The mayor of Teguise, Oswaldo Betancort, has lashed out against the "very serious accusations" made by the regional coordinator of the Anti-Corruption League in the Canary Islands, Domingo Martín Afonso, against several public officials, whom he has accused of several alleged crimes, such as embezzlement and bribery. Teguise already announced that it was going to file a lawsuit.
The mayor stated this Wednesday on Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero that the accusations are not only "serious", but also of a "personal nature" in his case and in that of councilor Miguel Ángel Jiménez. "We are being the target of any type of banal and unsubstantiated accusation to cause public harm and lead to confusion among citizens," said the mayor.
"We are not made of stone and we can withstand headlines that say that I went to Barcelona when the garbage contract was awarded, or headlines about the UCCT, empty of content, or about the Famara festivals, which in this case is subject to a parallel judicial procedure," said the mayor, who does not understand how one can make "such a serious accusation" and "use the media to announce it." "If someone makes an accusation, they have to have proof. Therefore, I have to sue for the right to honor," defended Oswaldo Betancort.
In this regard, he spoke about the various accusations that have been made against public officials of Teguise and, in particular, about the case of former councilor Jorge Quintero. The spokesperson for the Anti-Corruption League in the Canary Islands denounced that the City Council had paid monthly amounts to Quintero through a hotel to avoid a motion of censure.
The mayor assured that he can be accused of "many things", but not of "keeping silent" with Quintero. "If when that man left, he made me look like a fool in the town square!" Betancort recalled, referring to the statements made by the former councilor to the media, lashing out against the government group.
Therefore, the mayor "is led to think that it was others" who wanted "a motion of censure in Teguise and now want to shift the blame elsewhere." For this reason, he stated that the City Council is "taking all the democratic tools to defend itself." "The truth will be known, but I ask for respect and for the accusations to be justified," he requested.
Support for Daniel Morales
Regarding the alleged irregularities in the management of several festivals in the municipality, the mayor wanted to make clear his support for the councilor of Festivities, Daniel Morales. "It has not crossed my mind to make him resign, nothing could be further from the truth. When one looks people in the face, one knows who is lying and who is not," he indicated.
In this regard, he stated that when the issue of the Famara stalls came up, he called the councilor to talk to him. The complaint focused on the fact that allegedly the fees charged for the installation of these stalls had not been deposited in a municipal account. "Within the political inexperience and the impetus of youth, mistakes are always made. From there, an internal administrative investigation is opened, in quotation marks," explained Betancort, who did not act as mayor during the Famara festivals, as he was on vacation and the acting mayor was the socialist Lourdes Cabrera.
After looking at the file and the awards and consulting with the secretary of the Corporation, "in principle everything is fine, so one remains calm," he insisted. The mayor also spoke about the "famous email" from the Hotel Playa Verde and denied that the City Council paid "anything" to this complex. "I invite anyone to come to the City Council and say if we have that relationship."
Asked about the content of the email and whether there was an intention to pay this hotel in it, the mayor stated that "neither." "It was a collaboration from the hotel, but an investigation is being opened. We do not have the result yet. When it is available, it will be known if it is black or white," he assured.
The mayor believes that in this year and a half that remains of the legislature he will have "quite a battle." In this sense and ironically he pointed out that, after the headline that La Voz published about him and his party colleague Inés Rojas being the best-rated politicians of CC in Lanzarote, he has not stopped "receiving affection." "Look how they treat me!" he indicated, on Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero.
Betancort distances himself from Machín's statements
On the other hand, the mayor of Teguise has distanced himself from the statements of the mayor of Tinajo, Jesús Machín, who assured that all the mayors of CC of the island supported Paulino Rivero as a candidate of CC in the next elections. "We have all agreed to open the debate before June," said Betancort, considering that it is not the time to talk about candidates.
"At this moment, we have a president of the Government who has to bring to Lanzarote and to Teguise what we deserve. It is our turn to knock on the door of the Government and the president to make him see the municipal and island reality that Lanzarote suffers," he insisted. Betancort believes that Rivero "has not been a bad president", but believes that the future of CC "must be debated".
"The debate of the candidate will be opened when it has to be opened. We will possibly talk about Paulino Rivero or another person, but these are banal debates that do not benefit anyone at this time," he concluded.
