“This mayor confuses municipal government management with a permanent gala”

What balance does the PP make of the mandate of the PSOE and ACP Government in Puerto de la Cruz?

The balance we make is that things could not be worse. We already imagined that the government of Marco González (PSOE) was not going to be very solid and that it was not going to put Puerto de la Cruz where we all believe it should be, but this government is even more disastrous than we expected. Management is in chaos, there is no planning for the future and all the projects that had to move forward have been slowed down.

What worries you the most about this management?

We are concerned that the goal we had set for ourselves in the 2015-2019 mandate, which was to return the Port to the International Tourism Champions League, will be lost. That it has been diluted to focus on neighborhood parties and recreational and festive events. There is no talk of anything else and it seems that no one cares about how important it is to improve infrastructures and services, in public and private spaces. All that has disappeared from the debate and at the center of all decisions is to appear in a photo or organize a party. We have a mayor who confuses the management of municipal government with a permanent gala.

Do you really think that the great priority of this government is cultural, recreational and festive events?

Well, let’s clarify something about the cultural. This government justifies everything under the umbrella of culture and it really is not. They have focused on fun and festive events, such as the Summer Carnival. We criticize it and the citizens criticize it. What was expected, which was at least an improvement in our environment, has come to a standstill. The only awards and tenders that go ahead are those that have to do with this type of festive event. With and without qualms. However, what has to do with the improvement of public spaces, the renewal of service contracts or the development of sustainability policies stops. Because this government is not interested or simply does not know how to do it.

What open fronts affect services?

After two and a half years of government of the PSOE we have a waste management and street cleaning contract that has not seen the light, despite the fact that it has already expired. We have a municipal facilities service that is also expired. The water service has just expired without being renewed, despite the fact that the process began in March 2018. In gardening there is also nothing going on when we should be thinking about the improvement and in the future. There are many vital contracts for a city to look as we all hope and that are not part of the priorities of the PSOE roadmap.

Do you fear for the future of any project that came from the previous term?

I fear for the future of all the projects that we leave on track. Except for the pool, which was awarded and is already underway, I fear for everything. In the world of laughter and parties of this PSOE government, there is no room for important projects. Everything that was advancing has stopped. And we can start with the most basic, which was the improvement of the Martiánez tunnel road, which has remained in a layer of asphalt. And continue for the improvement of the Martiánez beach, the Puerto de la Cruz dock or the San Francisco Park. Everything is stopped and there is no prospect that they will advance in this mandate. There have been problems with everything, from the Puerto de la Cruz City Council or from other administrations, and the truth is that they will not see the light.

What position does the PP currently have regarding the dock?

Simply that it was necessary to continue advancing in what we had raised in the past mandate together with the Cabildo of Tenerife and the Government of the Canary Islands. There was a very clear roadmap. The objective of developing a port was shared, there was a preliminary project, there was an intention to provide it with a budget and there was a political agreement between all the administrations to carry it out. Now, suddenly, the PSOE, governs in the three administrations and has ruled out this project. He talks on paper with respect to what he previously supported and there is no alternative.

Has the local government offered you an alternative location for Parque San Francisco due to these problems announced for the execution?

The local government has sought the problems to have an excuse and not run the new San Francisco Park. It can be carried out there without any problem, but they do not want the San Francisco Park that the previous governments left planned and that is, simply, the cultural space that the people of Porto deserve. The mayor of the PSOE, Marco González, has been told from the Cabildo that they are not going to do that auditorium and now they are looking for justifications for not doing it. This report on the clearing is the report of any clearing that is carried out in an urban plot with buildings around it. In this case, it makes special mention of a BIC, but at no time is it said that it cannot be executed. Simply ask for corrective action. The PSOE does not want that San Francisco Park, it wants to do something else, in another place and, above all, it wants it to be cheaper. He does not want what we had proposed for Puerto de la Cruz. If in other municipalities, with a fifth of our population, they are going to invest 5 million euros in an auditorium, can’t Puerto de la Cruz make one that costs what it has to cost? Why is it said no? Why is the mayor the first to say no?

The mayor considers it dangerous for the PP to question these technical reports …

We do not question the reports, what we criticize is that in the face of a report that can be resolved, this government makes negative news to justify the stoppage. They have come out to sell that report to the media to justify their decision not to do so. They do not look for solutions, only excuses.

Is Lope Afonso’s political project still alive? Will it return to municipal politics?

Lope has never stopped working for the PP of Puerto de la Cruz. He has not stopped contributing. For me it would be an honor if he returned actively and integrated as he wanted. Now he has other priorities, but there is still a long way to go for the next elections. His project, to which many people have joined, whose center is the management and improvement of tourism, will continue to advance with Lope directly or indirectly involved.