The Association of Historical Memory of Tenerife will take the Santa Cruz City Council to court for refusing to remove the Franco monument.
The organisation is demanding economic and legal support from public administrations, primarily the central Spanish State and the Government of the Canary Islands, to fund this litigation and all other legal actions aimed at enforcing historical memory laws. If public funding is not secured, the association plans to launch a crowdfunding campaign to finance the court proceedings.
Mercedes Pérez, president of the Association of Historical Memory of Tenerife, stated to the newspaper El Día that the group would turn to the courts to report the City Council for failing to comply with the law. Pérez noted that the Canary Islands Government rejected declaring the monument an Item of Cultural Interest, while the Spanish Government issued a resolution ordering its removal within six months. She added that the council, as owner of the Francoist vestige, is appealing the State order and trying to protect the sculpture through its municipal heritage catalogue instead of complying with the law, calling the council's actions unacceptable.
The association highlighted the ongoing judicial proceedings concerning the Franco monument and other appeals affecting the catalogue of Francoist vestiges in the Canary Islands. The group stated that resorting to court action has become necessary to force the enforcement of current regulations, which places a heavy financial burden on victims' organisations that must cover the costs of legal representation and court battles.
Response from Heritage Group
In response, the Association for the Research and Protection of Historical Heritage San Miguel Arcángel expressed concern over reports that the historical memory group requested public funds from the Canary Islands Government for legal battles over the Democratic Memory Law. The heritage group stated that it was not surprised by the request but wanted the public to know that its own organization has never received a single euro of public money.
The San Miguel Arcángel association stated in a press release that all of its research, public awareness campaigns, citizen initiatives, and legal actions have been paid for entirely by its members and collaborators. The group noted that it has demonstrated that a cause can be defended through member commitment while personally bearing the full cost of judicial proceedings.
Regional Government Ruling and Removal Timeline
The dispute follows the Canary Islands Government's decision to reject declaring the sculpture complex an Item of Cultural Interest, relying on a report from the insular Cultural Heritage Council. The decision was published in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands on Monday under Decree 131/2026, which the regional executive approved on July 27, 2026. This resolution officially concluded the procedure to grant the work the highest level of heritage protection in the region.
However, the San Miguel Arcángel association stated that it intends to appeal the decision and argued that the regional ruling does not end the process. The group explained that the State resolution ordering the monument's removal specifies that the six-month deadline will only start counting the day after the monument's heritage protection status officially lapses.
Municipal Appeals and Protection Arguments
Mayor José Manuel Bermúdez maintained that the regional government's ruling does not close all legal avenues available to the municipality. The Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council is maintaining an administrative appeal, evaluating a contencioso-administrativo lawsuit in court, and processing local protection status for the sculpture complex created by Juan de Ávalos.
One of the primary legal steps taken by the municipality is an appeal filed against the resolution issued by the General Directorate of Democratic Memory. That resolution placed the sculpture group in the official catalogue of symbols and elements contrary to democratic memory and mandated its dismantling. The city's appeal remains pending resolution.
Santa Cruz has requested that the legal obligation to remove the monument be cancelled. The city bases its position on municipal authority over local heritage, the municipal protection catalogue currently being drafted, and technical reports attributing artistic, cultural, and urban values to the monument.
The City Council has also requested a precautionary suspension of the removal order while the legal process is underway, arguing that physically dismantling the sculpture could cause structural, material, and aesthetic damage of difficult or impossible repair. Municipal officials also warned that dismantling work could affect the perimeter walls of the nearby Almeyda Fort. Following the regional government's final refusal to grant BIC protection, the council continues to study filing a contencioso-administrativo appeal in court.
