The Cabildo de Tenerife approves a budget of 948 million with the votes of PSOE, Cs and PP

The final vote, quite confusing, took place in several blocks. The first rejected the two amendments to the entire CC (20-11) and Sí Podemos Canary Islands (28-3). Then, at the request of nationalists and purples, they voted to support or not that group of joint amendments. Four, two from each group, were unanimously approved and another 27 of the purple ones rejected like all those of CC, including the 17 that made up this common front. The last block was the vote on the final budget, according to the opinion of the plenary Commission last Tuesday. The final result: 17 in favor and 14 against. Received with applause from the councilors of the government group (PSOE and Cs).

Before this convoluted ending, each group stated their position. They were all pretty well defined beforehand. The prelude to this position was the speech, lengthy and technical, by the insular director of the Treasury, José Gálvez, who broadly broke down the chapters on Income and Expenses. It is worth noting the loan worth 64 million euros for the investment chapter.

Social spending

The insular president, Pedro Martín, stressed that the accounts for next year “set as priorities social spending, the promotion of the island’s productive sectors, which generate job and local economy, and sustainable mobility through investment in public transport»

20.8% more

In detail, the budget of the Island Corporation for the year 2023 amounts to 947,914,742 euros, and increases by 20.8% in relation to the previous year (+163,308,342 million euros). It is the largest budget in the history of the Cabildo.

Martín sets those “priorities” more specifically. More than 291 million euros are allocated to social spending, while the boost to the productive sectors of the Island “It generates employment and local economy.” Regarding sustainable mobility, the “important financing for public transport of more than 110 million euros” stands out.

In addition, the president emphasizes that the budgets make an “unprecedented” investment effort at a stage in which society and the economy of Tenerife They need the support of the Cabildo to consolidate their recovery from the damage caused by Covid-19 and the consequences of the war in Europe.

In the field of investments, the Cabildo has provided 269 million euros for the execution of different works, infrastructures and public equipment throughout the Island, which represents an increase of 40%.

The same line was followed by the PSOE spokesman, Javier Rodríguez Medina, who focused his criticism on the opposition leader Carlos Alonso, whom he accused of following the theory of Schrödinger’s cat – a physicist who establishes the paradox that he can be as alive as dead. – “because of its contradictions”. He made him ugly, like the president, some allusion to the fact that the Cabildo enriches itself at the expense of poverty due to inflation. There was also a serious discrepancy about the veracity of the data, including the graphs, that Alonso showed to support his speech.

Enrique Arriaga, from Ciudadanos, defended the accounts for Tenerife in 2023, “some budgets for the advancement of the Island” and “to improve the quality of life of the people of Tenerife.” He points out that 50% of the accounts are earmarked for social policies and mobility. Precisely this area (+ 68%) and Roads (+ 26%), under his responsibility, are the ones that grow the most together with the primary sector (+ 26%). The highway budget reaches a record of almost 90 million euros, 30 more than in 2019. In mobility it grows 45% compared to before the pandemic.

Another well-known position, that of supporting the budgets, was that of the Popular Party. She was defended by her spokesperson, Zaida González, who rejected the accusation of political tacticism that “they have had now and throughout history.” He considers that the PP has exercised “a useful policy” in defense of “the strategic projects of the Island and of the people of Tenerife.” He keeps his hand out for these remaining months until the May elections in which “dialogue and negotiation must prevail.”

Also Sí Podemos Canarias remained faithful to his speech after abandoning his external support for the insular government for almost the entire term. Faced with “developmentalist policies, predatory of the territory and continuing with the CC era, the commitment to people and sustainability”. There were reproaches from his spokesperson, María José Belda, to the government and to President Martín. It is worth noting the poster that the minister of purples placed in front of her seat that summarizes her position with respect to mobility and guided transport on the Island of Tenerife: “Bus yes, trains no.” The purples saw all their amendments (63) rejected except two that have the same object; the animal shelter of El Ravelo (El Sauzal). There will be 800,000 euros for the improvement of the facilities and another 116,000 that are destined to the maintenance of the animals.

“We are the alternative”

The Canarian Coalition rejected the PSOE budget for 2023 “because it is bad for Tenerife”, according to the nationalist spokesman, Carlos Alonso. It was the pimpampum of the government attacks. Alonso indicated in his speech that “Canary Coalition, the most voted force in the previous elections, is the only real government alternative to this disaster that has been the Cabildo these four years.”

CC-PNC presented 30 amendments for 102 million euros. From the government bench it was said that there were 70 because they include 32 of the state financing of free public transport “which has not yet been defined.” Another criticism is that it only accounts for 7.4% of the total budget. They were all rejected, except for the one destined for the Insular Crafts Plan (200,000 euros) and the improvements to the Heliodoro Rodríguez López Stadium (500,000). Carlos Alonso thanked the work of the officials and staff.

“It is a bad budget because it is unbalanced with the people, with the territory and with the needs of the Island,” he points out. The amendment to the entirety is “to a government that began weak and incoherent and continues to be weak and fickle,” explains Alonso. The CC spokesman adds: «We are the only alternative for Tenerife. We have another idea of ​​Isla, in which the increase in the income of the Cabildo due to inflation reverts to measures for families. He insisted that “not a single new socio-health position has been created in the last three and a half years with more than 7,000 people applying for one.” He recalled that the mandate already began in 2019 “with the non-compliance of the PSOE by not maintaining the Ansina senior program.”

Approved templates

The plenary approved the staff of the Cabildo and those of six dependent entities: IASS (there was an intense debate), Insular Water Council, Insular Music Board. Organism of Museums and Centers, Balten and Tenerife Espacio de las Artes (TEA). The modification of the Study Commission for the regularization of the Insular Slaughterhouse also went ahead; the Annual Regulatory Plan; the extension of the agreement on waste with the Government of the Canary Islands and the General Account for the year 2021 to be transferred now to the Canary Islands Audit Court.

The ‘battering ram’ of CC

Antolín Bueno asked seven of the eight CC questions – the other was from Juana María Reyes – in yesterday’s plenary session. There are already 27 in three sessions. “The government team should have answered them in writing as a law and it has not been done,” said Bueno, who warned that “I am not going to get tired of asking for the transparency that it does not have.” He fought with the president and with Arriaga for the leadership of the plenary session and, as usual, with the primary sector counselor, Javier Parrilla.