I would be lying if I told you that it has been easy or that at no time did I think about throwing in the towel. The truth is that it has been very complicated, but the times that it happened to me, I remembered what the neighbors told me when I accepted the challenge of embarking to take our city to a safe harbor. They wanted good management to register in Arrecife and they have been and are the true reason for being, the incentive, the stimulus to continue and fulfill my obligation to activate the city after years of lethargy and poor management.
Three years ago I got on this stranded ship, without direction, with a mast without a sail, and after a great effort, teamwork, dedication and a lot of love, today we can say loud and clear that Arrecife is being rebuilt and is being reactivated. Arrecife is beginning to rise from its ashes.
When I took the reins of the City Council, in June 2019, I found a city council with budgets extended since 2017; with most of the essential services without a contract; with police patrolling in rental cars; with millionaire debts generating more debt; with endless queues at the door of Social Services... and even mushrooms in the closet of some councilor, but thank God that is now part of the past.
These are just a few examples, a tiny sample, so you can get an idea of where we were and the historical effort that Arrecife has made in these three years in terms of organizing the local administration, in social matters and helping the most vulnerable people and families, and in economic reactivation. I truly believe that the titanic effort that Arrecife has made in facing the challenge that the pandemic posed for all local corporations will never be sufficiently valued, in its fair measure, and doing so, in addition, in the circumstances in which the city council was and without an extra euro from either the Sánchez Government or the Government of the Canary Islands, with Ángel Víctor Torres at the head.
Both governments, both very socialist, left us alone and it is not just that in the worst moments of the crisis they refused to lower taxes, but they raised them. That, apart from the fact that they have not been able to cushion the rise in the price of electricity, fuel or the shopping basket; because not leaving anyone behind would mean lowering taxes so that families have more money to face the economic crisis we are experiencing.
My first two decisions as mayor were the transfer of land to the Government of the Canary Islands for the construction of social housing in Arrecife (200 in Maneje and 200 in Los Geranios) and the opening of the maritime avenue. Two electoral promises fulfilled, although the first is now on the roof of the Government of the Canary Islands, which I trust will soon be able to complete the procedure and build the much-needed social housing after 30 years.
I would also like to highlight the payment of the historical debts accumulated by the city council, which we have managed to bring to zero. We paid off the debt with Urbaser (4.9 million), with Inalsa (796,000 euros) and, of course, that of the Ginory plot, which due to interest, costs and others, had already reached an amount of more than 27 million euros, of which we have paid 24,992,694 euros, charged to the loan approved in the 2021 budget. In total, we have paid debts for expropriations worth 29.6 million euros.
At the same time, we have also lowered taxes; made the largest investment in the history of Arrecife in social matters and public works; improved sports infrastructure and school facilities; we are proceeding with the renovation of traffic lights; to improve access to Arrecife from the north and, very soon, the improvement of access from the southeast of the capital will begin with the new lighting and improvement of Calle Manolo Millares and Avenida Fred Olsen.
We cannot ignore the renovation of all the playgrounds that have already begun to be rehabilitated or the public lighting plans in some 70 streets of the city. These days, in addition, we have launched the tender for the first phase of the city's Paving Plan for 2.5 million euros.
We have recovered more than 8 million euros in Municipal Cooperation Plans that corresponded to us because Arrecife could not benefit from these funds since 2017 due to lack of justification in a timely manner, lack of projects and, ultimately, lack of management. Many will wonder how it is possible that these results were not achieved before and now, in just three years, yes. Well, the answer is simple: now there is political will, team, leadership and affection, a lot of affection for our city.
The foundations of the future are laid, now all that is needed is time and to continue working with the same enthusiasm and desire that we have put in so far.It is clear that everything is not done, that there is much left to do. We are practically at the beginning of a journey that, let's not fool ourselves, cannot be covered in a single term.
We knew it was not going to be easy or fast, but today we are undoubtedly much closer to the final goal of building an Arrecife that we can all be proud of; a city up to what the residents and all the people of Lanzarote deserve for our status as capital. We have not given up nor are we going to give up.
*Astrid Pérez, Mayor of Arrecife
