The general secretary of Coalición Canaria, Fernando Clavijo, claimed this Friday in Lanzarote the agreements reached by Canarian nationalism during the legislature and defended the need to reinforce the representation of the islands in the Cortes Generales. The meeting "Canarias unida, Lanzarote unida", held at the Argana Baja Sociocultural Center, brought together representatives of the organization and the candidacies for Congress and the Senate to present their project for the general elections on November 29.
The meeting, which filled the Argana Baja Sociocultural Center, continued in Lanzarote the agreement signed on October 17 by nationalist and municipalist forces to run in the general elections on November 29. In this framework, Sosa detailed the priorities that the candidacy will defend in Congress.
Sosa affirmed that “we are going to defend Lanzarote and La Graciosa in Congress with a specific Canarian program and concrete commitments for these islands.
Lanzarote has increased its population and needs fair financing that allows it to meet that growth, with housing, water, and the security of the electricity supply as immediate priorities.
We will demand investments to help make the planned Health City a reality or to resolve the historical problems of hydraulic infrastructure. We will also undertake entrenched investments such as the necessary actions in Puerto Naos or the renovation of the César Manrique airport. We will defend the free maritime transport for the residents of La Graciosa, extending to their journeys the support received by public land transport on the other islands, and the update of POSEI so that winegrowers, winemakers, and farmers have aid adjusted to their current needs”.
“Of course, we will demand the solidarity of the rest of the State in the face of the migratory challenge and the defense of the interests of the Canary Islands in the delimitation of waters with Morocco. We want public services to respond to the population that lives here and for the wealth generated by tourism to translate into better living conditions for our people. We are the only party that has a specific program for Lanzarote and La Graciosa and we are going to fight for it in Madrid,” he concluded.
The general secretary of Coalición Canaria, Fernando Clavijo, vindicated the role of Canarian nationalism in Lanzarote in the face of a legislature in which, he assured, the major state parties have been more concerned with their power struggles than with solving the problems of the citizens.
“While the state parties were campaigning for the entire legislature, we were fighting for the Canary Islands. It has been a lost legislature for state politics, without a single General State Budget, but not for the Canary Islands.
Because while they were fighting, we were negotiating and achieving progress for our land,” he stated.
Clavijo recalled that behind these agreements are the free buses, the authorization to use the surplus in essential public services, aid for La Palma, and the reform of the Foreigners Law. “None of that was given to us for free.
Every agreement had to be fought for, every commitment had to be extracted, and every advance demonstrates how important it is to have our own voice in Madrid that does not have to ask permission from any state leadership to defend the Canary Islands,” he stressed.
The nationalist leader placed special emphasis on Lanzarote and La Graciosa, two islands that know firsthand the consequences of the State's lack of response to the migratory emergency. “Lanzarote and La Graciosa know very well what it means for the State to arrive late. They know what it means to face a migratory emergency without sufficient resources and to have to demand again and again that the responsibilities corresponding to the Government of Spain be fulfilled,” he stated.
Clavijo also placed access to housing among the main priorities, especially in Lanzarote and La Graciosa, where the pressure on the residential market makes it difficult for many families and young people to develop their life projects. “We cannot resign ourselves to our young people having to leave the islands where they were born because they cannot find a house they can afford. We have been demanding for years that the purchase of housing by non-residents be limited, and we will continue fighting so that the Canary Islands have the tools they need to protect our people's right to live in their land,” he defended.
The Secretary General of Coalición Canaria also valued the unity agreement reached between nationalist and municipalist forces: "While the state parties are determined to divide and confront, we have chosen to unite."
"We have been able to put aside our differences because there is something much more important than any acronym: the Canary Islands. And this unity has a clear objective: that Lanzarote, La Graciosa, and each of our eight islands have strength and a voice in Madrid," he stated.
In this context, Clavijo defended the importance of Teodoro Sosa reaching the Congress of Deputies and Daisy Villalba the Senate to bring the voice of Lanzarote, La Graciosa, and the Canary Islands as a whole to the General Courts.
"We need Teodoro and David in Congress and Daisy in the Senate because Lanzarote and La Graciosa have to be where decisions are made. The problems of these islands cannot depend on someone in Madrid remembering that we exist. Lanzarote and La Graciosa have to have a voice, they have to make themselves heard, and they have to be present every time something that affects their future is negotiated," he maintained.
