The municipality of Haría has been struck by a new act of hatred that threatens diversity and coexistence. The LGBT+ bench, inaugurated on June 17 by the council to mark Pride celebrations, has this week been vandalised with a large orange swastika alongside the phrase “Viva Vox”.
A Symbol of Respect
This bench is not just any piece of public furniture: its inauguration was part of an institutional commitment to highlight diversity and to provide a public symbol of respect towards the LGBT+ community. As stated by the municipality during the unveiling ceremony, it represented “a gesture of shared pride, a visible reminder that equality is defended in shared spaces.”
A Profound Offence
“This bench was inaugurated in June as a symbol of respect and institutional commitment to LGBT+ rights. Turning it into a canvas of hatred is an affront to the memory of those who fought before us and a reminder of why it is necessary to continue defending our spaces. Lanzarote is a diverse island, and we will not allow fear or intolerance to erase what we have accomplished,” explained Montse Cedrés, president of Lánzate.
The Chilling Symbolism
The choice of symbols used in this attack is not coincidental. The swastika was redefined by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime and became the emblem of a totalitarian system responsible for the Holocaust, which exterminated six million Jews and persecuted millions more, including homosexuals, who were marked with a pink triangle in concentration camps. Its current usage by ultra-nationalist and far-right groups seeks to perpetuate that legacy of hatred and violence.
The phrase “Viva Vox” accompanying the swastika adds an obvious political dimension: it connects the act of vandalism with contemporary far-right rhetoric, which promotes regressive and hostile policies towards human rights, especially those of the LGBT+ community. Lanzarote is not immune to the appearance of ultra-symbols in public space, although this case carries additional gravity by attacking an official symbol of pride and diversity.
A Community Response
Concerns about the proliferation of such messages have been voiced by island associations and various institutions. The recent Insular Pact against Hate Speech, signed in June 2024, takes on special importance in this context, as it establishes a firm commitment from institutions, collectives, and civil society to reject these expressions and to defend safe spaces for all people.
“We are not talking about a mere graffiti, but a direct attack against diversity and coexistence in Lanzarote. The swastika is a symbol linked to extermination and hate, and painting it over a bench that represents Pride is an act that wounds the entire society, not just the LGBT+ community. From Lánzate, we reiterate that we will not take a step back: against hatred, we will not allow them to disrupt our social equilibrium or our true pride,” stated Nahum Cabrera, manager of Lánzate.
The Importance of the LGBT+ Benches
The benches adorned with the LGBT+ flag distributed across various municipalities mean much more than mere paint: they represent the memory of those who were persecuted, the rights fought for over decades, and the recognition of diversity as a social value. Vandalising them represents an attempt to make these struggles invisible, to instil fear, and to reverse the progress achieved.
However, the citizens’ response has always been clear: against hatred, more pride; against symbols of terror, more memory; against those who seek to silence us, more resistance.
The bench in Punta Mujeres was inaugurated as part of Pride and will remain as such: 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 of hate.
