The opposition groups in the Cabildo of Lanzarote walked out of the Plenary session this Friday in protest against the repeated absence of the president, Oswaldo Betancort, whose seat remained empty for more than half of the session.
During the Plenary session, the groups requested a five-minute recess until the president returned to the hall, to which the vice president, María Jesús Tovar, responded that Betancort "was with his agenda." An explanation that, for the opposition, is "unacceptable."
From the PSOE of Lanzarote, its spokesperson Ariagona González lamented that "the president is once again turning his back on the main body for debate and political decision-making in the institution."
"An agenda is not an excuse. There is nothing more important for a president than to be in the Plenary Session of the Cabildo, to listen, debate, and be accountable to the citizens," González stated.
The PSOE recalled that "in the last plenary session the president didn't even attend, alleging an event held the night before." "In this one, his seat has remained empty during a good part of the session. This is the respect he shows to the Cabildo and the citizens of Lanzarote," he added.
In addition, the councilors denounced that the Plenary Session was held a week before the date initially planned, "forcing them to reorganize their schedules to attend." "The opposition has complied. The one who has not complied is the president, who is once again absent from the most important deliberation space on the island,” González stressed.
"The Plenary is not a formality. It is the place where the real problems of Lanzarote and La Graciosa are debated, and where the president should set an example of institutional responsibility. What we have seen today is quite the opposite," concluded the socialist spokesperson.
