The regional parliamentarian and former president of the Party of Independents of Lanzarote (PIL), Celso Betancor, said today that his formation will give a term of forty-eight hours -would be fulfilled tomorrow Friday- to the Canarian Socialist Party (PSC) and the Canarian Coalition (CC) to resolve the conflict of San Bartolomé, at which time if there is no arrangement they will demand that that institution be removed from the tripartite agreement so that it does not affect the normal development of the political activity of the Cabildo and the Arrecife City Council.
After the understanding they had with the two councilors of the PIL in San Bartolomé, Candelaria Ledesma and Carlos Martín, on Tuesday night, Betancor had no choice but to apologize in the Buenos Días program of Radio Lanzarote for some of the statements he had made about them in the days prior to their acceptance of the decision of the tripartite. "Just as at the time I said very strong words regarding their performance and regarding the performance of CC, I am not ashamed to recognize now that perhaps I went too far, which is why I apologize," he commented. Also, delving into the content of the meeting, he explained that everything they have done is "because we want to be serious within the open process and within the agreement signed with the PSC and CC because on our part there will be no more destabilization of the institutions." Thus, he valued very positively that they renounced to continue supporting Miguel Martín despite the fact that they had important reasons to do so.
Before knowing the official character of the resignation of his two colleagues, before any novelty occurred in the situation, Betancor observed as "a new variant that is introduced in the situation" the fact that the representatives of the Canarian Nationalist Center (CCN) in Gran Canaria linked the agreements with the PSC of San Bartolomé de Tirajana to the fact that his partner in San Bartolomé de Lanzarote was not censored, which in some way has upset everything. "What we want is to respect what we have signed, we want to give a dose of seriousness to the political situation," he explained calmly, asserting that what they are not going to allow is that the situation is prolonged much longer in time. "I am going to suggest that no more than forty-eight hours, no later than this Friday, a solution is sought," he warned, an argument that he sustains in that his own councilors have explained to them that there has been no way to guarantee stability in the pact of San Bartolomé because neither the PSC nor CC were able to agree on the forms. "If there is no solution to the issue on Friday, we will propose to CC and the PSC that a different alternative be taken, which may be that we leave San Bartolomé out of the tripartite pact so that a majority is formed that is totally independent of the situation of the Cabildo and the Arrecife City Council. We cannot allow the pact in San Bartolomé to be affecting other institutions without us having any fault", he said in a bet that more than one might surprise.
With his statements, he ruled out the possibility of dismissing the councilors and councilors of CC in the capital City Council and in the Cabildo, a possibility that at the beginning of the crisis of San Bartolomé was considered. "The situation is getting out of hand, and it is clear that we are in a process that is not good for anyone," he commented.
Future of Asamblea por Lanzarote
As this newspaper has already advanced, the alternative project to the PIL that commands Betancor himself is about to become a reality. With statutes, logo and militants in hand, it only remains to outline some issues in order to present it in society. On Tuesday night, a management committee was created that will be in charge of determining the details of the new political formation, with the intention of registering within a week. The commission includes Belén Machín, Fabiola de León, José Suárez, Luciano Pérez, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Juan Carlos Rocío, Nuria Crespo and Rafael Martín. "It is about them starting to work to design the topics and coordinate the meetings, until we hold a constituent congress in September," he said, stating that "people are very satisfied with the way things are evolving and with the rigor with which they are acting."
The next step will be to formalize his departure from the PIL to start talking as Asamblea por Lanzarote, with an official presentation at a press conference that the regional parliamentarian hopes can be held before the end of July. To date, however, they have not received any calls or offers from formations that are interested in adding their potential to their project, neither national nor nationalist. "I imagine that there will be some nationalist party interested in us approaching, but for the moment there has been nothing in this regard," he remarked. He also admitted that the decision they have had to make has been "hard" and "difficult", forced as they understand they have been to abandon the PIL after suffering all kinds of "intoxications, witch hunts and persecutions" that they were not willing to endure. "We had no other choice and we had to do what we have done," he endorsed.