Santa Fe shelving plan to review contentious monuments

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The capital city in the state with the largest percentage of Hispanic residents in the United States is shelving a plan to review its contentious monuments.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports aides to Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber said last week he is not focusing on a proposal to re-examine monuments connected to the city's bloody past.
Some of the monuments like a statue of Spanish conquistador Don Diego de Vargas at Cathedral Park has drawn criticism from some advocates who view him as a figure who violent subjugated Native Americans.
The monuments have been compared to Confederate memorials in the American South.
Former Mayor Javier Gonzales asked city officials to draft a list of possible contentious monuments.
But city spokesman Matt Ross says Webber is not focused on reviewing the monuments.
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Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, http://www.santafenewmexican.com