Coalición Canaria (CC) presented Oswaldo Betancort García last Friday night, January 28, at the Los Valles Sociocultural Center (Teguise) as a candidate for mayor of the municipal council for Coalición Canaria (CC), an event attended by more than 300 people and in which he was supported by numerous neighbors, supporters, affiliates, organic and public officials.
The nationalist candidate, who in this way replaces the current mayor, Juan Pedro Hernández, as head of the electoral list, began his speech by thanking him for taking a step aside to favor the complete political renewal of the municipal electoral list, "your generosity with our political formation, with the Local Committee of Teguise, and with me, is a source of inspiration that will accompany me on the journey that we begin from now on"; said Betancort before an audience that interrupted the candidate several times to applaud.
Betancort took advantage of his intervention to claim his roots with the municipality of Teguise in which he has lived all his life and stated that he is part of "a new generation of Lanzarote residents who come to guarantee the continuity of the nationalist political project and to work with renewed energies for our people".
When focusing on the economic section, the candidate for Mayor explained that he does not fear the effects of the crisis or the limitations that the lack of resources could impose on his future management as municipal mayor, "it is now, in times of greatest difficulty, when those of us who truly love this land must step forward and assume our responsibility as citizens," he said. On the contrary, Betancort expressed his optimism in the face of the current situation, "I see in the circumstances that currently overshadow the economy a golden opportunity for the political generation that I represent to restore the people of Teguise's confidence in their future."
Regarding his supposed lack of experience to lead municipal politics, Oswaldo Betancort, quoting former US President John F. Kennedy, explained that "the world is changing, the old formulas no longer work; and we already know where the experience of some has taken us." In any case, he took the opportunity to demonstrate his knowledge of municipal politics in which he is currently the councilor for areas as important as Health, Transport, Markets, Festivities, Tourism, Culture, Heritage and Classified Activities.
Finally, Oswaldo Betancort, outlined some of the main lines of his electoral program in which he highlighted the so-called Teguise Action Plan, with which he intends to "build, in the medium and long term, a modern, green, socially and economically developed municipality, with all the necessary infrastructures and services."
For the CC candidate, "Teguise must consider the construction of new public spaces and its growth as important as the conservation and maintenance of existing ones. In this sense, he explained that it is necessary to increase the endowments and resources to improve the conservation and maintenance actions aimed at improving and rehabilitating all public spaces in the municipality, both parks and streets and squares, and also public facilities."
"All this -he explained- without neglecting investments to have new public spaces, more equipment endowments and more green in our towns."
Likewise, Oswaldo Betancort expressed the need for Teguise to definitively commit to tourism, "not as a factor of destruction of the territory, but as the main engine of economic development of the municipality, without forgetting the rest of the activities that have traditionally starred in our economy".
In addition, he explained that it will be necessary to take advantage of the promotion of the tourism sector to encourage other activities and achieve a dream inspired by César Manrique to "turn Teguise into a sustainable municipality prepared to face the new challenges that are glimpsed on the horizon, promoting a municipality for citizens, whose main challenges include a plan for the rational use of the territory, the construction and improvement of urban infrastructures and the development and maintenance of a green municipality environment."
Oswaldo Betancort García is 34 years old. Born in Tahíche, he has a degree in Law, a businessman by profession, is married and has a daughter. His beginnings in politics began with his affiliation to CC in 2004 and he has been president of the Local Committee of Teguise since 2008. On November 26, he joined the Municipal Government holding the councilorships of the municipal areas of Health, Transport, Markets, Festivities, Tourism, Culture, Heritage and Classified Activities.