More than 500 people from Tenerife, exactly 548, have joined the manifesto titled with democracy “Given the possibility of a democratic setback in Spain”.
Among the signatories there are from businessmen, doctors and engineers to artists, writers, housewives, lawyers, teachers, sailors, employees of different industries and services or retirees. “This is a great diversity of people who wish to express their firm commitment to democracy,” according to the promoters of the manifesto.
Among all these people, several Canary Islands Prize winners stand out, such as Cecilia Domínguez Luis, Elsa López, Julio Delgado and Manuel Medina, as well as former rectors of the University of La Laguna (Ángel Gutiérrez, Antonio Martinón), scientists such as Juan Carlos Carracedo, a wide group of university professors, such as Margarita Ramos, María del Carmen del Arco; former politicians, such as Isidoro Sánchez or Fidela Velázquez; doctors (Antonio Cabrera, David Castro, Guillermo de la Barreda, Luis Ortigosa), teachers (Luis Balbuena) and “many other people who have wanted to exercise their right to express their concern and opinion.”
Below, we reproduce in full the text that has been seconded by more than half a thousand people from Tenerife in defense of democracy:
“The Spanish women and the Spanish [firmantes del documento]Concerned about the situation in our country, we appeal to the public so that on July 23 they cast a vote in favor of the political formations firmly committed to democracy, which is represented among us by the 1978 Constitution.
Democracy not only supposes the election of governments through the popular vote, but it also assures everyone the freedoms and rights that we have seen progress in our country in recent times.
We have observed that certain regional and local institutions, as a consequence of the last elections, have adopted some measures that represent a clear setback in democratic Spain, that move us away from a future of progress and bring us closer to a dark past that we had considered finished .
For this reason, we reiterate the request to our compatriots to vote on July 23 for political options clearly committed to democratic Spain.”