Clavijo concluded by defending that nationalist representation must respond exclusively to the interests of the islands. "We are not going to Madrid to defend a President of the Government or to support the acronyms of any state party. We are going to defend our people. And when we have to negotiate, we will negotiate; when we have to demand, we will demand; and when we have to stand up, we will stand up. Because above any party is the Canary Islands."
Daisy Villalba: "I am running as an independent to contribute to the unity of Canarian nationalism"
The independent candidate for the Senate for Lanzarote, Daisy Villalba, stated that "I am running as an independent to contribute to the unity of Canarian nationalism from a commitment to Lanzarote and La Graciosa. We have different political sensibilities, but we share the responsibility of defending our land. That will be my priority in the Senate, where every decision must respond to the interests of our islands above the strategies of the left or right blocs."
For his part, David Monte, candidate from Lanzarote on the list headed by Teodoro Sosa for Coalición Canaria and Primero Canarias to the Congress of Deputies for the province of Las Palmas, defended the need to reinforce nationalist representation in Madrid so that laws and budgets respond to the specific characteristics of the archipelago. “Our remoteness and our territorial fragmentation demand responses that take into account how we live on the islands. Cristina Valido's work demonstrates what a firm voice in defense of the Canary Islands can achieve. More nationalist representation means more capacity to demand affordable housing and better healthcare, as well as the care our elders need,” he stated. Monte thanked the island organization for their trust and committed to working to take this message to every municipality and neighborhood in Lanzarote.
In this regard, the insular secretary of Coalición Canaria in Lanzarote and La Graciosa, Pedro San Ginés, placed the agreement between the nationalist and municipalist forces within the trajectory of Canarian nationalism and highlighted the importance of recovering understanding in Gran Canaria. “I was there in 2005 when NC split, and since then I have been aware for 20 years that nationalism would never be strong without unity in Gran Canaria, and that is why I am happy, very happy, hopeful, and excited about what I am convinced is the first step towards the refoundation of Canarian nationalism.”
San Ginés recognized the generosity of the organizations that have made the agreement possible and welcomed Teodoro Sosa, whose candidacy he linked to the recovery of nationalist representation for the province of Las Palmas. “Teodoro – let’s be clear – leads the only option for nationalist unity of purely Canarian obedience.”
The insular secretary thanked Daisy Villalba for her decision to run for the Senate and highlighted her independence and professional career in the social field. “An independent, nationalist woman, former councilor of NC, and with a long track record demonstrating who you are and what drives you: the most vulnerable people.”
San Ginés also thanked the incorporation of Compromiso por Haría, Yaiza Siempre, and the Movimiento Renovador de Tinajo, and called for broadening support for the project among independent and undecided individuals and those who have chosen the islands to develop their lives, regardless of their place of origin.
The president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Oswaldo Betancort, insisted that “Lanzarote needs strong representation that defends its singularities and demands responses from the State on issues such as the lack of security personnel, the water emergency, or the needs of the primary sector”. Both agreed on the importance of “going out into the streets, talking to neighbors, and joining forces so that Lanzarote, La Graciosa, and all of the Canary Islands have the capacity to defend their interests in Congress and the Senate”.
The local secretary of Coalición Canaria in Arrecife, Echedey Eugenio, welcomed the nationalist family and pointed out that this pre-election process opens a stage that could mark the history of nationalism in the Canary Islands.
“The decisions made at the State level have direct consequences on the lives of our people, on issues such as migration, security, or access to housing. That is why we must go out into the streets and explain the importance of having strong nationalist representation, capable of defending the interests of the Canary Islands and responding to the needs of the citizens,” he stated.
The nationalist party faces the elections of November 29 with the objective of expanding a representation that has allowed specific measures for the Canary Islands to be negotiated and demanding the fulfillment of the State's commitments.
"The agreement between the nationalist and municipalist forces seeks to reinforce that capacity in the face of pending demands from Lanzarote and La Graciosa, from hydraulic investments to the improvement of connectivity and the response to population growth."
With the meeting in Argana Baja, the candidacy opened its proposal for the next legislature to the citizens and its willingness to gain support from different political sensitivities. A project that links the unity of nationalism with concrete commitments for both islands and with representation in Congress and the Senate that responds to their interests in each negotiation.
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