The mayor of Arrecife, Ástrid Pérez, offered a press conference this Thursday in which she reported the dismissal of the five councilors of the PSOE. Pérez argues their expulsion from the Government group on their "humiliating disloyalty", as well as their "inaction" and "lack of responsibility" in the areas held by the socialists. In addition, she has announced that this Friday she will begin contacts with Coalición Canaria and Lanzarote en Pie, to invite both groups to "be part of the government".
However, she praised the "loyal and dedicated" work of the Sports Councilor, Roy González, whom she offered to "remain in the Government", although the socialist declined the offer.
Ástrid Pérez has assured that this "disloyalty" of the PSOE began in July 2019, when the deputy mayor signed an agreement with the Cabildo of Lanzarote, for the San Ginés festivities, "without the authorization of the mayor". The first mayor maintains that, on the contrary, all the councilors of the Popular Party "have been as loyal as possible" to the pact.
The mayor has argued this decision due to the "inaction" of the areas held by the socialists. Pérez explained that the Councilor of Finance, Cristina Duque, has been "absent" during these two years, and that the economic procedures "were either done by the mayor's office or not done by anyone". "The budgets have been released thanks to the Mayor's Office, and we are already preparing those for 2022", the mayor added.
She has also described the "drift" suffered by the Department of Festivities, as well as the need to intervene from the mayor's office in the Department of Culture, both led by the socialist Alfredo Mendoza. "I did not want to invade any department, but in Culture the subsidies were not coming out", said Ástrid Pérez, who added that most of the cultural events "have been promoted by the Mayor's Office".
"The unity of the vote is sacred"
The "lack of seriousness" that Pérez alleges has been demonstrated, she says, "in the Governing Boards", assuring that the socialists "have been absent" in some of them. She also maintained that some of the socialists "have tried to convince" members of the government to vote against, and thus leave the PP in the minority.
The mayor stressed that "the unity of the vote is sacred", and that the PSOE broke it "in the third month" of starting the legislature. Pérez recalls that a councilor of the PSOE "voted against" in the proposal to reduce the productivities of a worker who did not attend his job. "We cannot reward those who do not work", added the mayor.
The Fermina concert, "the limit of tolerance"
Ástrid Pérez has finished the exposition of the reasons that have led her to the decision to break the pact with the PSOE, recalling the celebration of two concerts on the islet of Fermina, which she says has been "the limit of tolerance".
The mayor recalled that the concert was conditioned "to a notification that authorized it", something that did not arrive before the celebration of the event. "My criminal responsibility is not to be played with", said Pérez, who criticizes that it was held without the corresponding permission, adding that from the City Council "they had suspended another for not having the relevant authorization".
She sees no reason for the pact to be broken in the Cabildo
Finally, when asked if the rupture of this pact with the PSOE will affect the agreement that popular and socialists have in the Cabildo of Lanzarote (in this case the president is from the PSOE), the mayor said that it would not be "logical" to dismiss the popular councilors of the Island Corporation.
"We have not raised in any case an ideological pact. We have raised a pact for the good of the city and the island. It is true that I have not been so lucky because the president has been lucky enough to have PP councilors who are absolutely loyal and disciplined", commented the mayor.
However, she indicated that in the Cabildo the opposite is happening to what has happened in the City Council of Arrecife. "I have not been lucky with the people", concluded Pérez.
