Rojas, who admitted to being emotional during the inauguration ceremony, also stated that she would have liked to access the position in other circumstances, but that "one cannot choose the moment in which one has to assume a responsibility of this type, and when such a possibility presents itself, one cannot say no."
The newly proclaimed president also wanted to say a few words to her family, who will have to make a very great sacrifice, just like her, to adapt to this new situation, although she was convinced that she could "successfully steer the ship of the Cabildo."
In this sense, and although she is aware that the task will not be easy and that there is hard work ahead, she said she faces this challenge with great confidence and calm to move the main issues of Lanzarote forward.
Regaining the trust of citizens
Asked about the most important challenges that the First Corporation has to face in the coming months, Inés Rojas focused on one that she considers the most difficult of all, "and with good reason."
She was referring to being able to regain the trust of citizens in institutions and in the political class, "very worn out" after the latest political events that have occurred on the Island during the two years of the legislature.
In this sense, Rojas believes that "a people without faith, without hope and who do not believe in the work of public institutions is useless," so she pledged to work hard to regain the favor of citizens. "Citizens will only regain their trust in us if they see that we are capable of solving the problems that the Island suffers and see the results of the work we do at the head of the Institution," she asserted.
Finally, the new island president assured that she will try to infect all the councilors of the government group with the same enthusiasm and desire that she has to work for the Island, since after the vicissitudes that the Cabildo has suffered in recent months "there is a lot of work behind schedule and the road that still has to be traveled is long."
The clouds clear
For his part, the second vice president of the Cabildo, Mario Pérez, believes that from the inauguration of Inés Rojas as president of the First Corporation, the clouds that loomed over the Institution are cleared.
In this sense, Pérez believes that from here until the end of the legislature, the new government group has the responsibility of returning to the Cabildo what it should never have lost in what has been a "quite unfortunate" legislature.
Mario Pérez predicted a period of tranquility until 2007 based on the comfortable majority of the new government group (17 of the 23 councilors of the Plenary). In addition, he valued the "capacity for teamwork" of the new president and thanked the socialists for their open hand. He ended by warning that he hopes that "no one has the desire" to dismiss the councilors of his party again.
Mute in the plenary
The councilor of Alternativa Ciudadana 25 de Mayo (AC-25M), Pedro Hernández, bitterly complained that the opposition groups could not intervene in the plenary to express their opinion on all the events that occurred in the Cabildo after the crisis triggered by the dismissal of the councilors of Coalición Canaria (CC) by Francisco Cabrera.
In this sense, Hernández regretted that the first gesture that the new president has had has been to "prevent the plural voice of the Cabildo plenary from being expressed, because here we all have a voice and we have representation because the citizens have put us in this place."
In this regard, the councilor of Alternativa vindicated his right to have been able to express in the plenary his opinion on everything that has happened on the Island during the last two years and in particular in the last month, as well as on the constitution of the new government group. "Inés Rojas has gagged the plural voice of the plenary, and it is something that we are going to prevent to the extent of our possibilities because this has to be a democratic scenario," he concluded.
