Dolores Padrón becomes the first Common Deputy in the history of the Canary Islands

Padrón replaces Rafael Yanes, who has been at the head of the institution since 2018 and whose career has been recognized by both his successor and the president of the Chamber.

EFE

May 23 2024 (19:22 WEST)
Updated in May 23 2024 (20:52 WEST)
Dolores Padrón, First Female Deputy of the Common
Dolores Padrón, First Female Deputy of the Common

Dolores Padrón became this Thursday the first woman at the head of the Common Deputy of the Canary Islands in its 38 years of history or, as she has also called the institution, "the deputation of common people", whose rights she has committed to defend with passion.

The inauguration ceremony, held at the headquarters of the Parliament of the Canary Islands under the presidency of its holder, Astrid Pérez, has been one of the most attended in recent times, with the presence of new and veteran politicians, numerous institutional representatives and members of social groups, among others.

Dolores Padrón, designated by the plenary of the Canarian Parliament on May 7, replaces Rafael Yanes, who has been at the head of the institution since 2018 and whose career has been recognized by both his successor and the president of the Chamber.

The Common Deputy has previously been a regional deputy for the PSOE, a militancy that she renounces as a requirement to perform her new function (but in no case does she renounce the values ​​or principles that have guided her life and political career, she has clarified).

She was also the first mayoress of Puerto de la Cruz (Tenerife) and delegate of the Government of the Canary Islands in Madrid in the previous legislature.

For Padrón, this position is a responsibility and a commitment from which she intends to "ensure and work diligently for the defense of the rights and freedoms of people living in the Canary Islands," as she expressed in her speech.

After recognizing the work of her six predecessors (Luis Cobiella, Arcadio Díaz Tejera, Fernando Giménez Navarro, Manuel Alcaide, Jerónimo Saavedra and Rafael Yanes), she stressed that "almost forty years have had to pass, since the institution was created in 1986, for the first time a woman" to lead it.

That supposes "a matter of social justice, equality and law" that is the result of a struggle of centuries of "unbreakable and resilient women," she said.

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Dolores Padrón, Common Deputy



The Common Deputy pledged to act from vocation, experience, commitment and passion, to "know how to listen, put oneself in the place of the other and empathize with the suffering of common people".

She stressed that the institution has offices on all the islands, but she pledged to promote the official headquarters of La Palma as a way to contribute to the reactivation of the island.

Dolores Padrón indicated that social services focus the largest number of citizen complaints, and urged to place the debate on the quality of social services and not on waiting lists, especially in dependency.

In this regard, she announced that the Common Deputy will be "a more open and mediating body", for which she demanded a change in legislation from the Parliament.

She also defended that the reports of the Common Deputy should stop being used "as weapons".

In the delays in the recognition of disability and in everything related to sexist violence "we are risking the very credibility of democracy," she warned the audience.

Another of the major areas for improvement is health, with the highest waiting lists in the country, and she expressed her special concern for mental health, where "it is the duty of the institutions to provide sufficient specialists to cover the demand and detect cases from early stages".

"Diagnosis, prevention, assistance and accompaniment are unavoidable tasks of the public administration," she said.

Housing is another of the unattainable rights for a large part of the population, especially young people, a discomfort that was reflected in the demonstrations of April 20 because the situation "is unsustainable" and "we are light years away from what is established in article 47 of the Constitution".

Another of the areas that needs to be improved is education, to achieve "a guarantor public system, with equal opportunities for all, adequate ratios, quality, sufficient places to not leave anyone out and special services," she detailed.

"We need institutions capable of guaranteeing the rights of vulnerable people and for this resources are needed," to help the elderly to face "with dignity and joy" the last stage of their lives, to minors in difficult circumstances and "to the people who arrive from Africa to our coasts in desperate conditions," she summarized.

The president of the Parliament, Astrid Pérez, closed the inauguration ceremony with a few words in which she reminded Dolores Padrón that she is making history, being the first woman common deputy, praised her career and stressed the work done by her predecessor, Rafael Yanes.

Astrid Pérez emphasized that the Common Deputy represents the last door that people knock on in demand of their rights and therefore the hope of many

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