Far-Right Crusade to Erase Che from Rosario Rejected

Argentine popular organizations are rejecting today the cultural offensive by the far-right La Libertad Avanza (LLA) to erase the image and ideology of guerrilla fighter Ernesto Che Guevara from public spaces in Rosario, his birthplace.

With the indulgence of the center-right government of that city in Santa Fe province, LLA presented a series of projects before the Rosario Municipal Council so that the locality, the most important in that region, stops paying tribute in its public spaces to political figures.

"It is obviously one more ideological crusade in the cultural battle that LLA is promoting to push Argentine society to the right," denounced union leader and head of the group Navegando con el Che, Oscar Verón, who announced that popular forces will strongly oppose this controversial operation by the far right in Rosario.

National Deputy Romina Diez celebrated the project by councilman Lautaro Enríquez to replace the name of Plaza Che Guevara with Plaza Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Pope Francis).

She likewise celebrated the proposal before the Municipal Council by councilman Franco Volpe, also of LLA, to change the name of the viaduct called Ernesto "Che" Guevara to that of Dr. René Favaloro.

"It is not only about changing the name of a plaza. Part of the cultural battle is also reviewing what values we choose to recognize and transmit from our public spaces," the LLA legislator states in a comment on the social network X.

"Public spaces belong to everyone. Their names also tell what values we choose to highlight as a society," the deputy argued in support of her position. "This is just beginning. The cultural battle is also this. Freedom advances," Diez added.

Norberto Galiotti, of the Communist Party of Argentina and a reference for solidarity with Cuba in that city, asserted that "we are meeting with councilmembers from Rosario to neutralize this request from the fascists."

"We will also hold an Anti-Imperialist Tribune in homage to Che and in solidarity with Cuba and Palestine. This will be on Saturday, October 10, at Plaza del Che, in Rosario," Galiotti announced.

Legislator Diez, who is the president of LLA in Santa Fe, the capital of the province of the same name, also highlighted the initiative by councilwoman Anabel Lencina to replace a mural with the image of Che Guevara with that of Jorge Luis Borges in Plaza de la Cooperación.

In Santa Fe, they named the coastal promenade formerly called Néstor Kirchner after Lionel Messi "to honor the true Argentine idol," argued the libertarian politician.

On the other hand, in the Santa Fe locality of Villa Gobernador Gálvez, LLA proposed naming the Néstor Kirchner roundabout Héroes de Malvinas.