The parties More Canary IslandsRecortes Cero Canarias and Movimiento del Pueblo have sealed an alliance to improve the quality of citizen life in the south of Tenerifecalled Base Housing, considered “the biggest problem in the region today,” they point out in the document signed and which will be presented to different national, regional and island administrations.
Currently, a working person spends 75% or more of their salary just to be able to afford rent. The social abyss does not stop growing, because, “while the vast majority of us are being squeezed by inflation, the rise in mortgages and housing rents, what is being promoted are macro urban projects aimed at squeezing the most money out of tourists”, indicate the spokespersons. “From this movement we demand that the city councils, councils, Government of the Canary Islands and the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda coordinate to meet the demands of the residents of the Canary Islands,” the three parties state in the document. The issues they affect are:
- Reclassification of land to promote a public housing stock, with prices that adjust to the needs and capabilities of workers.
- An eco-tax, which serves to regularize and control the excessive tourism rate that the islands and some municipalities in particular are experiencing.
- Establish a census of unoccupied homes (homes belonging to vulture funds) and take measures to put them at the service of the population, with affordable rents; recovering municipal homes handed over to investment funds or those belonging to banks rescued with public money, acquiring those belonging to Sareb at a low price.
- Regulation of the maximum number of Vacation Homes allowed in each building and maximum number of said homes in each neighborhood.
- Requirement of city councils, councils, Autonomous Government and the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda to study other measures-mechanisms, which serve to make a 180º turn in this situation that the municipalities of the islands are experiencing.
“If tourism did not improve the lives of the Canarians, why would we want tourism,” says Juan Luis Hernández, representative of the People’s Movement (MDP).
