Lanzarote is an island brimming with a great cultural aroma. You only have to walk through the capital, Arrecife, to realize that many buildings have centuries of history and constitute an important legacy for the municipality. Its importance for current and future generations is beyond doubt, so public representatives must do everything in our power to protect and preserve the Assets of Cultural Interest (BIC) and the remaining cultural heritage.
Our island has 21 BIC. These infrastructures require special care, generating a series of duties and rights that ensure their protection. With the BIC, the Lanzarote society has agreed that its safeguard is above any other consideration, but we need a similar agreement for buildings of heritage interest, at least in Arrecife. This is the only way to develop protection policies compensating the legitimate aspirations of the owners of these properties.
Conserving a property usually generates controversy. From public institutions, we must be able to reconcile the public interest with the private interest so that citizens do not have to see how a part of their city's history disappears. But, at the same time, the owners of these assets must find reasons in the form of urban compensations to be in favor of protection. From the Socialist Party, we want to make clear our commitment to protect and promote all cultural heritage. Thus, this same week, our colleague María del Pino González defended the Non-Law Proposal in the regional Parliament in favor of better protection and dissemination of the cultural heritage of the Canary Islands.
We must act responsibly and face what unites us, doing our bit so that all cultural heritage continues to be part of our legacy and leaving behind partisan interests. We only need to agree on which elements of the cultural heritage should be preserved because the population recognizes them as a fundamental part of their lives, so that they can then be restored, rehabilitated and put into use. Yes, we are still in time for that great agreement that puts an end to decades of confrontation and disagreements.
José Alfredo Mendoza Camacho, first deputy mayor and spokesperson for the PSOE in the Arrecife City Council.