The PSOE of Lanzarote has demanded the resignation of the Minister of Social Welfare of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, Marciano Acuña, for his management of the Amavir residences crisis in Tías and Haría and for his refusal to assume political responsibilities for events that directly affected the dignity, care, and well-being of the elderly.
The spokesperson for the Socialist Group in the Cabildo de Lanzarote, Ariagona González, has denounced that Acuña "took three months to appear, spent almost three months denying reality, attacking the PSOE, and getting tangled up, and still has not apologized to the residents, their families, and the staff who had to work under overloaded conditions."
"Marciano Acuña arrives late, is forced by public pressure, and arrives without recognizing the essential: under his responsibility, an intolerable situation occurred in a public service that should have protected the elderly and vulnerable," González stated.
The socialist spokesperson recalled that the PSOE publicly denounced the serious deterioration of the services provided in the Amavir residences in Tías and Haría on March 4, after learning of deficiencies related to staff shortages, hygiene problems, shortcomings in laundry, food, maintenance, and healthcare.
Ariagona González emphasized that the minister was aware of the situation before the PSOE's public denunciation. "There were previous supervision minutes that already warned of very serious problems in the Tías residence. Marciano Acuña knew and chose to deny, attack, and look the other way," she denounced. The minutes, as the socialist spokesperson recalled, recorded extremely serious facts: staff shortages, administration of medication by unqualified personnel, problems with laundry and food, lack of hygiene materials and linens, poor hygiene of residents, recurrent falls, pressure ulcers, urinary tract infections, medication errors, and low quality of care due to staff overload.
The socialist spokesperson also referred to the minutes from the Inspection and Accreditation of Centers Service of the Government of the Canary Islands, which recorded dirt, mattresses and pillows in poor condition, dirty toothbrushes and even moldy ones, deteriorated furniture, rooms with garbage, and items in conditions incompatible with dignified care.
“His effort is for the PSOE to stop reporting”
Ariagona González has denounced that “Marciano Acuña’s real effort has not been to clarify what happened, protect the elderly, or assume responsibilities, but rather to try to get the PSOE to stop reporting a situation that should never have occurred”. “The minister has spent weeks more concerned with attacking those who reported than with responding to the families who have been waiting for explanations for months. His obsession has been to discredit the Socialist Party, demand silence, and downplay the seriousness of events that are recorded in official minutes,” she stated.
The socialist spokesperson recalled that Marciano Acuña “also refused the creation of an investigation commission,” a decision that, in the PSOE’s opinion, demonstrates “the Oswaldo Betancort Government’s fear of the truth about what happened in the Amavir residences becoming known.”
“Whoever has nothing to hide facilitates the investigation, hands over documentation, and provides explanations,” she pointed out. The PSOE has also denounced that Marciano Acuña and the Oswaldo Betancort Government refused during Thursday’s plenary session to make the supervision and inspection minutes known to the Prosecutor’s Office, despite the fact that they describe situations of extreme seriousness affecting the elderly and vulnerable people under the care of the Cabildo de Lanzarote.
“Calling it deficiencies and discomfort is disrespectful”
Ariagona González has considered it “lamentable” that Marciano Acuña tries to reduce what happened to simple “deficiencies” or “discomfort,” when the official documentation describes a situation that affected the care, hygiene, safety, and dignity of the elderly.
“Calling what the residents and their families have suffered deficiencies and discomfort shows an absolute lack of sensitivity. We are talking about elderly people who needed attention, care, and protection, and about a Ministry that arrived late, acted late, and still has not assumed its responsibility,” she stated.
“He has lost all political authority to remain in charge of the area”
Ariagona González insisted that Marciano Acuña’s appearance “cannot be used to turn the page” and pointed out that the minister “has lost all political authority to remain in charge of an area that demands sensitivity, diligence, and the ability to respond.”
“The counselor now boasts of visits, inspections, and follow-up, but the documents show that supervision arrived late and that the real reaction occurred after families reported it and the PSOE brought the situation to the table,” he stated.
González has pointed out that “if the situation has improved in some aspects today, it is because the families did not remain silent, because the PSOE did not remain silent, and because an institutional response was forced that should never have waited for a crisis of these dimensions.” “We feel relief if some shortcomings have been corrected, because our goal has always been to protect the elderly. That relief does not erase what happened, it does not erase the months of neglect, it does not erase the refusal to send the minutes to the Prosecutor's Office, it does not erase the rejection of an investigation committee, and it does not exempt Marciano Acuña from his responsibility,” he added.
The socialist spokesperson has concluded that “Lanzarote deserves public officials who face up to their responsibilities in time, who act before the situation becomes unsustainable, and who do not use the protection of the elderly to cover up their own incompetence.”
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