7 . Vandalism of the monument to the Spanish Legion ( Madrid )
Name of the initiative
Year Participants Status
Vandalism of the monument to the Spanish Legion ( Madrid )
2022
Anti-racist collectives from Madrid
Description :
On the morning of 1 January 2023 , a group of activists placed a replica of Franco ’ s head on the bayonet of the Legionnaire ' s statue in Madrid , unveiled on 8 November by the mayor , José Luis Martínez-Almeida , in an act that ended with praise for Millán Astray , founder of the Legion .
The organisers , according to El Salto Diario , argued “ We don ’ t need to destroy the object , our aim is to question the symbol . Unlike yours , our piece is not a threat ”, echoing a statement released to the media with the text they read after the intervention on the statue . Regarding their intention in placing Franco ’ s head on the tribute to the Legion , they affirmed that it is a “ momentary dialogue , which reflects on the imposed violence , which although historical , is also present and underlying . Not only because of the need to break with the 19th-century style monument , but also because of the unbearable clash with our current ideological corpus ”.
The groups that promoted the action also highlighted the atrocities committed by the Legion in the Rif war , with the use of chemical weapons against the population , establishing some parallels with the present day : “ It is a fact that the shock wave of colonial violence where the coup d ’ état took place is perpetuated today through state racism materialised in the Melilla border fence , in raids based on racial profiling , in the attacks on centres for foreign minors or in the targeting of the migrant and racialised population . In other words , it is perpetuated on the descendants of those colonised subjects against whom this military force was created . To celebrate its origin is an offence , to think that history is made up of isolated events in the past with no connection to the present is a lie , because the colonial story is sustained , in part , by the symbolism represented by the names of squares and streets , but also by the statues that dominate the space ”.
This act took place in parallel to the discussion in parliament of the latest Proposal of Nonbinding Resolution on reparation measures in the Rif for the use of chemical weapons .
Links and sources :
Ensartan la cabeza de Franco en la estatua del Legionario en Madrid para denunciar el colonialismo https :// www . elsaltodiario . com / memoria-historica / colocan-cabeza-francoestatua-legionario-madrid-denuncia-colonialismo
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