Santa Cruz City Council Files Legal Challenge to Halt Removal of La Victoria Monument
The Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council has launched a legal challenge against the Spanish government to prevent the mandated removal of the "La Victoria" monument, which authorities have classified as a vestige of the dictatorship.
The legal battle over the "La Victoria" monument in Santa Cruz de Tenerife is reaching a turning point. The City Council has officially launched a court challenge against the Spanish government to stop a ministerial order that requires the removal of the Juan de Ávalos sculpture by February 2027.
Tensions rose on September 2, when the central government rejected the City Council’s administrative appeal. The General Directorate for the Promotion of Democratic Memory—led by Ángel Víctor Torres—confirmed that the monument is officially classified as a vestige of the dictatorship. The state insists the sculpture must be removed from public view and moved to municipal storage, a move Mayor José Manuel Bermúdez continues to oppose.
The City Council is now pursuing a two-part strategy. First, the mayor has directed the legal, culture, and heritage departments to file a formal contentious-administrative appeal. Second, the city is attempting to protect the sculpture locally by adding it to the municipal heritage catalog. If successful, this would provide a legal safeguard that the city argues should override the national removal order. This process is currently awaiting technical reports from the Urban Planning Department.
The dispute highlights a deep institutional divide. While the City Council argues that the work’s artistic value justifies its place in the city, the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory remains firm. The government’s position is supported by the Canary Islands Cultural Heritage Council, which ruled in June that the monument does not meet the necessary architectural or aesthetic standards to be declared an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC).
The outcome of this case will do more than decide the fate of the sculpture; it will test the limits of the Democratic Memory Law when it clashes with local municipal authority. Ultimately, the courts will decide whether the monument must be relegated to a warehouse or if the City Council can keep it in its current location at the intersection of the Rambla and Avenida de Anaga.