The municipality of Haría has been struck by a new act of hate that threatens diversity and coexistence. The LGTBI+ bank, inaugurated on 17 June by the local council to celebrate Pride, was found this week vandalised with a large orange swastika and the phrase “viva Vox”.
A Symbol of Respect and Diversity
This bank is not just any piece of furniture; its inauguration was part of an institutional commitment to highlight diversity and provide a public symbol of respect for the LGTBI+ community. According to the municipality during the unveiling ceremony, this was “a gesture of shared pride, a visible reminder that equality is defended in communal spaces”.
“This bank was inaugurated in June as a symbol of respect and institutional commitment to LGTBI+ rights. Turning it into a canvas of hate is an affront to the memory of those who fought before us and a reminder of why we need to continue defending our spaces. Lanzarote is a diverse island, and we will not allow fear or intolerance to erase what we have achieved,” said Montse Cedrés, president of Lánzate.
The Significance of the Symbols
The choice of symbols used in this attack is not incidental. The swastika was repurposed by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime as the emblem of a totalitarian system responsible for the Holocaust, which exterminated six million Jews and persecuted millions of others, including homosexuals, who were marked with a pink triangle in concentration camps. Its current use by ultra-right groups seeks to perpetuate that legacy of hate and violence.
The phrase “viva Vox” accompanying the swastika adds an evident political component: it links the vandalism to contemporary far-right rhetoric, which promotes regressive and hostile policies towards human rights, especially those of the LGTBI+ community. Lanzarote has seen the emergence of ultra symbols in public spaces, although this case carries additional weight as it attacks an official symbol of pride and diversity.
Concerns and Responses
Island associations and various institutions have already expressed concern over the proliferation of such messages. The recent Insular Pact against Hate Speech, signed in June 2024, is particularly relevant in this context as it establishes a firm commitment from institutions, communities, and civil society to reject these expressions and defend safe spaces for all individuals.
“We are not talking about mere graffiti, but a direct attack on diversity and coexistence in Lanzarote. The swastika is a symbol linked to extermination and hate, and painting it on a bank that represents pride is an act that wounds society as a whole, not just the LGTBI+ community. From Lánzate, we reiterate that we will not take a step back: against hate, we will not allow our social equilibrium, our true pride, to be shattered,” emphasised Nahum Cabrera, manager of Lánzate.
A Broader Significance
The banks adorned with the LGTBI+ flag scattered across different municipalities are much more than just paint; they represent the memory of those who were persecuted, the rights that were won after decades of struggle, and the recognition of diversity as a social value. Vandalising them is an attempt to render invisible, to sow fear, and to reverse those advances.
However, the civic response has always been clear: against hate, more pride; against symbols of terror, more memory; against those who seek to silence us, more resistance.
The bank in Punta Mujeres was inaugurated as part of Pride and will continue to be just that: a symbol of a diverse, open, and committed Lanzarote. This attack will not reverse the progress made, but rather reinforces the need to continue working towards an island free from hate.
