosa Dávila, the Cabildo had hoped to rebrand the site as a "Monument to Concord," attempting to preserve the structure while giving it a new symbolic meaning.

The committee’s decision contradicts earlier favorable reports from the Royal Canary Academy of Fine Arts of San Miguel Arcángel and the Royal Academy of Extremadura. The findings will now be sent to the Canary Islands Cultural Heritage Council. While the committee’s opinion is not legally binding, regional government sources suggest the Council typically follows the advice of its technical experts, signaling that the monument is unlikely to receive protected status. If this holds, the regional government will formalize the rejection through an official decree.

The debate over the monument goes beyond aesthetics, touching on the application of the Democratic Memory Law. Supporters of the BIC status point to the artistic significance of Ávalos’s work. Conversely, groups like the Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory of Tenerife have welcomed the committee’s stance. Spokesperson Mercedes Pérez Schwartz stated that rejecting the protection is a necessary step for upholding democratic values and respecting the dignity of victims, arguing that such symbols in public spaces remain an affront.

The final decision now rests with the Cultural Heritage Council, which must decide whether the artistic arguments put forward by the academies outweigh the ethical and political concerns raised by the regional experts.