Oswaldo in his political dung heap

For a long time, there has been talk of Oswaldo Betancort's supposed secret as a candidate: that he is a good person. Even though he has shown great management incapacity and has left the municipality of Teguise in ruins, it has always been said that he knows how to empathize. That ability to dance with the elderly while the Zonzamas environmental complex burns; to claim he shares the suffering of those most in need while raising his salary to 100,000 euros after a ridiculous survey; or to utter the now-mythical phrase "not one bed more, not one bed less" and end up granting all possible hotel licenses. These are the traits of a politician who seems incapable of telling the truth, but whom some maintained, at least, did not act with malice, something many considered necessary on an island too accustomed to confrontation.

However, the problem he now faces is much more serious. Oswaldo Betancort has abandoned the elderly of Lanzarote by evicting them from the Insular Hospital, compromising the future of a center that for decades has been a benchmark for geriatric care. Despite promises, many citizens fear that the services will never be the same. It is difficult to take a photo or do a dance with an elderly person who has been prevented from spending the end of their life in the dignified conditions they and their family expected.

This episode represents another concession to the interests of Coalición Canaria. Betancort had two paths: confront Fernando Clavijo and Pedro San Ginés, even at the risk of losing political power, or turn his back on the interests of Lanzarote and its elderly. He has chosen to save himself.

And what is the next step? The usual one: to create a smokescreen. To denounce a socialist leader to divert attention from the failure of his management. On this occasion, the target is the general secretary of the PSOE of Lanzarote, Dolores Corujo, and incidentally, to foster a change of leadership in the party to make it more docile.

It is not a coincidence. Coalición Canaria has resorted to legal action against innocent socialist leaders on other occasions during politically delicate moments, staging media witch hunts. There are the false accusations against Mario Alberto Perdomo, Manuela Armas, Carlos Espino, Eva de Anta, Alfredo Mendoza, and among others, especially painfully, Antonio González, whose persecution continued even after his death.

Now it is Dolores Corujo's turn. At Oswaldo Betancort's worst political moment, a complaint appears against the socialist leader. Meanwhile, the controversy over the Insular Hospital continues to occupy the center of public debate. It is also striking that the same president who dismissed the manager of the Water Council to save Pedro San Ginés is now the one pushing a political offensive against Dolores Corujo through the courts. You can't be a worse person. Abandoning the Insular Hospital and denouncing an innocent person to cover up your own guilt.

The PSOE of Lanzarote has learned from these episodes. On the one hand, the party must continue to defend public healthcare and the insular hospital. They cannot intimidate us. And on the other hand, the continuity of Dolores Corujo in the party leadership will not be decided by Oswaldo Betancort in his political cesspool, nor by anyone from an office in the Cabildo through complaints. It will be, as always, the socialist militants of Lanzarote who, through the democratic bodies of the party, freely decide who represents them.

No, Oswaldo. The political cesspool you have created will not decide the future of the PSOE of Lanzarote.