The rupture of the Arona government group has conditioned the second term of José Julián Mena (44 years old) at the head of the City Council. After ending the hegemony of CC in 2015 and achieving an absolute majority in 2019, although a year later it was blown up, the 28M faces a double challenge under the acronym of the PSOE: obtain a result that allows it to govern the municipality with the largest population del Sur and restore political stability to the Consistory.
-His tenure has not been normal in these last four years. When he looks back and reviews the political earthquake that has shaken the government group, what is the first thing that comes to his mind?
“It has been a turbulent period. We have had more than two years of a pandemic, which practically paralyzed public works and made us focus all our efforts on responding to a health emergency in which we deployed a social shield of more than 7 million euros for our neighbors. On the other hand, while we governed with a majority, we saw how the projects came out and since the group broke up we have seen stoppages, obstacles and a lack of commitment to the neighbors”.
-How can you govern a municipality of 100,000 inhabitants with only 7 councilors of the 25 that make up the Corporation?
“First of all, working hard and the mayor first. We have had to take on multiple areas and double the work hours. It has been shown that the opposition, with its majority of 18 councillors, the only thing it has done has been to block projects without presenting any of its own. The seven members of the municipal government have rolled up our sleeves and have demanded that the administrations, including the Government of Spain, commit to Arona”.
-Yours is a unique case of political survival: you keep half of the government group, the opposition adds a majority and your party shows you the exit door. You resort to Justice and completely turn the situation around. Did you even think about quitting, throwing in the towel?
“When one is convinced that things are done with rigor, transparency and defends what benefits all citizens, their conscience is clear, because they are doing what they have to do. Those who do not have it will think of other things. They have wanted to remove this mayor from the political scene through motions of censure that did not materialize and blocking the municipality, not the mayor, with tricks in plenary sessions. They have tried to win the mayor’s office through the back door, they have not even respected the times, which are the ones that mark the polls. They have voted ‘no’ on everything, from the most important to the most basic, from paving a street to building a senior center. I prefer to focus on the positive and, although we have taken the needs of the neighbors forward, of course I would have liked to do more”.
-Coming from the next four years, with what expectations do you face your third electoral date as a PSOE candidate?
“We have a project and we know that we have the capacity to achieve a sufficient majority and govern alone.”
– Are you afraid that the climate that has been experienced in recent years in the City Council will lead to a kind of ‘everyone against Mena’ if the absolute majority does not revalidate?
“Now, what I see is a campaign in which the PSOE is the only party that makes proposals in health, education, mobility, sanitation… Everything revolves around the proposals we make, which highlights the lack of projects of the other political formations. I have not listened to any adversary with proposals with a minimum level. We look to the future with a solid project. The team that accompanies me is the only consistent one and the first to show up. What Arona cannot afford is to reissue multi-pacts, that is, multiple government agreements and shared mayoralties. Those are the bad recipes of the past. And that should be kept in mind by people when voting.”
-Let’s talk about Arona’s priorities for the next four years. Are you satisfied with the steps that are being taken to expand and improve the services of the Hospital del Sur?
“Thanks to the insistence of my government, 40 million euros have been committed for an expansion of 47,000 square meters and to reinforce the personnel that provides services. A few months ago, the construction of a day center and residence for the elderly was signed with the Cabildo in the old facilities of El Mojón. Today more than 1,500 professionals are working at the Hospital del Sur. But, as mayor, I demand a blood bank, a complete pediatric unit, cancer treatment, dialysis and intensive care. Patients from the South should not go to the Hospital de La Candelaria so often. This hospital center has to be up to the South. I would also like to underline, in health matters, that there is already a project for the Los Cristianos health center and there is a commitment, after insisting endlessly, to build a health center in Las Galletas”.
-In the educational field, the IES Parque La Reina will finally open next year, which will replace the ‘barracones’ of Guaza. But Arona demands more schools and institutes…
“There is a problem throughout the South due to the great population growth in recent years. It is true that the shameful situation of the Guaza barracks has ended and today the Parque La Reina institute is finally a reality. But we have sued the Government of the Canary Islands for four new institutes: in Valle San Lorenzo, Los Cristianos, the town of Arona and Cho. In addition, we have proposed a Compulsory Education center in El Fraile”.
-Housing has burst into the electoral campaign, both nationally and in the Canary Islands. The South is one of the areas most affected by the lack of public housing and the pressure of tourism, which has skyrocketed prices. What position do you defend to try to solve this problem?
“It must be one of the central axes of the next term. If the neighbors trust us, we will create the Housing Management Service. We have already made a plot of land in Las Rosas available to the Government of the Canary Islands and we will continue along these lines. We want to make a very important commitment to something that, let’s not forget, is a constitutional right. The South demands a response, because the price of housing is unsustainable and we ask for solutions to the extent that our skills allow. The new law must regulate vacation rentals.
-Mobility is one of the great pending issues in the South and on the Island. What measures do you propose to facilitate movement in the region?
“Along with the tourist boom, population growth in the region has been spectacular. There is pressure on the roads, on the TF-1 and, in our case, at the entrance and exit of Los Cristianos. We propose the burying of Chayofita avenue. There are three million euros from the State for the drafting of the project and we have put the search for solutions to mobility on the agenda of the Government of the Canary Islands and of Spain. The Cabildo has also made a commitment so that the Los Cristianos Interchange, which will include buses, taxis and four parking floors, is another of the priorities”.
-In the tourism field, what projects would you highlight?
“There is an investment underway of 150 million hotel chains in the municipality for renovation projects. Work began a few months ago on the hotels of the Mare Nostrum Resort, in Playa de Las Américas, and resources have also been committed to Ten-Bel. We also have an important project, which is the Arona Arena, in Los Cristianos, to promote tourism for events and congresses and have a space for shows, and we cannot forget the two million euros contributed by the State for Los tarajales. In addition, we will create a tourism project management office”.
-In terms of sanitation, another of the historical problems of the region, what is being done in Arona?
“When we arrived, no one was talking about the sanitation network, because it had never been discussed in the municipality. Today it is a reality. We are placing a very important underground service highway, with very advanced works, to end the sewage and take advantage of the purified water”.
-The General Management Plan, for when?
“All the procedures are being fulfilled, we have carried out a public consultation and we have requested the sectoral reports. All the City Council teams are working to make the right decision-making and that the document complies with all legal guarantees”.
-The Cairn Partial Plan is still not unlocked. When will there be news?
“What we hope is that it is unlocked as soon as possible and, above all, that it is guaranteed that both the partial plan board and the City Council comply with the established roadmap. Meetings continue to be held. It seems very important to me that trust has been restored and work is being done in the right direction”.
-What expectations do you have for your party in the regional elections?
“Ángel Víctor Torres has done a commendable job at the helm of the Government. He has had to face many delicate situations, but the Canaries have come out stronger. The social character of the Socialist Party project has been seen. I predict the same result for the PSOE in the Canary Islands that we are going to have in Arona. My municipality will also contribute to maintaining that progressive majority at the island and regional level”.
-And in the Cabildo?
“Pedro Martín has to continue working with the same intensity with which he has done so far. I always tell him that in the South we must continue to claim our needs and our identity. Today, the truth is that many projects are under way and are underway”.
