There are phrases that are born out of impotence. Out of tiredness. Out of the feeling that, for some, the Canary Islands remain a territory that is informed late, explained little, and demanded absolute obedience.
And these days many Canary Islanders have felt exactly that.
Because the truly serious thing about this whole episode has not been solely the health management of the so-called "ship virus." The most worrying thing has been the political attitude of those who should have defended this land and who, instead, chose once again to defend party acronyms rather than the Canary Islands.
What happened has left a deeply worrying image: ministers making decisions that directly affect the Canary Islands without counting on the Canary Islands, contradictory explanations, improvised messages, and an absolute inability to understand the institutional, economic, and social impact that certain actions can generate in islands especially sensitive to any external crisis.
And it hurts even more when those who participate in this attitude are not only leaders from Madrid, but public officials who came to the Canary institutions promising to defend this land.
Because it is incomprehensible to hear the Minister of Health, the Minister of the Interior, and Ángel Víctor Torres himself more concerned with controlling the political narrative than with offering transparency, tranquility, and institutional respect.
Ángel Víctor Torres, far from acting as a Canary Islander minister, has preferred to act as the most faithful squire of "sanchismo" even when it implies deteriorating trust between administrations and fueling the discontent of a citizenry that simply asks for information and clarity.
Because here we are not only talking about a health operation.
We are talking about how decisions are made that directly affect the Canary Islands without sufficiently explaining their consequences.
We are talking about how any legitimate doubt is discredited by labeling it as little less than political alarmism.
Since when is asking for information a problem?
What is wrong with demanding guarantees when we talk about public health?
And what logical explanation is there for the fact that, if people's health was so concerning, those people were kept for four more days on a ship at sea sailing towards the Canary Islands in a confined space instead of activating the operation in Cape Verde?
That question remains unanswered.
Nor is there any explanation for the enormous contradiction in which the Government itself has fallen. Because while they assured that Canarian healthcare was fully prepared to face any situation, at the same time they tried to publicly convey that the affected people would practically not even stay long in the Canary Islands.
So, what are we to believe?
If the Canary Islands were prepared, why so much insistence on minimizing the stay? And if the intention was to avoid any impact, why choose the Canary Islands as the setting for an improvised and poorly explained operation?
The incoherence has been absolute.
But there is something even more irresponsible in all this management: the international damage caused to the image of the Canary Islands.
In a land that lives on tourism, on the effort of thousands of service sector workers, on external confidence and on the security we project to the world, the carelessness with which certain political leaders have allowed the Canary Islands to be placed in the international media spotlight linked to a politically mismanaged health alert is incomprehensible.
Because here we are not just talking about headlines.
We are talking about the livelihood of thousands of Canarian families.
We are talking about waiters, taxi drivers, small businesses, apartments, restaurants, self-employed people, and workers who depend directly on the external image of our islands.
And while many Canarians were wondering about the economic and reputational consequences of all this, "sanchismo" seemed more concerned with controlling the political narrative than with protecting the main economic engine of this land.
Playing with the image of the Canary Islands is playing with the livelihood of our people.
And that is unforgivable.
Meanwhile, complicit silence from those who should have raised their voices in defense of the Canary Islands. Here are the names and surnames: Dolores Corujo, Manuel Fajardo Palarea, Héctor Gómez, Alicia Álvarez, Sergio Matos, and José Antonio Valbuena.
Public representatives who, once again, have preferred to protect Pedro Sánchez's Government rather than defend the doubts, concerns, and legitimate discontent of Canarians.
They have chosen party over land.
Acronyms over dignity.
Sanchismo over the Canary Islands.
And that is profoundly sad.
Because Canarians do not need submissive representatives. We need brave representatives. People capable of looking Madrid in the eye and saying: "You speak clearly with the Canary Islands. You respect the Canary Islands."
Enough lies.
Enough of using the Canary Islands as a mere logistical or political platform.
Enough of disrespecting this land while we are asked for silence and obedience.
Canarians have the right to demand information. We have the right to question decisions. We have the right to defend our security, our economy, and our institutional dignity without anyone accusing us of exaggerating or bothering them.
But, above all, we have the right to expect those who hold public office in our name to remember why they were elected.
Not to protect Pedro Sánchez.
Not to put out media fires for the Government.
Not to manufacture smoke screens for the scandals surrounding the Executive.
They were elected to defend the Canary Islands.
And when that does not happen, when those who should be our voice end up acting as mere delegates of external interests, then one understands that the real problem was never on the ship.
The real problem came from the contempt for this land and its capacity to decide.
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