SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Feb. 5 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The spokesperson for the Government of the Canary Islands, Alfonso Cabello, expressed on Monday the significance of late president Loreno Olarte’s contribution to the “integration” of the Canary Islands into the European Union and the establishment of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, which has seen over 88,000 students pass through its doors.
During a press briefing to announce the resolutions of the Government Council, he conveyed the Executive’s “sincere condolences” for the passing of Olarte, “one of the key figures in the Transition period in the Canary Islands.”
He further evaluated how Olarte succeeded in ensuring that the “specificities” of the islands were understood within the EU, especially in the case of the REF, and always “through consensus and dialogue at that time.”
Cabello reflected on the recent passing of two former presidents, Jerónimo Saavedra and Olarte himself, stating that they were “pivotal figures of the Transition era” who “played an essential role” in the construction of the archipelago, “two remarkable individuals who envisioned a better Canary Islands”.
In his view, both Lorenzo Olarte and Jerónimo Saavedra “have exemplified how, despite differences on many occasions, progress towards a better future could be achieved through hard work, consensus, and dialogue.” He also emphasised that their legacy should prompt people to “contemplate and ponder” amidst the current times of “considerable controversy and political confrontation at the national level.”
