Yesterday, Tuesday, the situation in the Canary Islands became clearly tangible due to the double major crisis that is jeopardizing the immediate future of all Canarians. One, health and economic, registered by the COVID-19 virus pandemic, and another, which was coming due to illegal immigration from the coasts of Africa. In order for us to train in the ineptitude of the Government of Spain in immigration matters, referring to the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands, we have to analyze the evolution of immigration in the Canary Archipelago in recent years, as well as what the real objectives of the Spanish Government are in migratory matters.
Regarding the evolution of the migratory phenomenon in the Canary Islands, we must look at the year 2018 - when Pedro Sánchez took office as President of the Government of Spain - and, already then, the Popular Party showed the utmost concern about the course that the migratory policies of the current social-communist Government were going to take because, we had in the Islands the terrible memory of Zapatero in this matter.
In Spain, socialist governments have always been characterized by a disastrous immigration policy. And, unfortunately, the forecast that we were already making from the PP, two and a half years ago, has been fulfilled. In 2015, under the management of the PP Government with Mariano Rajoy, 870 illegal immigrants entered the Canary Islands. In 2016, also with the PP Government, the figure in the Canary Islands drops and 705 illegal immigrants enter. A number that continues to fall in 2017, where the arrival of 423 people in boats is recorded. The year 2018 arrives and Spanish politics takes a 180º turn with the overthrow of the Rajoy Government and the entry of the extreme left together with the socialist leader Pedro Sánchez in La Moncloa. By "surprise" his first balance in that stage throws in the Canary Islands an out-of-control figure, in 2019, of 2,698 illegal immigrants arriving on the Canary coasts. In the current year, still without concluding, the figure already rises dramatically to 11,409 people arrived in cayucos to Canarian soil (add those who arrive every night), Spanish and therefore European. We are the southernmost border of Europe, let's not forget.
In the two and a half years of Pedro Sánchez's stage and his group of what? government? the arrival of illegal immigrants to the Canary Islands has been exceeded by more than 800% compared to the figure of previous years governing Spain the Popular Party. On the other hand, with regard to repatriations, in 2018, when the Government of Pedro Sánchez arrived at La Moncloa, a historical record of irregular entries in boats was broken, but only 19% were expelled, the lowest rate since 2013. These data show, without possible discussion, that the policies on illegal immigration with a Government supported by the Psoe and Podemos has been characterized by an intolerable increase in arrivals of illegal immigrants to the Canary Islands, coupled with a low diligence in the levels of return or repatriations. The real bicephaly of government in La Moncloa has shown a total disinterest in this problem in the Canary Islands, perhaps pursued, you never know, since they took care to close the routes of entry of boats in the Mediterranean to the Peninsula.
You, me, everyone, we must ask ourselves a question: What are the real objectives of the Spanish Government in immigration matters? Now, in this reflection that I share with the citizens of the Canary Islands, we outline the answer. On January 18, 2020, Minister José Luis Escrivá made some very worrying statements. He stressed that the Spanish economy needed millions of immigrants to save the pension system. Escrivá, even, specified it in data assuring that it would be convenient to receive about 270,000 people each year to guarantee the viability of retirements and, at the same time, ensure progress and work. Escrivá, as minister, said that "there would be work for everyone". But, let's review that failed statement ten months later, remembering that according to the current Government, Spain would have the capacity to generate work for everyone. I understand that you smile when reading this, because neither you, nor I, nor the majority of the population are idiots. Let's look at the total number of unemployed in Spain and the terrifying figure is close to 4 MILLION people in the third quarter of 2020, according to the latest official data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE). Surely you will share, you who read me, the neighbors of each of the eight Canary Islands, that this Government that now celebrates one year after passing through the polls, has lost the north acts like a chicken without a head in immigration matters. I sign this colloquial expression because, in addition, it has become known that Podemos and the PSOE have the budgetary support of Bildu-EH to carry out the budgetary accounts of 2021. In a budget where no measure is adopted to reverse the situation of immigration crisis that we suffer in the Canary Islands.
And to the facts I refer, we see astonished the massive arrival of illegal immigrants without the Spanish Government doing or contributing anything, and now as it does not know what to do with them in the port of Arguineguín because it is physically impossible to retain them in that space, it does not occur to him another thing that "release them" to their free will through the streets of the round island without money, without food, without shelter. Lack of humanity is called that, what a regrettable spectacle for a government, or that is how they define themselves, that says to be progressive! Ineptitude.
We have only seen in these weeks tourist photos of some ministers in the Islands without contributing with real figures in the increase of repatriations. All this supposes forceful and indisputable examples that the migratory policy of the socialist Government is that "the more immigrant the better...," as Minister Escrivá stated.
To you, to me, to the Canarian society, we only have to "congratulate the Government" if its objective is the massive arrival of illegal immigrants. The results are excellent and the presence of citizens adrift in the ports and streets of the Canary Islands is palpable every day, before the rejection of the citizens for that abandonment and the violation of the rights that these people have. My reflection that today I share with you in this article I wish to conclude it with a question that we who live in the islands ask ourselves, where are the Spanish patrol boats? Do they exist? Are there more means to carry out the work of controlling our coastline and borders? From La Moncloa, while they publish norms in the BOE to restrict and censor the journalistic work of the media, we see that the Government of Sánchez and Pablo Iglesias spreads lies and manipulation every day, but advances there are not nor will there be in migratory matters with this government of socialists and communists sustained under the heirs of Basque terrorism and the most anarchic Catalan society. Let us all remember, with data, that the rebound in the arrival of illegal immigrants to the Canary Islands has only one responsible: The PSOE-Podemos union
Astrid Pérez
Regional Parliamentarian for the island of Lanzarote
President of the PP of Lanzarote
