PSOE calls for citizen consultation on the permanence of the Port statues
The socialist municipal group demands that the mayor submit the future of the sculptural group of Venus, Neptuno and the lions to citizen participation, after it became known that the Ayuntamiento will accept their permanent transfer.
Redacción · Published on September 15, 2026
The socialist municipal group at the Ayuntamiento de Málaga has asked the mayor, Francisco de la Torre, to open a citizen participation process before deciding the future of the sculptural group formed by Venus, Neptuno and the lions, installed at the Puerto de Málaga. The request comes after, according to the PSOE, the mayor unilaterally decided to accept the transfer of the works, which would consolidate their permanence at the current location.
The socialist spokesperson, Mariano Ruiz Araujo, has pointed out that the agreement signed between the Ayuntamiento, the Autoridad Portuaria and the artist set a maximum exhibition period of six months with no possibility of extension, which ends this Wednesday, September 16. According to Ruiz Araujo, what was presented as a temporary installation risks becoming permanent due to a decision made "from an office and without the city having been able to speak out."
The socialist spokesperson has criticized the mayor for accepting twelve thousand signatures collected by the sculptures' own author in favor of their permanence, which he claims could not be seen, while not addressing the more than fifty thousand signatures submitted to devote the entirety of the one hundred seventy-seven thousand square meters of the Repsol land to an urban forest. Ruiz Araujo has also recalled that an earlier proposal to build a skyscraper hotel on the Dique de Levante, popularly known as the torre del puerto, gathered fourteen thousand signatures against it that were likewise not addressed by the mayor.
The PSOE has reiterated that, although it considers the current location unsuitable for the statues, it does not intend to impose its own position, but rather wants the citizens to decide. "If De la Torre is so convinced that Málaga wants these sculptures there permanently, let him ask the people of Málaga," Ruiz Araujo has stated.
The socialist councillor for Participación Ciudadana, Rosa del Mar Rodríguez, has also called for the opening of a participatory process before any final decision is made. Rodríguez has stated that the dimensions and location of the group have an impact on the surrounding views and has noted that various voices from the city's social and cultural spheres have questioned their permanence. The councillor has accused the mayor of trying to "close the controversy" through a transfer she described as express, and has asked him to explain the reasons for that decision.
The socialist municipal group has announced that it will continue monitoring this matter, which it considers related to the protection of the urban landscape and respect for citizen participation processes in Málaga.
The socialist spokesperson, Mariano Ruiz Araujo, has pointed out that the agreement signed between the Ayuntamiento, the Autoridad Portuaria and the artist set a maximum exhibition period of six months with no possibility of extension, which ends this Wednesday, September 16. According to Ruiz Araujo, what was presented as a temporary installation risks becoming permanent due to a decision made "from an office and without the city having been able to speak out."
The socialist spokesperson has criticized the mayor for accepting twelve thousand signatures collected by the sculptures' own author in favor of their permanence, which he claims could not be seen, while not addressing the more than fifty thousand signatures submitted to devote the entirety of the one hundred seventy-seven thousand square meters of the Repsol land to an urban forest. Ruiz Araujo has also recalled that an earlier proposal to build a skyscraper hotel on the Dique de Levante, popularly known as the torre del puerto, gathered fourteen thousand signatures against it that were likewise not addressed by the mayor.
The PSOE has reiterated that, although it considers the current location unsuitable for the statues, it does not intend to impose its own position, but rather wants the citizens to decide. "If De la Torre is so convinced that Málaga wants these sculptures there permanently, let him ask the people of Málaga," Ruiz Araujo has stated.
The socialist councillor for Participación Ciudadana, Rosa del Mar Rodríguez, has also called for the opening of a participatory process before any final decision is made. Rodríguez has stated that the dimensions and location of the group have an impact on the surrounding views and has noted that various voices from the city's social and cultural spheres have questioned their permanence. The councillor has accused the mayor of trying to "close the controversy" through a transfer she described as express, and has asked him to explain the reasons for that decision.
The socialist municipal group has announced that it will continue monitoring this matter, which it considers related to the protection of the urban landscape and respect for citizen participation processes in Málaga.