His proclamation as a candidate was one of the last of his party in relation to the big cities, and came to confirm the announcement that had been made at the beginning of 2022, and that it was none other than Carlos Tarife would be the candidate of the Popular Party for the Mayor’s Office of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. In this interview with DIARIO DE AVISOS, the also mayor of Public Services, advances that Zaida González will direct his campaign, and trusts that he will also accompany him on the electoral list. In his program, still being prepared, he assures that he will address the three main deficits that the capital is suffering from, which are recovering the coastline, housing, and cleanliness. He assures that he will not agree with the left under any circumstances and invites his current government partner, José Manuel Bermúdez (CC) to say so clearly whether or not he is going to agree with the PSOE, a partner he blames for not having made any great project in the city, so he aspires to be the mayor who makes other administrations invest in Santa Cruz.
-He is now an official candidate. Did he ever doubt that he would not become one?
“The party was very sincere with me. He told me that there were a number of options and that he was going to do a survey and that he would make a decision. I have always been available not only to Manolo (Domínguez) but also to Emilio (Navarro), the island president, and well, in the end, I am happy with the appointment”.
-I understand that the polls then gave you better than the rest…
“I confess that I have not seen these polls, nobody showed them to me. If they have made the decision, it is because I understand that it was the best option. I always told Manolo Domínguez that the decision that was made had to be the best for Santa Cruz, regardless of whether it was me or not”.
-Once the doubt is resolved, who will go with you on the list? Do you have the freedom to choose your travel companions?
“They have not told me that I do not have that freedom, but I, out of responsibility, am going to sit down with the regional and insular president and I am going to make them a proposal. From there, together with them and the corresponding bodies, in this case the electoral committee, which is the one that has to approve the electoral list proposal, we will make a decision.
– Can you advance any name of those who are going to present to the party organs?
“We are not going to hide, and in that sense, the person who is going to direct the campaign for me is Zaida González, who I have already stated that I would love for her to return to Santa Cruz. It is a decision that she has to make and give the go-ahead for the game, but she would be a great signing because she is known in the neighborhoods because of the background she has as first lieutenant mayor, and also in the area of the Local Police”.
-What idea does Carlos Tarife have for Santa Cruz?
“We have set up a campaign committee, and we are working on the electoral program, to which I have already expressed my idea. We have talked about the deficits that this city has and to which solutions must be given for the future”
-And what are those deficits?
“For me there are three clear ones. The first has to do with the coastline. It is essential that we unlock all these small investments, because they are not great works. I am referring to the Añaza platform where we have obtained 300,000 euros to finish the project with the budget of the Cabildo. It is essential that when the project is finished it is put out to tender and an agreement is made as was done for the puddles area of Valleseco. In addition, we have learned that the Port Authority wants to come up with a good project for the Dársena de los Llanos. We understand that the project may be fine, but that area has to become part of the city’s own management, even if the Port Authority does the administrative file. And finally, everything that has to do with the area of Las Teresitas. Urbanism has once again entrusted Gestur with the development of the modification of the basic adaptation of 2005 to carry out the Special Plan, and on the other hand, on the seafront of San Andrés the interior breakwater must be improved, that is, to carry out works to make it accessible and a solarium because a very important point of leisure is being generated there”.
-What other issues, beyond the coast, will you include in your electoral program?
“There are two more issues, one is housing and the other is cleaning. Regarding the first issue, we need more land in Santa Cruz, and there we are going to take hand in hand with the electoral program of the PP of the Canary Islands, and that of Tenerife, the proposal that we made from Santa Cruz to modify the Land Law so that through of projects of regional or insular interest, public housing can also be developed and not only endowments. Regarding cleanliness, another of the great concerns of the city, we have to continue implementing improvements, and with the new waste ordinance, we have a good tool to penalize those who do not comply with the ordinance”.
– Do you understand the majority perception that cleanliness is worse in Santa Cruz?
“I am not going to discuss perception. In any survey carried out in Santa Cruz, the problems continue to be housing, citizen security, unemployment and cleanliness, which are always among the first. One of the things we have done to improve this perception is the new contract for Parks and Gardens, which will somehow improve because gardens and flower beds are cleaned. The question is if that is enough, and the answer is no. We have launched a plan for washing containers that was not being carried out, the number of unloading has also increased and we want to go more weekly, the day for belongings has been changed, to give more order, and right now I insist e in that a tool such as the waste ordinance allows us to penalize those uncivil behaviors. So the formula is to take concrete actions first, and second, apply sanctions.”
