Coalition Canaria has demanded this Thursday in a press conference the "immediate resignation" of Dolores Corujo "from all her public positions." The nationalist formation has accused the general secretary of the PSOE in Lanzarote of "having designed an illegal operation of political disaffection" after obtaining the support of the councilor of San Borondón Juan Manuel Sosa to become president of the Island Council in 2019.
In this sense, the nationalist formation has demanded that Sosa return "the almost 300,000 euros illegally collected", and assures that the Canary Islands Health Service would have already claimed this amount in a resolution.
During their appearance before the media, held at the headquarters of the nationalist party on the island, the island secretary of Coalición Canaria, Migdalia Machín, the organization secretary, Echedey Eugenio, and the senator and former deputy spokesman of the Nationalist Group in the Island Council, Pedro San Ginés, have denounced "the serious lack of ethics and legality in the management of Corujo and the role of Sosa as a defector."
"Dolores Corujo always denied the existence of irregularities, but it was precisely she who benefited from this operation of political disaffection to remain in power," Machín said.
According to the version of the nationalists, the Government of the Canary Islands has claimed almost 300,000 euros from Juan Manuel Sosa, former Minister of Health of the Cabildo of Lanzarote and official of the Canary Islands Health Service, for the salaries he unduly received since he left the Nationalist Group, with which he ran in coalition with the party of San Borondón, to join the government of Dolores Corujo.
According to Coalición Canaria, the order of the Government and the report of the Canary Islands Advisory Council would state that the former councilor "failed to communicate that he was no longer the spokesman for the Nationalist Group and continued to collect a salary taking advantage of the Administration's ignorance of his change of situation. The principle of good faith was broken," the report said, so he is now being asked to return the funds.
For his part, Echedey Eugenio has described the operation as a "political coup unprecedented in Lanzarote's democracy", and has underlined the former president of the Cabildo and current national deputy as "directly responsible". "Lanzarote was the victim of an immoral operation promoted and executed by the general secretary of the PSOE, Dolores Corujo, to shield herself in the Presidency and remain in power at any cost," said the general secretary of CC.
Likewise, Eugenio has assured that over the years, "Dolores Corujo and her party repeatedly accused Coalición Canaria of carrying out an indecent harassment campaign and an infamous persecution." The nationalists have pointed out that the former president of the Cabildo went so far as to describe the complaints of CC as a "political extortion" and a "perversion of parliamentary action."
Coalición Canaria has assured that the complaints of his party "were true" and that it is "a plot orchestrated by Corujo and her team to remain in power" in what they have described as "one of the biggest political corruption scandals in the history of Lanzarote."
For his part, Pedro San Ginés recalled that Coalición Canaria began denouncing this situation in 2021 and that, "despite the repeated evasions and denials of the PSOE and the Government of the Canary Islands, then presided over by Ángel Víctor Torres, finally the truth has come to light."
"We publicly and in writing denounced this operation of political disaffection paid with public funds, and now the Government of the Canary Islands has given us the reason, ratifying everything we warned. Corujo must assume the political responsibility for her actions and resign immediately," he stressed.
San Ginés has assured that "Dolores Corujo stated on repeated occasions for almost two years, that Sosa had communicated his resignation to the spokesperson of the Nationalist Group. In other words, Dolores Corujo publicly lied to all of Lanzarote, she publicly lied being an accomplice to the deception."
In line with her colleagues, Migdalia Machín added that "it has been demonstrated that Coalición Canaria was right from the beginning and that everything we denounced was true. This is not only an economic fraud, it is a fraud to democracy and to the people of Lanzarote."
Coalición Canaria has demanded the resignation of Dolores Corujo "from all her public positions", both in the Cabildo of Lanzarote and in the Congress of Deputies, where she currently represents the island. "She cannot continue for another minute in active politics," Echedey Eugenio stressed.
In addition, the party has reiterated to Juan Manuel Sosa to return "without further delay the 300,000 euros that the Canary Islands Health Service has already claimed for having unduly collected for more than three years, and that the responsibilities of all those who allowed this plot to be maintained for so long be clarified."
Coalición Canaria has also announced that it will ask Dolores Corujo to publicly explain everything that happened and the final result.
Likewise, the nationalists demand explanations from the former president of the Canary Islands Government, Ángel Víctor Torres, and the former ministers of the Canary Islands Government, Julio Pérez and Blas Trujillo, who defended the legality of the payments to Sosa on several occasions.
