The Lanzarote lawyer Irma Ferrer, who has served as lawyer for the private prosecution in the main cases against corruption in Lanzarote, received this Thursday in Madrid the national 'Hay Derecho' award, which is awarded by the foundation that bears the same name.
In her speech, Ferrer pointed out that she has been "17 years in the fight against corruption on the island." Among other things, the lawyer is a member of the association Transparencia Urbanística, which was born after the outbreak of Operation Unión, having appeared in several of the pieces. In addition, Transparencia Urbanística has been a complainant, among others, in the Stratvs case, where the association has also appeared as a private prosecution, with her as a lawyer. In addition, she is also part of Acción Cívica contra la Corrupción, which was the one who proposed her for the award, and through this group she is involved in the Montecarlo case.
In her speech, the Lanzarote lawyer acknowledged that it has not been an easy job. "Imagine what it is like to fight against corruption in such a small population where everyone not only knows you, but also knows your family and the people around you," said Irma Ferrer.
Acknowledgments to the "giants" who have made her work possible
"And if we have been able to do this work it is because we have stood on the shoulders of giants," said Irma Ferrer, who among them pointed out César Manrique, whom she remembered as a "stirrer of consciences." "César taught us that the unusual and mystical beauty of the island had to be protected above all else and that an active fight had to be waged to protect it from criminal urban development," said Irma Ferrer.
"Corruption kills, generates poverty, and means that on an island where in 1990 there were 70,000 inhabitants, beds were planned for one million people. That collapses any public service on the island and collapses the infrastructure of the island," added Ferrer, who mentioned as "the second of the giants" the César Manrique Foundation, "legitimate owner" of his legacy "both artistic and ethical and moral",
The Nobel Prize for Literature, José Saramago, the drafter of the Island Plan, Fernando Prats, the magistrate of the Supreme Court, José Antonio Martín Pallín, and the Environmental Prosecutor's Office were other of the "giants" mentioned by the lawyer of Urban Transparency and Civic Action, who insisted that, although she is responsible for the legal direction, the work developed in both associations is "a team effort."
As the last "giant", the Lanzarote lawyer named the Environmental Prosecutor's Office, highlighting the work of the prosecutor Ignacio Stampa, "a great man, who has become great on the island and who is going to become a giant in the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office of Madrid", and who was precisely at the award ceremony.
The "true heroes" of history and "the essential ones"
"And our exercise of private prosecution has no interest in accumulating convictions and penalties to anyone, to any person, but to write an account of the contemporary history of the island, which begins with the work of the true heroes of this story, which is the PIOT Office", especially highlighting the work of the lawyer Agustín Domingo Acosta, for being the one who won the 27 lawsuits of the Cabildo in defense of legality" referring to the lawsuits of the hotels.
Irma Ferrer also had words for the conejera society, which she believes has "fulfilled its obligations" and understood the "message of critical awareness of César Manrique", recalling massive demonstrations such as the one in Los Pocillos in 1988, the one in 2003 to demand "zero beds", and the one in 2014 against oil prospecting. And among that group of citizens, she highlighted three people as "essential" for having been "fighting for 40 years for legality", who are Luis Guirao, Javier Díaz-Reixa and Ginés Díaz Pallarés, who were part of El Guincho and are currently members of Urban Transparency.
The other finalists
The 'Hay Derecho' Foundation has been awarding these prizes since 2015 with the aim of "making visible and propagating the conduct of those citizens or entities that have stood out for their actions in strengthening public institutions and defending the rule of law."
In its fourth edition, along with Irma Ferrer, there were four other finalists, who were the businesswoman Úrsula Mascaró, founder of the social platform Mos Movem and promoter of Sociedad Civil Balear; Argelia Queralt, doctor in law and associate professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Barcelona; Arántazu Cabello, official of the Superior Body of Actuaries, Economists and Statisticians of Social Security, and Pere Lluís Huguet, lawyer and president of Llibertats, on whom fell the accésit of the annual prize awarded by the 'Hay Derecho' Foundation.
The awards ceremony was held that Thursday at the Hotel Meliá Serrano in Madrid and was presented by the journalist Jesús Maraña. "We want a democracy in which the law prevails. We want a freedom that respects the rights of others. Our award winners today are the heroes of this fight," said the president of the 'Hay Derecho' Foundation, Ignacio Goma, during his speech.
