All political forces with representation in the plenary session of La Laguna supported yesterday, with the exception of Vox, a motion that includes the 21 points approved by the plenary session in February 2021 on the migration crisis, and among which the “rejection” is reiterated of the municipality to the reception model based on macrocenters, urging the “immediate closure of the facilities in the Las Raíces and Las Canteras camps.” The motion was agreed between the local government (PSOE), Unidas se puede, Drago Verdes Canarias, CC and PP, based on one presented by these last two parties, which requested an extraordinary penalty to address this issue.
The approved text also claims “the commitment of La Laguna as an open and welcoming municipality, respectful of diversity and contrary to any manifestation of xenophobia or racism.” In addition, the State is urged “to increase the amounts” to provide “adequate and comprehensive care to the arriving migrant population, respecting their rights, providing sufficient infrastructure, services and personnel for this purpose.”
Likewise, it is rejected that the Canary Islands “become an open-air prison for migrants who wish to continue their route to the European continent, urging administrations to achieve maximum coordination in this matter and prioritize the solidarity distribution of migrants.”
A report is also requested on “the efforts carried out on the former military barracks located in La Laguna to ensure their good future use and maximum benefit for the citizens”, while showing the “solidarity” of the municipality “with the humanitarian drama represented by migratory routes that put the lives of thousands of people at risk” and Spain and the EU are requested to make progress “that allow safe and legal routes.”
In addition, the motion incorporates two new points in which the City Council expresses the commitment to “resuming the Municipal Table for the Reception of Migrants and Refugees, as a space for community work”, and to continue “projects linked to reception, diversity cultural and the fight against hoaxes”.
The Vox spokesperson, Manuel Rodríguez, argued his rejection of the motion in which it has already demonstrated its “failure” and opted, instead, “in the face of this avalanche” to look towards other countries with “successful immigration systems” such as Hungary or Australia. “While we talk about giving more resources to the mafias that promote the call effect, others are immediately returning immigrants,” he said. He also thanked the PP when “he reads that the municipality claims to be a host, it is giving us thousands of votes.”
The rest of the parties responded harshly to Vox’s intervention and defended that La Laguna “is not racist” and that it has always been a “solidarity” municipality. Specifically, the PP spokesperson, Juan Antonio Molina, responded that “whoever wants to buy that speech, I don’t need that vote at all.”
And Jonathan Domínguez (CC) stated that they asked for this plenary session “because we considered that the migration problem was an emergency issue, not only from the social point of view, but also politically, because we had to prevent a feeling of racism from reigning that did not “It exists in lagoon society and some forces may try to promote it.”
From the PSOE, Badel Albelo accused Vox of putting out “fake news” for his “hate speech” and criticized him for “talking about votes when talking about human beings.” Alberto Rodríguez (Drago Verdes) highlighted that it is “impossible to understand the Canary Islands without migrations” and stated that motions like this “serve to put democratic barriers to certain discourses.”
Also from Unidas you can, Rubens Ascanio opted for the “fight against hoaxes” and reminded Vox that the “engine of migration is not the mafias or ‘progressive’ policies, it is poverty, the plundering of their resources and the climate change”.
The mayor, Luis Yeray Gutiérrez, concluded the plenary session by expressing his “pride” for the agreement, which makes the municipality “great,” and lamented the “little solidarity” of other municipalities and communities to welcome migrants. He also pointed out that the migration situation at this time “is not the same as in 2020, since these people are in transit.”
