Pedro Martin, president of the Tenerife Council, defends the “fair and balanced distribution” of the island budget for next year with “equity in investments” and the thought put “in the most vulnerable”. The government group emphatically announces that “political colors have not been taken into account but the needs of the municipalities.” Martín, who is awaiting the endorsement of the plenary session today, was accompanied yesterday at the presentation of the island accounts for next year by the vice president and leader of Citizens, Enrique Arriaga, and the Minister of Finance, Berta Pérez.
The accounts for 2022 in terms of the consolidated budget, which includes entities and public companies, amount to a global of 874,331,705 euros, which represents an increase of 32,162,594 (3.8%) compared to this year. Managing this amount has three major challenges: social protection, promoting employment and strengthening the Insular Institute for Social and Socio-Health Care (IASS). The declaration of intent involves reinforcing social action from municipalism to the Island with the aim of activating the productive fabric in the midst of a health crisis that remains a serious threat.
Pedro Martín explains that the increase of just over 32 million euros in the accounts for next year takes place in a context “marked by the economic crisis, the situation of uncertainty and a decrease in income.” Despite this, he adds, “we have maintained as a priority the redistribution of the economy from the territorial point of view, taking into account the needs of the Island and not political colors, with programs that had not been launched in previous periods of crisis”.
For his part, Enrique Arriaga emphasizes that It is the third budget approved by the current island government, “Whose objective is economic and employment recovery, as well as helping the most vulnerable groups and the people who need it most.” Hence, one out of every four euros of island accounts is allocated to economic reactivation. He values that “in a time as complicated as the one the Island is experiencing, we cannot allow the Cabildo to make budget cuts.” Arriaga highlights the 20% increase in the allocation for scholarships.
Berta Pérez emphasizes that “it is a balanced budget, both from an economic and territorial point of view, with which we continue to grow.” The counselor reviews the main magnitudes of the budget and the economic context. The anti-cyclical nature of the accounts stands out that, “despite the crisis derived from the pandemic of the covid-19, they grow back ».
Programs.
Pedro Martín highlights employment or social action programs that “had never been implemented in the Cabildo” in previous crises and “agreed through Fecam.” Regarding the former, it indicates the contribution of 18 million euros to the municipalities plus another 11 million to social action. To all this, the president adds the new Island Municipal Cooperation Plan and the “numerous investments” for works, infrastructures and public facilities, for which the Island Corporation invests around 190 million euros. For the execution of these investments, a loan of 70.3 million euros will be requested, which represents around 29% of the institution’s debt capacity. A balancing operation to invigorate and activate the economy and ensure that subsequent governments have ample capacity to manage.
Featured areas.
The reinforcement for the third consecutive year of social protection actions and especially the 9% increase in transfers destined for the IASS, with 238 million euros, with which “we are going to continue attending to the emergency derived from covid-19 and providing services to particularly sensitive areas, such as dependency, which will have 178 million euros, “said the president. Pedro Martín announces, in this sense, that in 2022 «we will create 500 new social and healthcare places that will join the 1,509 start-ups in the last two years to recover part of the work that was pending of other mandates. In Roads, 59.3 million will be invested in 50 actions related to the conservation, conditioning and improvement of the landscape or in the decongestion of traffic. Arriaga sums up: “The current island government has launched all the actions and works necessary to end traffic congestion.” Another area that increases its budget is Culture, with 29.8 million euros, 8.6% more. The priority, according to Pedro Martín, is “to empower municipalities as true centers for the dissemination of culture and to open culture to new talents.”
‘Rebel’ mayors.
Pedro Martín opens a second block in the presentation of the accounts by referring to the rebellious mayors in front of them – opposed to the distribution of direct aid and investments to the municipalities and to the global party distribution in favor of those of the PSOE – with the breakdown of the investments made in their municipalities. In the La Campana industrial park (El Rosario), in the Parque de Las Mesas and Valleseco beach (Santa Cruz) or in the social health centers in Arico and Santa Úrsula. Asked about the coercion of the mayor of Tacoronte not to go to a press conference of this group of councilors, he responds: «(Daniel Díaz) decides to agree with CC on a strategy of attrition against the Cabildo without counting on his government partner, the Socialist Party. You can not ignore your partner in government and that works like that in any pact. Criticism is another thing, but it does not seem the most reasonable thing to be disloyal.
“False campaign”.
“Some insist on taking biased data to build reality.” This is how the president of the Cabildo values the data that reflect the imbalances in favor of the municipalities governed by the PSOE. In this regard, he indicates: “There are many inaccuracies in these comparative tables.” He lists some: “The metropolitan parks of the Dusi Strategy and the Taco Mountain are awarded to La Laguna, but the investments also correspond to Santa Cruz.” Or, he adds, “to the Masca pier that Buenavista del Norte is accused of as if it were a municipality of the PSOE and it does not govern there.” He continues: «One million euros in the agricultural track of El Batán in the Anaga Rural Park. Investment for the Park, not because it is in La Laguna. If this were the case, the many millions to the Teide National Park would have to be assigned to La Orotava ». Some geographical error: «La Caleta del Andén is located in Buenavista and it is in Garachico». He continues his story: «The purification of Guía de Isora is also of Santiago del Teide because the great problem of its sewage is solved. And in that of Granadilla it is not specified that 50% is provided by the Cabildo ». He concludes: «The TF-565 highway is supposedly money for Vilaflor but it is not said that it connects with San Miguel; it will benefit the two municipalities and not only is it applicable to the PSOE ».
“I am missing in the photo.”
Martín values that this is «an initiative launched by CC and by some of its mayors, not all of them, and also among those of the PP I am missing many in the photo. It seems petty to me. He explains: «They are entering a dangerous terrain, that of confronting the municipalities. A biased, unreal and false reading of the budget. Besides being terrible because it had never happened. Remember the president thate «67% of the money that the Government of the Canary Islands allocates directly in Tenerife goes only to two municipalities: Santa Cruz and El Rosario. It would not occur to me to raise the socialist mayors for that reason because it seems to me that if it is done like this it will be fair. Pedro Martín considers that “the data are eloquent.
These days we signed with Santa Cruz some agreements for investments in pending subjects for the municipality. Thinking of the common good. The president of the Cabildo reflects: “It is not strange to find games that go to PSOE town halls because most of the mayors of the 31 municipalities on the island are from the PSOE.” But he delves into an idea: «There is absolutely no orientation of these assumptions towards one political party or another. Neither in the distribution of social aid or employment funds nor in the Cooperation Plan for priority works, which did not exist, and has been launched for a majority of non-socialist municipalities (9 out of 17) ». And he concludes: «Because we have a vision of Isla; nonpartisan. I suffered it for years and as president I insisted from minute one that what they did to me did not happen to others.
