"I believe that my political organization, which is going through a period of uncertainty in the Canary Islands with a bicephaly that worries me, with a vice president of the Government of the Canary Islands on the one hand and a general secretary on the other, should pronounce itself in a forceful way on this issue, either to enrich the proposal or to adopt the decision it deems appropriate." This is the opinion of the Councilor for Territorial Policy of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Marcos Bergaz, regarding what his party should do with respect to the preliminary draft of the Land Law promoted by the regional Executive, of which the PSOE is a part.
Bergaz has also expressed discrepancies with this project, promoted by the president of the Canary Islands Government, Fernando Clavijo (CC), and which was approved this Monday by the Autonomous Government Council, in which the socialist vice president was present, and which has now requested an opinion from the Advisory Council. "I see many shadows and few lights," said the councilor, emphasizing that the bill generates "serious doubts and concerns". Regarding the socialist position, Bergaz considered on Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero that "one thing is the institution, the Government Council, a Government coalition, and another thing is the organization, the political party."
He pointed out that there are different opinions within the formation, emphasizing that "bicephaly." In Lanzarote, those differences of opinion became palpable to the public during the presentation of the platform to reject that project. That presentation took place at an event at the César Manrique Foundation and was attended, in the front row, by the mayor of San Bartolomé and general secretary of the socialists on the island, Dolores Corujo, who is also the spokesperson for the PSOE in the regional Parliament. In addition, the other socialist mayor, in this case from Arrecife, Eva de Anta, also attended.
For his part, Marcos Bergaz has explained that the party organized a "study commission" on the project whose work he assumes will be "advanced." "I demand, to clarify everyone about the position of the Socialist Party in this regard, that these works that are being carried out be made public," he requested.
"There are aspects that I don't like, I hope the text can be improved"
Marcos Bergaz, who has insisted that this is a "capital issue" on which "we must issue clear pronouncements," has detailed which aspects he disagrees with in that bill. "I have stated that there are issues that I don't like about that project, such as the weakening of the COTMAC, it seems to me that this body is a guarantee of control of legality, the expansion of uses in rural land or the very fact that the competence lies exclusively with local entities and the Government of the Canary Islands disappears in terms of the approval of these instruments," he explained.
For the councilor, that control by local entities "can lead to the responsibility for any error in the processing falling entirely" on them. On this aspect, he explained that he conveyed his concerns to Fernando Clavijo during the FECAI meeting. "Local entities will be of legal age, but being of legal age to make certain decisions, it is better to feel accompanied and share them than to do it alone," he pointed out. "It seems to me that it is good in strategic decisions such as land planning not only to have a vision beyond the municipality or the island, to have a vision of the region, of the autonomous community and to make decisions in a shared way," he added.
"I hope that the text can be improved, I hope that the parties that support the government and the rest of the parties in the parliamentary process can enrich the proposal, because there are serious doubts and concerns on my part," said Marcos Bergaz, who has also expressed concern about the "hurry" for the project to move forward. "In the FECAI meeting itself, and I also agreed with the president of the Cabildo on that point, we asked Fernando Clavijo for more pause," he pointed out.
"We need a much broader period of consultation, because we are talking about one of the legal projects of greater depth and scope that the autonomous community has on the table right now, and haste is a bad advisor," Bergaz considers. "I am a prudent person and I prefer that things be done piano, piano, lest we regret some hasty decision," he concluded.