We Lanzaroteans are forced to ask ourselves an uncomfortable but necessary question: are we truly improving as a society or regressing? It is enough to look back twenty years and compare it with the current reality to understand the growing concern of our people.
Two decades ago, living in Lanzarote meant stability, coexistence, tranquility, and a relatively affordable life. With a normal job, one could make ends meet, access housing, and raise a family with dignity. Today, that scenario seems increasingly distant.
Housing has become the main problem for the people of Lanzarote. There is no housing, and when there is, its prices are unattainable for the majority of the population. Exorbitant rents, impossible purchases, and a generalized feeling that our own people have been expelled from the real estate market. Meanwhile, we continue to allow investment funds and foreign buyers to hoard housing, driving up prices and leaving residents with no real options. What about the right to decent housing for those who live and work here?
The shopping basket gets more expensive every year. Everything is going up: food, utilities, transportation. Everything, except salaries. Families are struggling to make ends meet, and the most vulnerable live in a state of permanent anguish. Little is said about those who have a hard time every month, about families who must choose between paying rent or filling the fridge. Little is said about the growing inequality that is normalized under the discourse that "everything is fine".
Tourism has been and is a fundamental economic driver, but its uncontrolled growth is taking its toll. Saturation, loss of identity, pressure on public services, and a general increase in the cost of living. Progress cannot be measured solely in numbers, but in quality of life.
We constantly hear our rulers claim that the situation is positive. But the reality on the street tells a different story. It is difficult to understand that, while salaries and pensions are rising minimally, around 3%, the Canary Islands Government of CC and PP have increased the budget for "Presidency of the Government" by 30 million euros, meaning for appointed positions and self-promotion.
Lanzarote is no longer the island where one could live in peace, harmony, and stability. We cannot resign ourselves to losing our essence or accepting that living here is a luxury reserved for a select few.
It is time to reflect, to listen to the people, and to act with courage. To put people, families, young and old, at the center. To defend the right to a dignified life and to live on our own land. Because the future of Lanzarote cannot be built by leaving behind those who call it home.
