The island secretary of the PSOE of Lanzarote and deputy in Congress, María Dolores Corujo, has warned that Lanzarote is "on the verge of collapse": "The water crisis, the housing emergency and the constant confirmation of the vulnerability of our territory in the face of the massive arrival of tourists confirm what citizens have been denouncing for some time: this tourist model, runaway and without limits, is devouring the island," she said in a press release.
In this way, Corujo has expressed the firm support of the PSOE of Lanzarote for the mobilizations called on May 18, joining the "social outcry that demands an urgent change of course." "Our island can't take it anymore. We cannot allow a tourist paradise to continue to be built on the precariousness of those who sustain it with their work," said the general secretary of the PSOE in Lanzarote and deputy in Congress, María Dolores Corujo.
Corujo pointed out that "while rental prices skyrocket and hundreds of families are forced to live in motorhomes or leave their land, the number of vacation homes and new tourist places intended to feed the business of large platforms grows uncontrollably. At the same time, more and more towns suffer water cuts and basic public services such as health and education are overwhelmed."
She also recalled that despite the critical situation on the island, the president of the Cabildo, Oswaldo Betancort, continues to bet on uncontrolled tourism growth. "In the last few months alone, he has authorized eight new hotel projects, deliberately ignoring warnings about the saturation of the territory and the collapse of basic resources. This decision not only deepens an unsustainable model, but also represents a betrayal of the citizens who demand limits, balance and a decent future for Lanzarote," he added.
Corujo defended the need to adopt courageous and structural measures: "We were the first to declare Lanzarote as a touristically saturated island, and we continue to demand an immediate tourist moratorium. We cannot allow a single license more while the island bleeds to death."
In addition, she has once again demanded the implementation of an ecotax as an instrument of social justice and territorial balance. "Those who visit Lanzarote must contribute to our sustainability, that effort cannot fall only on our people, who are being expelled from their neighborhoods while the island becomes an Airbnb franchise at the service of foreign interests," she warned.
The socialist leader insisted that the defense of the territory "is not an option, but an obligation." "We live on a finite, fragile and mostly protected island. We cannot continue to increase the pressure on an ecosystem that is on the verge of collapse. If we don't act now, there will be no island left to protect," she added.
Corujo concluded by pointing out that the PSOE of Lanzarote encourages all citizens to participate in the mobilizations next Sunday, in defense of a living, habitable and fair island for our people. "We are in time to stop this drift, but for that we need political commitment, courage and a collective cry that says enough is enough."
