Three out of ten people in the Canary Islands, 31.2% of the population, are at risk of poverty and social exclusion, which is equivalent to almost 700,000 Canarians living in vulnerable conditions, according to a complaint from Comisiones Obreras.
To mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Comisiones Obreras Canarias warns that the archipelago continues to be one of the communities with the highest levels of poverty and inequality in the country, the union states in a press release.
Although the AROPE rate has decreased slightly compared to 2023 (33.8%), the improvement is insufficient and does not reflect a real structural change.
Child poverty already affects 36.4% of the underage population
In fact, child poverty already affects 36.4% of the underage population, an alarming figure that shows that the economic recovery is not reaching the most vulnerable households, according to CCOO.
One of the most worrying data points in the report by the European Anti-Poverty Network is the brutal increase of 68.1% in rental expenses.
In addition, 9.3% of the population allocates more than 40% of their income to rent payments, an economic strain that leaves thousands of families on the brink of exclusion.
Added to this is the 31.4% increase in mortgage payments, placing the Canary Islands, along with Madrid, as one of the regions where housing costs have grown the most.
CCOO Canarias considers that "the Canarian economic model is generating inequality, since the GDP grew by 4.0% in 2024, the second largest increase in Spain, while the distribution of wealth remains stagnant. The per capita GDP has increased by 66.5%, but the population has grown by a quarter of that figure, which worsens the income per person ratio."
It also adds that "we produce more, but the majority live worse: economic growth does not translate into social welfare, but into business profits."
The data in the report are devastating, indicating that 10.8% of the population suffers severe material deprivation; 45.4% cannot afford to go on vacation for a week a year; 18.1% cannot keep their homes at an adequate temperature, 10.3% cannot eat meat, fish, or equivalents at least every two days, and 2% cannot afford an internet connection.
According to CCOO, these data show that poverty in the Canary Islands is structural, and that growth policies based solely on GDP are not sufficient to eradicate it.
Decent wages and effective redistributive policies are needed.
As the report itself warns, employment alone does not guarantee social inclusion; "decent wages, effective redistributive policies, strong public services, and public action that puts people at the center are needed."
CCOO demands a shock plan against child poverty and residential exclusion, housing policies that curb speculation and guarantee affordable rents, real wage increases that allow people to cope with the cost of living, a strengthening of public services, especially in education, health, and social services, and a fair and progressive tax reform that allows for the redistribution of wealth and the fight against inequality.
