The dependency care system in Lanzarote is experiencing one of its most critical moments. The PSOE of Lanzarote denounced in a press conference last Thursday the manipulation of official dependency records in the Canary Islands, a situation that confirms the collapse of the care system under the management of Oswaldo Betancort and Fernando Clavijo.
One of the most alarming figures is that the island went from 194 telecare assistance grants awarded in 2022, under the presidency of María Dolores Corujo, to only one in 2023, while the growth of residential places was limited to only three in the entire year. For the socialists, these figures reflect the biggest setback in recent years in the public service of Dependency and Disability and the abandonment of a management model that guaranteed rights, care, and dignity to those who need it most.
"Going from 194 to a single aid in one year is not an oversight. It is the clearest expression of a model that despises care and dismantles the public system without the slightest hesitation. They have decided to stop providing care, stop investing, and leave behind those who depend on institutional support to live with dignity."
The PSOE recalls that in 2022, 232,000 hours were dedicated in Lanzarote to the promotion of personal autonomy and more than 200,000 hours to home help, thanks to the commitment of the Government presided over by Ángel Víctor Torres and the work carried out by the Cabildo de Lanzarote, consolidating a model that grew each year and that in two more years, would lead the island to zero on the waiting list for Dependency.
"That effort allowed the island to move forward in terms of care, but with the arrival of Clavijo and Betancort to power, everything stopped. The system was paralyzed and the fiscal year closed without progress, with a waiting list that continues to grow," the deputy denounces.
Lanzarote, the island with the lowest growth in dependency care spots
The PSOE emphasizes that Lanzarote was the island with the lowest growth in dependency care slots in 2023, a year in which only three residential slots and one telecare slot were added. These were the only slots included in the Agreement signed between the Government of the Canary Islands and the Cabildo of Lanzarote for the year 2023, which was subsequently extended in 2024 without new progress.
"As everyone knows, in 2025, there isn't even an agreement signed, therefore not a single spot has been created. It is the clearest reflection of an insensitive and aimless government, which has let the system fall and has condemned families to waiting and hopelessness," Corujo laments.
Indisputable progress with socialist governments
Corujo recalls that in the previous legislature, very important steps were already taken, seeking from the beginning to put an end to a situation of chronic underfunding. In recent years there has been an increase in state funding without historical precedent, going from 1.4 billion euros in 2020 to 3.2 billion in 2023, which represents an overall increase of 150%.
"Now we are continuing on that path of growth. The minister has announced that state funding will represent 50% of the total. We hope that this increase will not serve as an excuse for the communities where the PP, Vox, or Coalición Canaria govern to cut their own contributions. Progress must be shared, not used to justify setbacks," Corujo warns.
Corujo also highlighted the recovery of contributions for caregivers, one of the first agreements adopted by the Council of Ministers in the previous legislature.
"We must continue to advance in the recognition of the rights of these women, because they are mostly women. In the Senate, we have presented a motion requesting the Government to study the current situation of all of them and the recognition of the rights that correspond to them, even exploring the possibility of a financial benefit."
A New Model of Care
"Coalición Canaria has demonstrated with actions that it does not believe in a public care system. They prefer to cut, dismantle, and manipulate figures rather than guarantee rights. Faced with this model, the PSOE will continue to defend a public care network focused on people, with resources, management, and sensitivity," Corujo concludes.