There are governments that advance with direction and others that sustain themselves based on fragile balances, more concerned with not falling than with walking. What happened recently in the Teguise City Council cannot remain as a simple personal disagreement nor as a minor episode of municipal political life. It is, in reality, the visible symptom of a deep instability in the governing group and of a way of understanding politics that should concern us.
The departure of a councilor from the Popular Party (PP) from the governing group and his subsequent return, in a matter of days, left the City Council in the minority and the municipality on the verge of an institutional crisis. A single move was enough for the entire pact structure to falter. That does not speak of strength or cohesion; it speaks of a government sustained by threads that are too thin.
But more serious than the crisis itself was the way it was managed. There were no clear explanations to the citizenry, there was no public assumption of responsibilities nor a sincere exercise of transparency. The retreat occurred with the same speed as the departure, as if everything were part of an internal game that has nothing to do with the real problems of Teguise
And that is where politics loses its meaning
While playing inside and outside the government, the neighbors continue to wait for solutions. They continue to wait for answers regarding housing, public services, maintenance of the towns, support for the social and economic fabric, or care for heritage. They continue to wait for the City Council to be a tool at the service of the people and not a space for disputes over power and salaryWhen the priority is to keep the seat, the municipality takes a back seat. When the goal is to stay in government at any cost, management suffers and citizen trust is broken. Governing is not resisting, it is serving; it is not surviving politically, it is responding to those who placed their trust in the ballot boxes
Teguise does not need more shocks or more episodes of instability. It needs seriousness, coherence, and a political project that looks to the long term, that puts people at the center, and that understands that power is not an end, but a means to improve people's lives.
Because Teguise is not an armchair.
It is a lively municipality, with history, with real problems and with neighbors who deserve respect, stability and commitment.
Belén Machín is the Local Secretary of Nueva Canarias-Bloque Canarista in Teguise.