-Are you going to be fined in Carnival for urinating in the street, for spitting, for throwing gum? Is the Public Services inspectorate staff going to be reinforced?
“The team of inspectors from Public Services are five, but we also have those from the Environment. Regarding sanctions, I can only say that there is no municipality in Spain that suspends ordinances for a party, so just as security or gender violence issues are addressed, if a police officer sees a man enjoying the party up a tree, a penalty is going to fall, and if he sees someone breaking street furniture, a penalty is going to fall, and that is in the ordinances, and urinating in the street, although some make it a habit, it is something that we have to get out of the center ”.
-What is your opinion of the issue of noise in Carnival and the request that the party be removed from the center and moved to the esplanade of the Port?
“Carnival is a festival of International Tourist Interest that, due to the law of classified activities, can break the rules related to noise, from there, I think that Carnival has to return to its origins, including galas and contests, in this case to the esplanade of Los Llanos. If we can get the Port to give it to us, I think that’s where the Carnival contests should be held, as they used to be, outdoors, with a great stage that is an attraction not only for tourists, but for everyone. Regarding noise, we impose sanctions on non-compliant venues. Let there be no doubt that kiosks, bars or restaurants that exceed these measurements will be sanctioned”.
-How do you assess the relationship with your government partner (CC) in these years of mandate after the motion of censure?
“I think it was necessary to recover management and normality in the city. It is true that we have had some disagreement, the best known, the ways in which the Rodin file was started, that both Guillermo Díaz Guerra and I spoke that this was going to lead us to failure, and the pity is that we were right. We would have liked not to be right, but rather that things would have been done differently, involving the cultural sector in a project that could be better or worse, but that should have been explained in a different way. With respect to the rest of the efforts, we have dedicated ourselves to managing in our areas”.
-Faced with the voices that claim to share the electorate, what differentiates the PP from CC?
“It is clear that we are facing a project, that of Bermúdez, which has been under development since 2011, except for the 14-month break, in a city where the truth is that no major changes have been made. The last major project was ten years ago and it was the Vía Litoral tunnel. So I think we need a mayor who will make the rest of the administrations really invest in this city and bring about changes that all the residents are demanding. I truly believe that the PP manages its areas better than our government partners do. And as for what we share electorate I think not. Our objective is to rebuild the center-right vote, the one that has gone to Ciudadanos, to Vox, and of course to CC but also to the PSOE. I have met PSOE voters who stop me on the street and tell me that with the socialism that exists in Santa Cruz we are not going anywhere, and that they are going to bet on an alternative like mine, fresher and more common sense ” .
-What are the red lines, if there are any, when it comes to agreeing?
“Our obligation is to seek a sufficient majority to govern. As of May, with the ballot boxes empty, it will be the voters who choose who will be the favorite option. From there we are clear that we are not going to talk with Podemos, and we have already said that neither is it with the left in Santa Cruz, because it is very difficult to talk to those who have stopped files such as the paving, the playgrounds, or with whom votes against in Parliament projects that are good for Santa Cruz ”.
-What is your opinion of the voices that say that you are going to agree with the PSOE?
“Those voices, from the CC environment, have been sending the message that we would be able to agree with the PSOE, which is false, but I have not heard Mr. Bermúdez say that he will not agree with the PSOE, as he already did in 2011, and in 2015 he would have done it but they did not give him the numbers. So I would like to hear Mr. Bermúdez say that he is not going to agree with the PSOE, not with Patricia Hernández, but with the PSOE”.
-That leaves you a narrow margin when it comes to agreeing, or with CC or with VOX if you enter the City Hall…
“I am not worried because our obligation is to rebuild the center-right vote, and in all the polls it is reflected that this reconstruction is taking place. We are the party that rises in all the polls. Our aspiration is to have a sufficient majority. But I’m not going to play distraction like CC does”
-So would you agree with Vox?
“It is not a concern, it is a scenario that I do not contemplate”
