The Socialist Party continues to be the dominant political force in the south of Tenerife, although the latest electoral results leave a bittersweet taste in this political formation as the future of strategic strongholds such as Arona and Guía de Isora, where it has lost majorities, is left up in the air. absolute values obtained in 2019.
The polls yielded three clear victories for the PSOE (Adeje, Fasnia and Vilaflor de Chasna), where they will govern without agreeing, and four simple majorities (Arona, Guía de Isora, Granadilla de Abona and Arico). The political formation led by Ángel Víctor Torres in the Canary Islands added a total of 66 councilors (seven less than in 2019) and will now try to retain, through agreements that are not easy a priori, the baton of command in Arona and Granadilla and recover it in Arico after losing it in 2017.
José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga continues to be the great totem of southern socialism and with his tenth consecutive electoral victory – except for the first, all have been by absolute majority – he will extend his mandate to 40 years. Cases like that of the adejero leader can be counted on the fingers of one hand in Spain.
If the PSOE has lost some strength in the region, even though it is by far the party with the greatest electoral support, Coalición Canaria has improved its results and, what is more important, its position to negotiate government agreements.
The nationalists have reinforced their absolute majority in San Miguel de Abona, where Arturo González has devastated, and they have a lot to say in Granadilla de Abona, where the party leadership is working piecemeal to save the Mayor’s Office, but also in Arona (an alliance three bands could place Fátima Lemes at the head of the City Council), Guía de Isora, with options for Ana Dorta to preside over the Consistory, and in Arico, the municipality in which it is positioned as the second political force. Canary Coalition has gone from 47 councilors elected in 2019 to 53 achieved on the 28M day.
For its part, the Popular Party has also slightly improved its results (from 24 councilors four years ago it has gone to 30), although the most important thing is that, like CC, the popular have the key to several town halls.
Santiago del Teide continues to be the great stronghold of the PP in the South, a place where its mayor, Emilio Navarro, also the party’s island president, has signed the biggest win in Sunday’s elections by adding 13 of the 17 councilors in contention. For the third time he will rule without the need for alliances. The popular ones have risen to second position in Arona, the municipality with the largest number of inhabitants in the southern region, where they can be key in shaping the next local executive. In Granadilla de Abona, they will decide if the balance leans towards an agreement with PSOE (most voted party) or with CC, as long as Vox abstains. And finally, in Arico, a municipality in which the socialist Olivia Delgado caressed the absolute majority until almost the end of the ballot, it can also influence governance.
In addition to the irruption of Vox in four municipalities in the South (Arona, Granadilla de Abona, Adeje and San Miguel de Abona), another of the readings left by 28M has been the high level of abstention in the three municipalities with the largest population in the region, well above 50%, something that has almost ceased to be news by checking the participation data in the latest electoral calls.
Arona once again took the cake, with an abstention rate of 61.21%, followed by Adeje (58.41%) and Granadilla de Abona (51.81%). In all three cases, abstention was only reduced by one point compared to the last elections.
