In the previous article, I was left to tell you about when Luz threw the piano out the window, at the hotel in Barcelona. I will tell you. For sure. In the next one. But now, I want to take a leap. A leap of 13 years, ...
In the previous article, I was left to tell you about when Luz threw the piano out the window, at the hotel in Barcelona. I will tell you. For sure. In the next one.
But now, I want to take a leap. A leap of 13 years, from when I entered politics. We are talking about June 30, 1987, when the Corporation of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, presided over by Don Nicolás de Páiz, took office. According to many, quite a few, the best Corporation that those still alive and the chroniclers remember.
And, then, I want to take another leap, of many more years, to the year 2007, when I returned to public office, in this second case as a councilor in the Arrecife city council, for the Popular Party.
Well, to begin with, let's make it clear that making, not even remotely, a point of comparison would be a mortal sin. Don Nicolás was a gentleman. Quite a gentleman. I worked for four years under his presidency. In four years, he never once uttered the word "no" to me. Nor did he say "I am the president", or anything like that.
I am not going to go into details. I will just say that it was a sublime experience. I am very proud to have been part of that Corporation which, in the opinion of many, with the help also of the PSOE, it is only fair to say, considerably changed things in Lanzarote. Difficult, very difficult to repeat. The truth is, with the people that, today, I see around the politics of Lanzarote, for the moment, the height of vision with which it was governed between 1987 and 1991 is unrepeatable.
But, well, that happened. Many remember it. Likewise, many others do not. Many, many, were not born then or had not yet come to live in Lanzarote.
And? The years passed. The local elections of 2007 were approaching and who has always declared himself a political disciple of Don Nicolás de Páiz, a companion in the aforementioned Corporation, proposes that I go on his candidacy, in this case for the Popular Party, to the Arrecife City Council. I loved the idea. The memory of what I experienced in politics, in the Cabildo, from 1987 to 1995, in the company of Cándido Reguera, made me think that we could do important things for Arrecife. Arrecife, the great forgotten municipality of the last few decades of island politics. No sooner said than done. I am number four on the PP list. We got just enough votes to get me out as a councilor. With about 14 fewer votes I would have been left out and CC, with Isabel Déniz as a candidate, would have obtained four councilors.
First we spent a few years in the opposition, governed by PSOE and PIL under the mayoralty of Enrique Pérez Parrilla. That lasted until the desserts of the so-called "Operación Unión". And, on December 22, 2009, the motion of censure that makes Cándido Reguera mayor prospers, with the support of PIL, PP and PNL. Thus, with Cándido as mayor and with that Government the mandate ended, until the elections of May 22, 2011.
But, the experience I had as a councilor is nothing like when I was a councilor of the Cabildo with Don Nicolás as head, as president, as facilitator of initiatives, as mediator for consensus, as appeaser of conflicts, but, without ever ceasing to have a firm pulse when, after trying everything, there was no other remedy than to act, to preside, to sign.
During the 17 months of Cándido Reguera's mayoralty, I did hear the word "no" many times and also, on more than a couple of occasions, that "I am the mayor". Everything seems to indicate that one thing is what is preached, what you say you are, from whom you say you have learned and another, not necessarily the same, what you then do when you have a high responsibility.
By the way, there are many, but many, people on this island who would be quite happy if the Cabildo of Lanzarote proclaimed Don Nicolás de Páiz Pereyra Favorite Son of Lanzarote. And, just as many others would be equally happy if Don Ginés de la Hoz Gil, who has been the best mayor Arrecife has ever had, was also named Favorite Son of Lanzarote, who, in addition, carried out a very important work as a councilor of the Cabildo, something that many are unaware of.
I didn't tell you about when Luz threw the piano out the window. Sorry. I promise that in the next one I will tell you that and more things about that end-of-year trip to Barcelona.
P.D.: The same as the other day. If there is any typo or spelling mistake, I apologize in advance. What I told you, I didn't go to University and I didn't want to bother my proofreader because she is not having a good time today.
