The Socialist Party of Lanzarote has demanded this Tuesday that the Canarian Coalition publicly condemn the mayor of Tinajo, Jesús Machín, for his "inadmissible confession" during the last municipal plenary session, in which he "acknowledged that the City Council has paid for hotel nights to prevent alleged aggressors in cases of gender violence from being arrested."
For the PSOE, the seriousness of what happened requires an immediate response from his party. "We are not facing a slip or an unfortunate statement. We are facing a public confession of institutional complicity with the aggressor. If the Canarian Coalition does not act, it becomes a political accomplice to a barbarity unworthy of any democratic society," the PSOE warned through its island secretary of Equality, Paula Corujo.
They accuse Machín of protecting the aggressor
The Socialist Party has stressed that the mayor himself acknowledged that these were situations of gender violence, and that, despite this, he "opted for a solution that protects the aggressor instead of activating the institutional protocol provided for in these cases."
"It is not up to any mayor to decide whether or not to arrest an alleged abuser. That is what the security forces, the action protocols and the justice system are for. Bypassing all that institutional framework to improvise a four-star hotel solution is not only reckless: it is an attack on the most basic principles of equality, justice and protection of victims," Corujo denounced.
In addition, the Socialist Group in the City Council of Tinajo will demand that "it be made clear exactly what those expenses have corresponded to." "We want to know what nights, in what hotels, with what budget item, with what justification. Because not only has it acted outside the protocols, but it has done so with money from everyone," he added.
They denounce "a normalized practice"
The socialists consider it especially serious that this action has become "a normalized practice", as acknowledged by the mayor himself, and that it has been financed with public resources, "sending a devastating message to the victims: that here the one who sleeps peacefully is the aggressor."
"We demand that the Canarian Coalition not look the other way and speak clearly. Tepidness, silence or equidistance in this matter only serve to reinforce the message of impunity for aggressors," Corujo stresses.
Likewise, she concludes by recalling that the fight against gender violence requires brave, responsible institutions that are truly committed to defending the rights of women. "There is no room for nuances, there are no excuses and, of course, it cannot be tolerated that this is the response of a public institution to such a serious crime. Whoever acts like this must assume political responsibilities immediately."
