The Local Committee of Nueva Canarias-Bloque Canarista (NC-BC) of Teguise has criticized the municipal budgets for this year 2024, designed by the conservative government group of Coalición Canaria, Partido Popular and Vox, which will be taken to plenary next Wednesday, January 10.
Once the budget proposal has been studied, the Canaristas have considered that these accounts maintain a "terrible distribution" and "do not address the main challenges of the municipality of Teguise such as care for dependents and young people, the lack of housing, the energy transition, the protection of the territory, economic diversification and equality."
Nueva Canarias has pointed out "the null" housing policy, an issue that has become one of the main problems for the people of Lanzarote. For the Canaristas, the items allocated to housing are "ridiculous", with 25,000 euros for rehabilitation and 35,000 euros for housing assistance.
"According to the 2021 housing census prepared by the INE, (the Canaritas recall), the municipality of Teguise had 21% of unused homes, many of them in need of rehabilitation," he denounced.
Similarly, they have recalled that there are several population centers in the municipality of Teguise where families are forced to allocate more than 30% of their disposable income to rent and basic housing expenses, according to the study by the consultant Atlas Real Estate Analytics and that, according to the State Housing Law, are classified as "Stressed Areas". A reality, they have pointed out from NC, "that is not being addressed by the government group."
The Canarista councilor Fernando Jiménez has considered that "the vision of the right-wing parties of CC, PP and Vox is denialist and moves away from the challenges that a society must face in a context such as the current one of the fight against climate change and environmental sustainability." Thus, Jiménez regrets that there is "not a single item to encourage the use of renewable energies in Teguise homes; to protect our emblematic territory such as the Jable and the sandbanks; encourage sustainable mobility; or the green line and the circular economy."
In economic matters, NC has maintained that these are accounts "that continue and without changes with respect to the vision that was had 10 or 15 years ago." The assessment they make is that "practically all the eggs are still being put in the tourism basket with 810,000 euros in promotion, dynamization and sponsorship; while a meager amount of 90,000 euros is allocated to the primary sector and 50,000 to commerce." In addition, they continue from the organization, "an underfunding of the Employment and Local Development Agency is maintained, an organization that, well oriented, allows to look for new market niches and diversify the economy of the municipality by promoting entrepreneurship."
Social services and health
The Canaristas have also highlighted that in social services and health these budgets "are far from a vision of care for the most vulnerable and dependent." Thus, he has highlighted that the same staff is maintained in social services, "with a situation of saturation due to the high demand of a municipality that is increasingly long-lived and with problems of social exclusion."
For its part, the health item is endowed with 15,000 euros, an amount that for Fernando Jiménez is "derisory if one takes into account that the city councils have an increasing role in the dissemination of healthy habits, the prevention of diseases and public health."
Gender violence
Finally, the Canaristas have denounced that these budgets are designed with "the invisible hand of Vox." As happens in other localities in Spain where the extreme right governs, equality has been relegated to the minimum expression with 15,000 euros per year.
"It seems that this government group lives with its back to the reality of the Canary Islands, where we are immersed in a rebound in sexist violence and economic violence against women. The number of complaints has skyrocketed, with a rate of 26.6 women victims of gender violence per 10,000 women," emphasizes Fernando Jiménez, who anticipates that next Wednesday NC-BC "will vote strongly against these budgets."
