The Renovating Movement of Tinajo (MRT) has expressed its "concern about the authoritarian ways that, in their opinion, the mayor Jesús Machín is adopting in the exercise of his functions. The formation denounces the lack of dialogue, the contempt for institutional consensus and a drift that endangers the democratic functioning of the City Council."
“In addition to breaking the law, he lacks respect and institutional loyalty towards the parties that make up the corporation, and therefore, towards the residents who have voted for us,” says Antonio Morales, spokesperson for the MRT.
The trigger for this complaint has been the recent call for an extraordinary and urgent plenary session to approve the municipal budget, a matter of utmost importance for public management. The MRT criticizes both the form and the substance of this decision.
“We do not understand how a plenary session of such importance is called urgently, when Mr. Machín knows perfectly well that the councilors need time to study the documentation. Many of us combine our institutional work with our professional jobs,” explains Morales.
The spokesperson also recalls that there are judicial rulings that establish that this type of plenary sessions must be duly justified, and that the members of the corporation have the right to have the necessary time to prepare the debates with criteria.
From the MRT they assure that this episode is not isolated, but is part of a continuous strategy of the mayor to hinder the work of the opposition and avoid public debate. “He feels comfortable only with his colleagues by his side. That is what he understands by democracy,” criticizes Morales.
In his opinion, this attitude is not only regrettable, but deeply damaging to the institutional development of Tinajo and the trust of citizens in their representatives.
Without remuneration, but with commitment
The MRT also emphasizes that its councilors do not receive remuneration for their political work, unlike the government group of the Canarian Coalition, which, according to them, receives a total of more than 416,000 euros per year.
“While we fulfill our responsibilities out of commitment to the residents, from the government group there is neither a willingness to dialogue nor institutional openness,” they lament.
The Renovating Movement of Tinajo concludes its statement reiterating its commitment to legality, transparency and democratic respect, and demands that the mayor rectify.
“We ask Jesús Machín to abandon these authoritarian practices and begin to exercise his position with the respect that the citizens and the rest of the public representatives deserve,” concludes Morales.
