The Socialist Group in the Cabildo of Lanzarote has denounced the use of 300,000 euros of public money by the government of Oswaldo Betancort to finance the so-called Abora Awards, an initiative born from the company Azul Zero Enterprise SL, established in 2024, the same year in which the first edition of these awards was held.
This edition, under the mandate of Oswaldo Betancort, was organized with funds from the Centers of Art, Culture and Tourism (CACT). "What objective criterion justifies an expenditure of 300,000 euros on awards promoted by a company that is barely a year old?", asked Benjamín Perdomo, councilor of the Socialist Group in the Cabildo of Lanzarote.
In addition, the PSOE also denounces "the contracting through a negotiated procedure without publicity of 200,000 to the company Mediaset for the retransmission of talks organized by centers that have not had any kind of impact".
"The CACT must be a tool for cultural and economic revitalization at the service of the general interest, and not a source of financing for events that feed networks of private interest," added Perdomo.
"Last week we denounced that Oswaldo Betancort spent half a million euros on advice for a gastronomic plan. It is an insult to the citizens that public money is wasted like this while the Tourist Centers offer a chaotic and abandoned image, with endless queues like those of Timanfaya or facilities in precarious condition. All this while essential services are cut or lack of resources is alleged to face real problems such as the water crisis, housing or the deterioration of the island's cultural spaces. It is especially outrageous if we remember that they were shocked when the previous government group allocated funds to support the cultural and social groups of the island," concludes the socialist councilor.
Perdomo has pointed out that the CACT "cannot become the cash register for private initiatives" and points out that "this new waste adds to the expense denounced last week by the Socialist Party, when it was revealed that Oswaldo Betancort allocated half a million euros to advice for a gastronomic plan".
Likewise, the socialist councilor has recalled that this "spiral of waste and public spending in financing private initiatives is especially outrageous if we remember that they were shocked when the previous government group allocated funds to support the cultural and social groups of the island", concludes the socialist councilor.
