"I lived in the Basque Country in 1984 and that time reminds me so much of this that it gives me chills." With this comparison, María José Costa, PP councilor in Teguise, has referred to the situation that she claims the PP is experiencing in Lanzarote due to its position in defense of oil exploration. And although she personally has spoken out against the surveys, she has described what is happening on the island as "very serious".
The councilwoman was referring in particular to an opinion article written by CC councilor Echedey Eugenio -which caused the PP to leave the Teguise Plenary this Tuesday-, in which the councilor in turn supported the statements made by activist Pedro Hernández. "Are they saying that we and our families should be attacked, insulted, and made to have an impossible life so that we have to leave the island? What is this? Are you going to kick me out of my land? What are we talking about?", the councilwoman asked on Radio Lanzarote – Onda Cero.
After reminding her of the situation that was experienced in the Basque Country in the 80s -with deadly attacks, with constant disturbances in the streets and with many localities where the majority of the parties did not even find candidates who dared to run in the elections-, Costa has been willing to "withdraw" her comparison, although she later insisted that the "system of thought" that she is seeing in Lanzarote "reminds her of that", and also the "feeling" that she is experiencing.
"Do you think there is no parallel between some gentlemen who said at that time that anyone who thought differently should leave, and a gentleman who says exactly the same thing here?", the councilwoman insisted. "No, thank God there have been no murders here, that's all that was missing. I do not intend to establish a situation of whether it is the same or different. But I was there, I have been among those pointed out and I know what I feel."
"I lived that situation of having to hide my husband's clothes"
Insisting on the comparison, Costa reiterated that she resided in the Basque Country at that time: "I lived that situation of feeling strange, different, of having to hide my husband's clothes, of not being able to say who you were..." And that situation reminds her of what she claims PP militants are now experiencing in Lanzarote. "For me this is very serious, I don't know how people don't see the seriousness of this. We are talking about kicking people out of their land, out of their homes, for having different opinions."
It should be remembered that Echedey Eugenio himself clarified in his opinion article that the "go away" that he dedicated to the defenders of oil did not have a literal meaning, and that he used it as "a Canarian expression that we use around here when we feel ignored, vilified, not represented by our leaders and disrespected".
However, that explanation does not serve the PP. "Tomorrow something happens because some crazy person takes the words literally, and the lamentations come. And we all have family", said María José Costa.
Although no cases of violence have been registered on the island (neither in the protests on this issue nor in any other), and an example of this was the talk given last Friday in Arrecife by the Undersecretary of Industry without the slightest incident being registered, Costa has related episodes that she does consider violent. "Gentlemen, they entered the PP headquarters and verbally attacked the secretary!", assured the councilwoman, who maintains that the woman to whom these people addressed "ended up crying and with tremendous disgust".
After being questioned about whether she really considers that this is comparable to the situation that has been experienced for years in the Basque Country, the councilwoman has launched new questions: "Are we going to allow low-intensity violence? How much can we allow? Can we allow them to insult us, but not hit us? That they break the car, but not the house? How much violence are we going to allow? What do I have to do, wait for it to happen?"