It was during the celebration of the Fairs and Festivals of the Virgin of San Lorenzo that the mayor of Valladolid, Jesús Julio Carnero, announced that the City Hall would dedicate a new square to Javier León de la Riva, located in the “City of Communication”.
“It is time for the capital of Pisuerga to reward one of the best mayors who, for 20 years, gave the best of himself so that all the residents of Valladolid “have better levels of coexistence and prosperity,” Carnero said.
The announcement of the first mayor of Valladolid was welcomed by some, but not by others who asked the current city councilor of Pisuerga to reconsider his decision.
Dozens of people, 300 according to what EL ESPAÑOL learned from Castile and León from sources of the Government Sub-delegationbelonging to a total of 59 associations, met on the new square of the Cité de la Communication to mark their rejection of the place receiving the name of the popular former mayor.
On a banner that can be read in the photo we attached, it was possible to read “León de la Riva deserves no place”, on which we could also see De la Riva’s face during a rally which started at 12:00 p.m. p.m.
“We are in what should be the Plaza de la Igualdad, and, unfortunately and unilaterally, Mayor Jesús Julio Carnero has decided that the best name for the square should be León de la Riva. It’s not the most appropriate name,” Valladolid Take the Word city councilor Jonathan Racionero said at the rally.
He added that “in addition to having been involved in several cases of homophobia and disrespect towards LGTBI groups”, he spoke out “out the back door after urban problems.”
“We demand a different name, that of Plaza de la Igualdad. We are one of the groups that signed the manifesto and we protest against the municipal council which decides unilaterally and that is not the way,” he concluded.
Rocío Anguita, spokesperson for the Municipal Group of Valladolid Toma La Palabra, added that “When people name streets and places, we must seek social consensus.”
“In the case of Bolaños, we sought a complete agreement by consensus and then a space like the park. In this case, Carnero made the decision unilaterally. We believe that the name of these spaces must educate with the city and be an example that the city can look to,” Anguita said.
The council spokesperson for the left-wing municipal group added that “In this case it does not meet any of the requirements” and called on Carnero to listen to him to “change the way he operates on these issues.”
