"The Earth is where we were born and grew up, that is why we are more Earth than we can imagine; because we are the water we drink and the landscape we look at." These were some of the words that José Saramago gave to those who attended the closing of the II Conference on Territorial and Environmental Legality, in the Cabildo. During this closing, the Nobel Prize criticized that money is put before the protection of the habitat where man has grown up. In addition, alluding to the birth of a new Lanzarote in the hands of large hotels and tourist urbanizations, the writer stated that "Lanzarote has allowed itself to be corrupted" and "has not fought for its territories".
In line with the emergence of this urban planning island to which he referred, Saramago recalled that "here, suddenly, the euro appeared and a quantity of black money that was there and that brought to Lanzarote those who invaded it, occupied it and built it" rose to the surface. "We don't know how they have achieved it, but we do know against whom, and that is the people of Lanzarote," lamented the writer.
The priority of money over land derives from the fact that "they have not wanted to receive the message that the Earth has continually sent" and, as a result, "history is full of crimes for which people are not directly responsible, but which they have inherited and from which they have benefited".
"The Indians of Brazil fought for their territories"
To facilitate the understanding of the words he was going to dedicate to the island, the Nobel Prize for Literature began, as is typical of him, by narrating a story. On this occasion he brought with him the true story of some Indians who live in the north of Brazil and whose territories were stolen years ago by some rice farmers, who installed their companies there.
After ten years of struggle, the Superior Court of Brazil and President Lula Da Silva have sided with "those men who go with their faces painted and who have fought for their territories for ten years." This story is, in the opinion of the writer, "an example that comes from the other side of the Atlantic, because they resisted all attempts at corruption." "That is why if we talk about Territory and Dignity, here we have the example," he assured.
A life built on illegality and corruption
In contrast to these men who did not allow themselves to be corrupted, Saramago alluded to the "conejeros, whose life is built on corruption and illegality." The reason for this, in his opinion, is that "money corrupts and the one that arrives quickly, more so".
Despite this, he considered that the people of Lanzarote "are still in time to go back." Of course, if they follow Saramago's recipe: "They don't have to get carried away by this dirty wave, because dirty checks are not dirty in themselves, but they dirty those who use them." "The obligation is to defend the territory as far as we can," the writer ordered.
Tenth anniversary of the Canary Islands Land Planning Law
With all this knowledge on the table, the final point was put to the second edition of the meeting around the territory which, this year, has coincided with the tenth anniversary of the Canary Islands Territorial Planning Law; with the publication of the Auken Report, in which the European Parliament questions the urban devastations of Marbella, the Mediterranean coast and the islands; and with the publication of the sentence that decrees the political disqualification of the former mayor of Yaiza, José Francisco Reyes, for urban planning prevarication.
During the closing ceremony, the Nobel Prize for Literature was accompanied, among others, by the Minister of Territorial Policy and Environment of the Canary Islands, Domingo Berriel; the president of the Cabildo, Manuela Armas; and the mayor of Arrecife, Enrique Pérez Parilla.
Thus, after two days of presentations and reflection on the urbanization of the environment, at least one question became clear: "If plants and animals disappear from the Earth, man will disappear with them. If man disappears from the Earth, plants and animals will enjoy the environment".