If César Manrique were to raise his head, he would undoubtedly scream at the charade surrounding the centenary of his birth. The celebrations organized by the Government of the Canary Islands and the Cabildo of Lanzarote are becoming the perfect excuse for politicians, opportunistically, to disrespect his memory and try to sell the opposite of what the artist defended. And we ask ourselves, have Mr. Fernando Clavijo and Pedro San Ginés been so poorly informed about who César Manrique was and what he fought for? We imagine it's a lack of information because otherwise, it would be an unforgivable insolence and cynicism. Therefore, here we remind them.
Manrique was a person who strongly opposed the predatory tourism model that was being implemented in the Canary Islands in general and in Lanzarote in particular. He dedicated the last decades of his life to this and made numerous statements in books and conferences. The photos and videos of the artist stopping bulldozers alongside neighbors to prevent the construction of hotels are famous, or have you not seen them? Without a doubt, if Manrique were alive, he would be a very uncomfortable character for these politicians who, taking advantage of his absence and his work, praise him today. "Uncomfortable" to put it mildly, because what do you think Manrique would do with the Land Law and all its previous mess of legislative procedures that sought to circumvent the Territorial Planning Guidelines, the Tourist Moratorium, and the higher-ranking territorial planning, nature conservation, and environmental assessment regulations that were ultimately buried under this "novel" law? And with the Green Islands Law, the Catalog of Protected Species, the Water Law, and all the territorial planning laws since Law 12/1987, not forgetting, of course, the island plans and municipal planning? And with the twisted use that is made when applying laws that, in their letter, are not a priori harmful but whose implementation involves barbarities, such as the Coastal Law of 1988? What do you think Manrique would say regarding the 16 million tourists who have come to our islands and the justification for more and more infrastructure and mega-projects?
We present these questions as rhetorical questions because the answer to all of them is clear, as Manrique himself said in 1985: «the existing legislation to stop the systematic destruction of the island is outdated and reactionary. To all this, we must add the incomprehensible position of the Government of the Canary Islands, which supports and defends all this speculation that looms over the island, claiming that this is the only way out of its battered economy. What the Government does not want to see is that, if it ruins the island's territory, massacring its geography, destroying its volcanological system, and annihilating the expectations of life, in the very near future the existence of the inhabitants of Lanzarote will be in danger, because the survival of a people cannot be based on the extermination of all its natural wealth». Well, Mr. Clavijo, you are right to say that Manrique's legacy "remains alive" and that "it is more relevant than ever". Of course! In the face of environmental atrocities and the endless cases of corruption linked to the destruction of our territory, how could it not be?
Similarly, it is outrageous to see the electoral exploitation that Coalición Canaria and the president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote are making in these acts of celebration of the artist's anniversary, when this institution has repeatedly conveyed messages of discredit towards the César Manrique Foundation for its alignment with the environmental cause
Similarly, it is outrageous to see the electoral exploitation that Coalición Canaria and the president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote are making in these acts of celebration of the artist's anniversary, when this institution has repeatedly conveyed messages of discredit towards the César Manrique Foundation for its alignment with the environmental cause. And it is well known that the Cabildo of Lanzarote has developed and disseminated arbitrary and undemocratic campaigns in order to discredit the legitimate work of analysis and criticism that this Foundation has carried out against certain decisions of the Island Council in matters of territory and landscape. If these politicians believe that our memory is reset in the election campaign, they are very wrong. We have these events very present and they become even more relevant when we witness crude acts of recognition such as the one on April 24 in the Jameos del Agua.
We remind all these politicians once again that Manrique participated in the beginnings of the environmental movement in the Canary Islands, which already in those decades, with fewer millions of tourists and fewer constructions, began to denounce and confront with direct actions the touristification of our economy and the degradation of our nature. If he were alive in our days, he would be in the demonstrations and campaigns in defense of the territory, accompanying the environmental struggles that the Canarian executive continually discredits. It is of the utmost hypocrisy and scandalous shamelessness that politicians like those mentioned make acts and dedicate words in "honor" of his memory. Without a doubt, Manrique must be turning in his grave and, if he raised his head and saw what his beloved Lanzarote and the Canary Islands have become, he would not hesitate for a second to go out into the street to protest.
