"Things are not like that. They are like that and we are going to change them." The President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, ended his initial speech in the Debate on the State of the Nation with a quote from the pedagogue Paulo Freire, who was Secretary of Education of São Paulo and a revolutionary at heart and in ideas. Freire dared to change things, without listening to those who said that change was impossible. Without dwelling on obstacles and, above all, trusting in the irreplaceable value that human capital represents for a nation.
It is, therefore, no coincidence that the president chose precisely that quote and that author to endorse a speech of change, of hope, of deep confidence in the inhabitants of the eight islands and in their capacity to advance, with the necessary tools, towards the bright future that this land deserves and to which we nationalists do not renounce.
The opinions of the rest of the political groups, as expected, have been diverse and adjusted to the ideologies and interests of each of the formations and, to a greater extent, of the people who lead them. What no one has questioned is that this has been the most inclusive, conciliatory, generous and modern speech --in its sense of 'adjusted to the time in which we live'-- that has been heard from a President of the Government who, in just eight months of management, has kept Freire and others who, like him, think that the world belongs to those who dare to change it, very much in mind.
Clavijo is a man of his time. And he has understood that the new situation requires new solutions. These solutions are new, not because they were not invented, but because until today they had not been applied in the way that this president is doing: without fireworks, without empty propaganda. Giving realistic but effective answers. Very far from the politics of headlines that other emerging leaders admire so much. Backed, however, by solvent teams that work with a common goal.
As a deputy of the Canarian Coalition in Congress, I am an integral part of that team of men and women who, each from their own field, work to bring the Canary Islands closer to the national average in all the issues that the State Government has not resolved, which does not quite understand that we Canarians need a different treatment to become equal.
It is, unfortunately, a shameful spectacle that we are suffering, with the absence of Government more than 100 days after the elections. On the other side, the Government of the Canary Islands and the parties that comprise it are giving a lesson in work, consensus and dialogue and also extending a hand to the rest of the political groups to face the challenges of the Canary Islands, which needs to be strong and united to claim what, in justice, corresponds to us.
As we said in the failed investiture session of Pedro Sánchez, we must not forget that while we do not agree in the Hemicycle, outside, people continue to have problems to solve. Because the crisis has not ended for small businesses, nor for the self-employed, nor for pensioners, nor for families. And arguing in the institutions, without reaching agreements, is what distances us from the hearts of the people.
The Canary Islands cannot and should not wait any longer. We have crucial negotiations that must be resolved in Madrid, such as the updating of the economic REF, the agreements in Coasts, Hydraulic Works, Housing, Tourist Infrastructure, Educational Infrastructure and Roads. It is time to address a reform of the Constitution that includes our condition of ultraperipherality, as Europe already recognizes, and the shielding of the Economic and Fiscal Regime. Specific Employment Plans for the Canary Islands must be urgently recovered and the costs of passenger and freight transport must be reduced as a right of all Canarians. And, above all, the modification of the financing system that subtracts around 700 million euros from the islands each year is urgent.
The president exemplified it very well, with a direct story, without getting lost in difficult nomenclatures and rhetorical language: A fairer financing system would mean being able to care for 915 more dependents, 1,500 more recipients of the PCI and allocate ten million euros more each year to train 6,450 unemployed people. It would also translate into the opening of 17 more operating rooms and reducing waiting lists with 12,495 interventions per year. It would allow the hiring of 192 more teachers, 1,376 conversation assistants and generate 14,500 scholarships for teachers and 5,500 for students. It would create 500 places for teachers and 476 for secondary school teachers and would translate into 13,902 jobs.
In these eight months, great achievements have been achieved, as a result of the recovery of dialogue with the State, such as the unblocking of wind farms and the fiscal REF. And the most important milestone that has emerged from this understanding between institutions is the condonation of the payment of 160 million annually from the extinct IGTE that will be managed through the Development Fund for which, again, consensus and vision are needed.
There is much to be done. There is much at stake. And, therefore, we must continue to appeal to hard work and understanding. This political reality, which is not foreign to those of us who have some experience, was already experienced in the Transition. If we could, at that time, move forward, now we have the same obligation to do so, without red lines or walls. Dialogue implies a meeting of men for the transformation of the world, said Freire, too. It is in that wake, initiated by the president, that we must continue so that this is, finally, the time for the Canary Islands.
Ana María Oramas González-Moro, Deputy of the Canarian Coalition in Congress