The Local Assembly of Nueva Canarias Tías has unanimously proclaimed Arminda Barreto as the official candidate for the upcoming local elections in May 2023.
This was ratified on Saturday afternoon, where NC members and supporters, as well as residents of the municipality of Tías, gathered.
The event was attended by the National Secretary of Statutory Development and Self-Government of NC, as well as the General Director of Institutional Relations of the Vice Presidency of the Government of the Canary Islands, Carmen Nieves Gaspar, who praised the "great work that is being carried out in Lanzarote, with candidacies in all the municipalities and solid electoral agreements that will lead NC to be key in the governability of the island and the Canary Islands".
In addition, she wanted to say a few words to the proclaimed candidate, describing her as a "committed", "close" and "empathetic" person, "virtues that reflect her condition as a teacher, and that are unfortunately being lost in politics".
For his part, David Machín explained why he moved into politics with NC and his acceptance to head the electoral list together with Barreto and the rest of the Local Committee.
"I am a grandson and son of the municipality of Tías. I grew up in its streets and played in its courts. My grandmother taught me the importance of being rooted in your home and your town," said Machín, who also dedicated his gratitude to the candidate as the architect for convincing him one hundred percent.
"I didn't need a second meeting to know and feel that Arminda should be the first Mayoress of Tías; and I want to participate in achieving it," Machín concluded.
The candidate Arminda Barreto began her plea by pointing to the importance of transforming the municipality into a true home. To this end, she developed her speech from the urban and social infrastructures, and in a proactive tone.
For Barreto, urban infrastructures must be reformulated under the inclusive and accessible vision of the politics of care. "A municipality that takes care of us is one that first values the needs of the person and then adapts the infrastructures," said Barreto.
In the same way, the candidate alluded to the importance of the participatory and democratic fabric, which she called "social infrastructure".
"The bioparks, the libraries, the sports spaces, the avenues, or the teleclubs, are some of the spaces that need to be renovated and revitalized so that they fulfill their function: to meet to generate together experiences that directly influence our quality of life," commented Arminda Barreto.
She also had present in her speech the elders of the municipality, encouraging public administrations to project new models of care for dependency; to families, intensifying the conciliation and improvement of essential public services; and to young people, making them participants in the public network and providing the localities with spaces for them.
In economic matters, the candidate affirmed her commitment to a new tourism model based on cultural experience, the environment and gastronomy.
"The pandemic warned us that hyper-dependence on mass tourism does not generate certainties. Tías, as the engine of the island's economy, could be at the forefront of new forms of development such as active tourism, gastronomy or culture," said Barreto, who went on to argue that "the economy cannot be above labor and human rights. A good economic sector must take care of its workers, and also that the administrations ensure that they are complied with".
To close, Arminda Barreto encouraged the residents of Tías to join the transformative change that Nueva Canarias represents. "Let's turn Tías into a home, let's turn Tías into a municipality that takes care of us," Barreto concluded.
