There are decisions in politics that one knows in advance will be uncomfortable, discussed, even unpopular at first. Decisions that raise blisters, that generate easy headlines and furious comments on networks. And yet, it is these same decisions that are appreciated over time. Because governing is not letting oneself be carried away by the current of the moment, but daring to set a course, even if there is a storm.
I. AN UNCOMFORTABLE BUT NECESSARY BET
The Aesthetic Ordinance of Arrecife belongs to that category of measures that are not comfortable, but necessary. Anyone who thinks this is a whim is wrong. We are not talking about imposing a taste, but about protecting an identity that, if we do not take care of it, will dissolve among dissonant facades, strident signs and forgotten dividing walls.
It should be remembered that Arrecife was a port before it was a city, and that condition is at the heart of its aesthetics. Its physiognomy was born looking at the sea: the whitewashed white that resisted salt and wind. Losing that coherence would be like losing the compass: a mistake that would condemn us to banality.
I know that this decision is controversial, thorny, uncomfortable. There will be those who see it as interference, those who demand absolute freedom for each facade. I understand. But I also know that if we do not set clear rules, in a few years Arrecife will be indistinguishable from any bland polygon. And then, those who criticize us today will reproach us for not having straightened the course in time.
II. A PACKAGE OF BRAVE DECISIONS
And I say that this is not the only risky measure we have taken. A few months ago we approved the Supplementary General Planning Plan, after decades of deadlock, knowing that each line was going to be discussed. And now we are working on the Municipal Heritage Catalog, which will soon be released to definitively protect our valuable real estate.
These are all brave and controversial decisions, yes, but absolutely essential. Because a city without clear rules, without planning and without memory, is a city without a future.
III. IDENTITY VERSUS DISORDER
The aesthetic ordinance is not born from whim. It is protected by the BIOCRIT, a document prepared by a multidisciplinary team under the umbrella of the Biosphere Reserve. It is a rigorous analysis that gives technical support and legitimacy to this commitment. It is not a political occurrence, but a necessary tool to put order where until now arbitrariness reigned.
I want to be clear: it is not just about black or white, about larger or smaller posters. It is about Arrecife recovering its pulse as a city with identity, that its neighborhoods, its center and even its industrial areas speak the same language. That when someone visits us, they know that they are in Lanzarote, a different island, and not in just any place.
IV. THE REAL RISK
And yes, there will be debate, as always. But worse than arguing about the color of a facade would be resigning ourselves to disorder. Because the easy thing would be to do nothing (that's what others have done), of course; the difficult thing is to assume the responsibility of putting things in order.
