Overview
- The statue in central Santiago, found Tuesday coated in red paint and left with a handwritten Arabic note saying “terrorism is never the solution,” was washed clean Wednesday within about a day.
- City hall condemned the vandalism as harmful to civic coexistence and said contracted crews followed technical guidance to remove the paint with a pressure washer.
- Opposition parties criticized priorities, with PP leader Borja Verea vowing to remove the monument if he wins the 2027 mayor’s race and the local PSOE urging equal care for all vandalized public art.
- The Fundación Moncho Reboiras called the attack fascist, blamed the PP’s campaign for creating a “call effect,” and said it will file a judicial complaint.
- The monument has been contentious because Reboiras led the Galician nationalist UPG in the 1970s and was killed by Francoist police in 1975, and the piece was installed after plenary approval using private donations.