It is at least curious, not to use a harsher word, that the PSOE of Lanzarote intends to attribute to this government group, presided over by Oswaldo Betancort, that "not a single public housing unit has been built" on the island. This is a clear example of political hypocrisy and pure audacity, trying to confuse citizens with empty speeches when they were precisely the ones who, during their term, did not lift a finger to advance housing policies.
Despite the fact that the Cabildo of Lanzarote has limited powers in housing matters, in these two years of legislature we have allocated more than 15 million euros to promote access to housing in Lanzarote: those are facts and not words. And if this government group has been able to do it, Dolores Corujo and the Socialist Party should be asked why they did not do it during their previous term. And they did not do it, because they simply did not know how to manage in this area or any other, as the newspaper archives show if one investigates what they did in four years.
It is worth refreshing the memory: under the government of Dolores Corujo, the Cabildo requested in 2021 a loan of 23 million euros, of which more than 13 million were theoretically destined for housing. Do you know how much was actually invested in housing? Zero euros. They preferred to allocate that money to other matters, such as waste treatment, tarpaulins, tapestries, or removable fencing tracks. Everything but addressing the real social demand to which that amount should have been directed.
Faced with this scenario of abandonment, the current government group headed by Oswaldo Betancort has acted with responsibility and rigor. In just two years, thanks to the management of Miguel Ángel Jiménez at the head of this sensitive area, we have promoted an investment of almost 14 million euros in housing from the Cabildo, buying two plots in Arrecife (between Apolo, Dr. Gómez Ulla and Vicente Vila González streets, as well as on Vicente Vila González street no. 31); one in Uga (between La Revuelta, El Traspiés, La Brega and Joaquín Rodríguez streets) and acquiring 42 protected homes in the Montaña Roja Urbanization of Playa Blanca, which, thanks to the collaboration with the Canarian Housing Institute, will be used for affordable rent.
And we have not stopped there. In the last plenary session, we approved allocating 1.4 million euros to the ICAVI to promote the Youth Rental Voucher, a line of direct aid for the rental or transfer of use of homes and rooms for young people with fewer resources. In this sense, we are pioneers in housing matters: the first Cabildo, in history, that co-finances a line of subsidies aimed directly at the citizens of Lanzarote and La Graciosa. A fundamental measure to guarantee that our young people can become independent and build their lives here without being forced to leave or live in precarious conditions. The most striking thing is that the PSOE voted against this proposal. Of course, then they have no qualms about demanding from the current government what they themselves were incapable of doing.
On the other hand, we are also the first Cabildo in the Canary Islands to have started inspections of vacation homes. So far we have detected 133 irregular tourist homes that will not be able to continue operating, and we continue to review those of recent years, which will surely allow us to remove several hundred more from the market.
As our president Oswaldo Betancort has rightly pointed out, guaranteeing access to housing is not just an economic issue: it is a strategic issue for the future of the island, for the demographic challenge, so that our young people can stay, form families and continue to nurture the identity and sustainable development of Lanzarote. This is how Coalición Canaria works in the Cabildo: with planning, real investment and social commitment that improve the lives of families and people.
In addition, we must not forget that 201 official protection homes are already being built by the Government of the Canary Islands in Maneje, in Arrecife, distributed in three buildings. These are the first VPO homes to be built in Lanzarote in almost thirty years, a fact that in itself speaks of the decline that occurred during the last decades, and especially during the last legislature of the PSOE in the Cabildo and the Government of the Canary Islands.
As I said at the beginning, knowing that the first island institution has very limited powers in housing matters, attributing inaction and the source of all evils in housing policy to the Cabildo is an exercise as reckless as it is cynical on the part of a political formation that has already accustomed us to lying and diverting attention from what they themselves have unfortunately caused. It is obvious to everyone that the housing crisis affects the entire Spanish territory and not exclusively Lanzarote, aggravated —if not directly caused— by the disastrous state housing law, which encourages occupation and does not protect the owner, and whose negative effects have led to the withdrawal of more than 120,000 properties from the market, causing an increase of more than 25% in rental prices.
So, faced with those who for years did not manage anything and now pretend to give lessons, from this government group in the Cabildo we will continue to respond with facts and responsibility what others neither wanted nor knew how to do.
