One of the main decisions that Asamblea por Lanzarote (APL) must make at the constituent congress scheduled for the second half of October is its electoral alliance with Coalición Canaria (CC) in preparation for the 2007 local elections. However, Celso Betancor, leader of the nascent nationalist formation, announced today, during the official presentation of APL, that he personally agrees to join CC with that very specific objective, but flatly ruled out the integration of APL into the federation of nationalist parties.
Betancor indicated that the differences that separate them from CC are not ideological, but of government actions, therefore, he thinks that the agreement is possible if they are able to overcome the personal disagreements that may exist. "We can go together with CC through any electoral coalition," he said. Celso Betancor gave the example of Asamblea Majorera in Fuerteventura, assuring that it is not in any case a matter of being an appendage of CC.
Asamblea por Lanzarote assured that except for the councilors of Yaiza, a councilor of Haría and two councilors of the Cabildo, all the public positions of the Partido de Independientes de Lanzarote (PIL) will be terminated as of this month to join the ranks of the new political force. Luciano Pérez, spokesman for APL, estimated at 85 percent the public and organic positions of the PIL that have expressed their decision to leave the party led by Dimas Martín.
Regarding the history of the PIL, Betancor said that they will not enter into the game of exchanging accusations and insults with him or with anyone. The new party believes that the results of the next elections will set the pattern for the island's political future and whether or not the citizens of Lanzarote really support the APL proposal. The organizational structure of the party will be decided at the congress in October, but, according to its spokesman, it will be an organizational chart that promotes democratic participation, leaving aside authoritarianism. In fact, he stressed, "all the decisions that have been taken in the APL management have been by vote of the majority of its members".
Intact Ideas
Celso Betancor insisted that they do not feel alluded to when they are branded as turncoats from the PIL. He pointed out that they will not disappoint the voters because the approach to defend is practically the same, with the difference that the government program will not be governed by personal actions. "There are people who think that Lanzarote without me is nobody, and we believe that it is not," he stressed.
For Betancor, the support that the vast majority of PIL public officials have given to the new political project disqualifies the way that party acts, and reiterated that there is no room for political tension in APL.
Difficult Decision
"Serious and difficult." This is how Celso Betancor described the decision to leave the PIL and follow another path. According to the leader of APL, it was the most appropriate way to respond to people who in one way or another feel linked to the political proposal. He promised that APL will try to bring together all sectors of the Island, fulfilling its ideal of being a formation full of hope and above all very close to the citizens.
For his part, Luciano Pérez gave an account of the work of the last two weeks in which the statutes were reviewed and the party was registered with the Ministry of the Interior. "The work does not end here. Our main challenge is to bring our hope to every corner of the Island," he noted.
Ordinary People
The APL management committee is made up of people who have not been in the front line of island politics because the idea is that militants should be part of it, regardless of political divisions and confrontations, so that they can work quietly in the preparation of the October congress. In addition, its promoters say: "it is a sign that it is a participatory project with grassroots people in which decisions are respected".
