She has just been unanimously re-elected General Secretary of the Socialists of Passion fruit and leads the opposition in the City Council after obtaining in 2019 the same councilors (8) as the party that occupies the Mayor’s Office (CC). Jennifer Miranda She is convinced that the project she heads is the “only alternative” to “take advantage of the great opportunities for the future” of the second municipality in the South in number of inhabitants.
-The militants have closed ranks with you and your Executive…
“Revalidating the general secretariat is a source of confidence to face the challenges of the present and the future of our people. For me it is an honor to lead the political project that most resembles the people of Granada and I am accompanied along the way by people with great value”.
-It is assumed that you will be the candidate for Mayor in 2023, right?
“The statutes of our party require that the candidacy be endorsed by the Assembly in primaries. I aspire to be the candidate in 2023 and thus be able to put into practice a project that was endorsed by the majority of Granadilleros in 2019”.
-A year before the next elections, how does the PSOE from Granada face this countdown?
“With enthusiasm and with the certainty of having done and being doing useful, constructive political work marked by a clear vision of the future. The data and the sensations are very favorable. The feeling of the granadilleros confirms the need for a change. The project that I lead is the only alternative for a Granadilla with great opportunities for the future but that today is not taking advantage of them”.
-What are Granadilla’s priorities?
“Public policies centered on families and creating a town. Years ago we had the feeling of belonging to a common place that we all had to take care of and for which we had to fight. That identification, in part, has been lost due to the lack of planning in our neighborhoods and the poor management of public services. Recovering that identity is a priority, integrating new spaces and green areas. It is necessary to open the doors of the City Council and pay attention to the reality that citizens live: years to obtain a permit or license, months for emergency aid, closure of centers for the elderly and privatization of essential services.
-How would you explain to the citizen the work of your group in the opposition in these three years of mandate?
“In the last elections the PSOE was the most voted party. Being the first force gave us the impetus to face the work in the opposition with seriousness, great rigor and above all proximity. We have proposed solutions for each specific problem, but we have also managed to transfer a vision of our municipality: more modern, more prosperous, more sustainable and more respectful of its history”.
-What balance do you make of the CC-PP government pact?
“My pact is with the neighbors, with my people. Theirs, with the armchairs. They have been in government for six years without Granadilla taking a step forward. Not a new service, not a public resource, not a single project for the future. Granadilla needs to move forward with a government with management, project and work capacity”.
-Your municipality is the one that has grown the most in population in recent years in Tenerife, a reality linked to the arrival of people in search of a job opportunity. What policies should be promoted to try to find an outlet for such a demand for labor?
“The Administration has the possibility and the responsibility to create the conditions to promote economic activity. If our public spaces are cared for and the commercial areas are suitable for walking, more people will want to visit us. If we launch sustainable tourism products, we will generate consumption and employment. If we plan to develop new green areas, we will create indirect employment. The answers go through an active management of resources and collaboration with entrepreneurs, freelancers and SMEs”.
-The municipality registers a considerable number of houses with squatters. Where is the solution to this problem?
“There is an obvious deficit in public housing and the local government has a duty to implement a genuine municipal housing policy that offers a housing alternative at affordable prices to avoid behavior that violates the law. The CC-PP government has not only not built new housing, but has tried to leave more than 70 families from the Galdós Building without it. Public housing should be built, not sell the ones that already exist.”
-Do you trust that in the next mandate the definitive ‘take off’ of the port of Granadilla will take place?
“I participated in citizen mobilizations against the port and time has proved us right. My hope is that it will serve as a lesson for us and that we learn that the Canary Islands must abandon the policy of macro-projects, which cause enormous damage to our natural heritage”.
-Is the La Tejita hotel an opportunity or an environmental attack, as environmental groups maintain?
“La Tejita and Montaña Roja are two wonderful natural spaces that are the heritage of all. Tourism projects can be carried out, but not to the detriment of the places that we consider environmental heritage. My proposal is clear: review the general plan to increase the protection of our natural and environmental heritage”.
