The Socialist Party of Lanzarote has denounced that the president of the Cabildo and Minister of Agriculture, Oswaldo Betancort, incurred in a "negligence of extreme gravity by not informing the public that his area distributed castor beans believing they were green beans, despite being a highly toxic substance for human consumption."
The general secretary of the PSOE in Lanzarote and deputy in Congress, María Dolores Corujo, recalled that Law 33/2011, General of Public Health, Law 17/2015, of the National Civil Protection System and Law 8/2015, of Island Councils, oblige administrations to guarantee immediate and truthful information to the population in the face of any health risk.
“The Cabildo knew the danger of castor beans and should have immediately activated the information protocols for the population. Their silence is not only unjustifiable, but also constitutes a negligence of enormous gravity,” Corujo denounced.
Toxicity of castor beans
The PSOE of Lanzarote emphasizes that ricin, present in these seeds, is one of the most dangerous natural toxins that exist: the ingestion of only a few seeds can cause vomiting, bloody diarrhea, severe abdominal pain, multi-organ failure and even death in a matter of hours.
“The Cabildo not only distributed poisonous seeds, but also concealed this serious fact from the public, failing to comply with its legal obligation to inform. And it is not resolved by calling on the phone, but by informing through official communication channels in a matter of such gravity,” Corujo added.
Corujo demands that Oswaldo Betancort give explanations immediately, since what happened demonstrates a reckless management of an area as sensitive as Agriculture and a worrying lack of commitment to the public health of the island. “We don't even want to imagine this president managing a crisis like the pandemic,” she concluded.