The government group of the Cabildo and the Socialist Party itself faced a litmus test this Friday to define their position regarding the controversial Land Law that the Government of the Canary Islands is processing, and which has already been approved in the Canarian Government Council with the favorable vote of the PSOE. A motion by Somos Lanzarote (which has been approved) and another by Podemos (which has been rejected) have forced all the councilors to speak out, and in particular, the socialist group, which until now has not shown a clear position in Lanzarote, although critical voices have already begun to emerge in the party.
In the case of the first motion, that of Somos Lanzarote, the government group of the Cabildo ended up voting divided. The motion has had the support of the Socialist Party and also of the PIL, while Coalición Canaria has chosen to abstain. "Abstention because it is inconsequential," said the president of the Cabildo, Pedro San Ginés, when casting the vote of CC. And it is that although he has shown his "disagreement with most of the exposition of motives of this motion", he maintains that two of the points it includes "were already foreseen" and the other "does not introduce anything new, because we understand that there can be an effectively calm and participatory debate in parliamentary headquarters".
In addition to demanding more debate and participation in the processing of that Law, the Somos Lanzarote motion demanded that a report be commissioned from the Scientific Cabinet of the Biosphere Reserve, "in order to obtain an expert opinion on the sustainability of the model proposed by the Government, as well as the threats it could pose to this Biosphere Reserve and its territorial protection culture". In the opinion of Somos, that opinion "should open a broader participation process, involving both the Council of the Biosphere Reserve and the Social Council of the Island, since we are gambling a lot in the territorial model and it cannot be done behind the backs of society".
In addition to two of the three parties that make up the government group, Ciudadanos and Podemos have also voted in favor of this motion by Somos Lanzarote. The only party that has voted against has been the Popular Party, which curiously is the one that is not part of the Canarian Government that is processing this Law. For its part, the councilor of Nueva Canarias, Juan Manuel Sosa, whose party is frontally opposed to this project and is one of those that make up the Platform against the Land Law, has decided to abstain.
The PSOE says that "as the debate progresses", its "position could be different"
Shortly after this first test, which has divided the vote of the government group, it was the turn of the Podemos motion, which has not had the same luck and has only been supported by Somos Lanzarote and Ciudadanos (in addition to Podemos), so it has not prospered. In this case, the formation asked that the Canarian Government be urged to withdraw that draft Law, but there it has not found the support of the socialists.
"We would like you to know that our vote responds to the current moment. As the debate progresses, our position could be different", clarified the spokesperson for the PSOE and vice president of the Cabildo, José Juan Cruz Saavedra, explaining that "out of coherence" they were going to vote against that motion. "But believe me that I understand your position, I understand your urgencies," he added, addressing the spokesperson for Podemos, Carlos Meca. And it is that according to Cruz Saavedra, "a formation that has just arrived has more possibility to pronounce itself immediately, and also to be wrong immediately. We don't," he added, appealing to the "years of history" of the PSOE and the "responsibilities" it has. "That's why our rhythms are different," he defended.
"What happens, did you find out about our motion that there was a Land Law?", Meca asked him next, who showed his surprise because the PSOE says that "they cannot pronounce themselves immediately". "What are they saying, that they are not very clear about what the Law says, even though they have approved it?", he asked the socialist councilor, referring to the favorable vote of the PSOE in the Government Council of the Canary Islands.
Meca, to the PSOE: "I don't know if it's the bicephaly or wanting to cling to the armchairs"
In addition, Carlos Meca has questioned José Juan Cruz's argument that they were issuing that vote "out of coherence". "It must be a joke, right? Because I can't find it anywhere," insisted the spokesperson for Podemos, who also addressed another of the socialist councilors, Marcos Bergaz, who is responsible for Territorial Policy in the Cabildo, but has not spoken in the debate of this motion. "It causes sadness that the councilor of Territorial Policy asked his party for a clear pronouncement on the Land Law and that now that they have the opportunity, they say that they oppose it out of coherence," questioned Carlos Meca, referring to the statements made by Bergaz in Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero, also collected by La Voz de Lanzarote, in which he questioned the lack of definition of his party and spoke of a "bicephaly" of the formation in the Canary Islands. "I don't know if it's the bicephaly or wanting to cling to certain armchairs," added Meca.
To respond, José Juan Cruz Saavedra has taken the floor again, who has affirmed that the PSOE knows the Law "from the same moment as you", that is, when all the political groups of the opposition knew it, despite governing together with CC in the Canary Islands. In addition, he has insisted that Podemos, like the rest of the parties present in the Parliament of the Canary Islands, "has the possibility of presenting an amendment to the entirety with an alternative text" and "also, if they reject it, they will have the possibility of presenting amendments" to improve the Law.
However, the spokesperson for Podemos has once again criticized this argument and has reproached the PSOE for its attitude. "They had the opportunity that a text like this, absolutely harmful to the interests of this land, would not even have been taken to Parliament," he stressed. Faced with that, he considers that the socialists "have put their heads under the ground like an ostrich", saying that "we will fix it in the parliamentary process".
