On October 31st, we held an extraordinary plenary session in the Arrecife City Council to proceed with the opening of Avenida de la Marina in a single South-North direction, or what is the same, West-East. A viable proposal that I guarantee is not a capricious position of the Popular Party.
The closure of the Avenue, or semi-pedestrianization of this essential road in the city of Arrecife, required the prior implementation of a series of measures and actions to guarantee the correct mobility of the entire citizenry. This is stated in the different technical reports and even in those that have been prepared by the Municipal Government itself.
The Canarian Government says verbatim in its report that "the implementation of the restriction of road traffic, without the correct implementation of all the proposed measures, MAY BE NEGATIVE AND PRODUCE AN OPPOSITE EFFECT to the desired commercial development that is intended".
On the other hand, the technical report prepared by the Governing Group in the City Council indicates that "any restriction of traffic with private vehicles must be accompanied by an improvement in the public transport service that responds to the mobility needs of users".
Therefore, it can be easily verified that each and every one of the reports DISCOURAGE the closure or semi-pedestrianization of the Avenue if alternative mobility plans and substantial improvements in urban transport that guarantee its efficiency have not been launched beforehand.
On several occasions we have heard the Mayor argue that closing the avenue is justified by the need to turn Arrecife into a sustainable city, but is it enough to prohibit traffic on the avenue to achieve a sustainable city? Obviously not.
The Socialist Party has been governing the Arrecife City Council for 6 years and in all these years, and after 14 months of execution of the work, and with the serious damages and losses that have generated to merchants and citizens, they have not yet had time to carry out any of the pending tasks. For not doing, they have not done either the Alternative Mobility Plan, nor have they introduced substantial improvements in urban transport, nor have they enabled dissuasive parking lots at the entrances to the capital. Thus, with all these shortcomings, it is impossible for the maritime avenue to be effectively closed and, even less, that we are talking about sustainability.
Leaving aside the substantive issue, the closure or not of the road, what happened in the plenary session last Monday is of even greater gravity.
I have been in politics for some years, specifically since May 2003, and never, I say never, have I experienced such a fascist, dictatorial and totalitarian situation as the one led by the socialist Mayor in that session.
And it is that although the majority of political groups voted in favor of opening in one direction, the socialist Mayor, the Mayor of the Left, in an unprecedented display of fascism, has announced her intention not to abide by the majority decision and continue with the closure of the maritime avenue of Arrecife. To my surprise, and to that of many citizens as I am seeing these days, other parties also on the left, applaud this violation of the basic principle of Democracy, such as compliance with the majorities.
I wonder what would have happened if the Mayor who commits this totalitarian act was from the Popular Party. Well, the entire left and some media would have already called us "fascists" and would have hung us in Plaza Las Palmas.
What would happen if Mariano Rajoy ignored the majority of Congress and executed political decisions against that mandate? Well, three times the same!.
Being a fascist has no political color since it is simply a personal attitude. That is why I end by making a call to the citizens and to all the democratic parties of our island; so that under no circumstances is it allowed that any ruler, whatever their political color, imposes himself in an authoritarian way and does not abide by the decisions of the majorities.
Astrid Pérez, island president of the Popular Party
