The Minister of Tourism of the Canary Islands Government, Jéssica de León (PP), suffered stone-throwing attacks against her home and car, and all sorts of threats and insults on social media during the processing of the Vacation Housing Law, which was approved by Parliament on November 12.
This was announced in a radio interview by the vice president of the Canary Islands and leader of the PP on the islands, Manuel Domínguez, who even warned that some social media messages call for De León to be "burned alive.""He doesn't like me to mention it, but I don't care, I have to report this," Domínguez said, alluding to the threats his colleague has suffered, which he links to the controversy generated around her push to regulate the vacation rental business on the islands, given the impact it is having on the community.
These events have been reported by the councilor herself to the Police and are under investigation.
Discontent with the Vacation Rental Law
The Vacation Rental Law has been Jéssica de León's big bet during the first part of the legislature and has sparked widespread controversy, both from those who believe it is overdue and that it has generated a "pull effect" due to the time it has taken to process, and from those who consider it an attack on the sector.
Among the latter is the employers' association for this business in the Canary Islands, ASCAV, which maintains that its application will drive a majority of vacation homes on the islands out of the marketPolitical leaders of all stripes have expressed their support for Jéssica de León after these events became known, starting with the president of the Canary Islands government, Fernando Clavijo, for whom "they are inadmissible".
CC, PSOE, and Nueva Canarias Show Their Support
"A disagreement with a public official cannot lead to acts that undermine our coexistence. Much encouragement to councilwoman Jéssica de León. I trust that what happened can be clarified, and from the Government of the Canary Islands, we reaffirm our commitment to respect and dialogue," wrote the leader of Coalición Canaria on the social network X.
The PP president and vice president of the community, Manuel Domínguez, wrote on X after his colleague's accusations were made public: "All my support to Jéssica de León. We have come into politics to make decisions. Decisions that are brave".
The general secretary of the Canarian socialists and Minister of Territorial Policy has also expressed his support: "Disagreements in politics are legitimate, violence never. We condemn these acts, unequivocally. It is unacceptable."The PSOE of the Canary Islands as an organization and some prominent party leaders, such as its deputy Nira Fierro and the mayor of La Laguna (Tenerife), Luis Yeray Gutiérrez, have done the sameFrom Nueva Canarias, the deputy for Fuerteventura, Natalia Santana, has underlined that her party condemns these types of acts: "All our support to Jéssica de León, in politics as in life, violence will never be the way."