Editor's Note: The Rio Arriba County Manager issued the press release below "postponing" the planned raising of the Juan de Oñate statue at the county complex. Native Americans and Nuevomexicanos had been holding vigil since Monday's demonstration against the movement of the statue from storage to display after it came down in 2020 from its original site at the former Oñate Center.
This is a great victory against a representation of racist colonialism, but there's more to the issue than a statue. Two of the organizers of Monday's demonstration—Luis Peña and Antonio "Ike" DeVargas—will be at the county complex today with a recall petition to remove Rio Arriba County Commissioner President Alex Naranjo, who from all accounts ordered the statue's resurrection without consultation with the remaining commissioners or the county manager. Peña and DeVargas also hold Naranjo accountable for the county's abuse of power in placing liens on the properties under the auspices of the North Central Solid Waste Authorty. Both the Authority and Naranjo have been indicted by a grand jury for "malfeasance, misappropriation of funds and unlawful liens."
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