The council It already has budgets for the year 2023 after its initial approval in the plenary Commission of the Presidency and Social Action in the absence of the final processing in plenary session on Friday. The 34 amendments of the Popular Party worth 17 million euros will give stability to the institution, in principle until the local elections on May 28, 2023, after the agreement reached by the government group (PSOE-Cs) and the popular late last Monday. Both the insular president, Peter Martin, like the leader of the PP and candidate to preside over the corporation, Lope Afonso, express their “satisfaction” with this agreement. It is worth noting the inclusion in the accounts of two items for a total of 1.2 million euros for the Tren del Sur (700,000) and Tren del Norte (500,000) projects. He has prevailed on both sides of the positive concept of improving mobility on the Island through guided transport.
The items may seem modest in a budget of more than a billion euros, but you have to understand their symbolic nature. They show “that we care more about what than how much” in the agreement, says Afonso. He adds that “the bet goes through two projects that guarantee” efficiency, punctuality and less pollution “. Two projects that are by no means new.
The president, Pedro Martín, appreciates that “we have been able to overcome political differences”
The Tren del Sur originated in 1997. It arises with the intention of solving the mobility problem to and from the South of the Island. The design had two stops in Granadilla de Abona, one in San Isidro and another at the Airport. In 2010 the cost of the project was estimated at 1,800 million euros and in 2019 it had already amounted to more than 3,500 after state financing had been paralyzed due to the crisis. As for the North, its history dates back to a distant December 2009 when the Cabildo presented the progress of the Special Territorial Plan for the Management of Train Infrastructures whose main objective was to unite Los Realejos with Santa Cruz. The only initial proposal of the possible layout was involved in controversy, politics, as an environmentalist and a neighbor. A rejection that broke its development almost without taking off.
Lope Afonso clarifies that the support for these accounts “is due to the acceptance by the island government of amendments that for us are non-negotiable” such as the aforementioned train projects, mobility to end traffic collapses or investment in strategic infrastructures. . Projects that “have a direct impact on the progress of the Island and the improvement of the quality of life of the people of Tenerife” affirms the leader of the PP.
The proposal for the trains is launched because, says Afonso, “it is time to direct the process with the direction of the works, the expropriations to be carried out, public and private, or the beginning of the search for financing for a work so important and expensive A key and necessary challenge for mobility on the Island”.
Improvements in mobility and development of strategic infrastructures are the keys to the agreement
Afonso guarantees the connection with the four councilors of the Cabildo to agree on the measure and recalls that “they have always reached out, even from the moment of the motion of censure. It is something in keeping with our history of supporting the great issues of the Island.” He recalls that “we also did it with the budgets in the last year of the previous mandate of CC and PSOE.” He considers that “we have been responsible, although there has been debate as is logical when looking at the national situation. But we could not let direct subsidies or contributions to the Insular Water Council and the IASS be lost ». Afonso points out that “it would not be logical to propose something beyond this agreement, at least for the moment; citizenship will decide next May.
negotiating capacity
Pedro Martín values the agreement with the Popular Party “in the entire budget of the Cabildo” although he points out that “it is not something new because in all the budgets of the mandate, since 2019, we have always incorporated amendments from the opposition groups.” He now acknowledges that “the situation was more complicated but the important thing has been to negotiate and make positions more flexible and reach out.” He affirms that “this allows us to have very powerful budgets that will exceed one billion euros and, above all, will prevent activity on the Island from being paralyzed.” The most important thing “and what touched”, he emphasizes is that “the Popular Party and the government of the Cabildo have been able to overcome their political differences to think about the Island.” He concludes: “It would have been inexcusable for us to present ourselves to the citizens without being able to agree on something as important as budgets.” Regarding mobility, he recalls that “I have never refused the construction of the Tren del Sur” although he also thinks that “it is necessary to wait for the study commissioned to include it in the island plan, which we will have in the first months of next year.” Martín concludes: «When it is finished it will be a tool to solve the problems of island mobility».
