Producers from the Valle San Lorenzo Farmers’ Market will vacate their stalls so that the Arona City Council, if it wishes, can close the facility. This is the beginning of the statement with which the collective informed the Arona municipal government that they will not pay “about a thousand Euros each weekly fee corresponding to everything we have paid this year”. They pointed fingers at the Primary Sector Councilor, Dácil León, because “she is putting us on the street after deceiving us”.
They claim that the councilor told them “a few months ago” that “fees would not be applied to help the primary sector and producers.” However, “now they want to charge us retroactively, which is a lack of respect and a mockery to the market producers who are letting it die,” they specify in a statement.
A situation that contradicts the attitude of the previous municipal government, which “allowed us not to pay those amounts due to the consequences that the covid-19 had on our economy.”
The farmers claim that the current government “has not taken any measures to improve the market and enhance it for months, after having blocked and sabotaged it to make the fish market disappear.” They also accuse them of “eliminating the transportation that brought tourists and coastal residents and even removing the water for customers to have something to drink.”
In their criticism, this group accuses the PP, CC, and Más por Arona parties of “far from protecting the majority of farmers and being sensitive to the working class, this City Council is killing what little is left of the primary sector in Arona, which is losing its identity completely due to the lack of interest from its politicians, like Mrs. León and Lemes.”
Councillor Dácil León calls for “everyone to row together, regardless of party interests and affiliations”
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Councillor Dácil León makes it clear that the municipal government “has no intention of closing or ceasing to support the Farmers’ Market” and argues that “we are doing everything possible to revive this resource, to support its producers and the primary sector they represent, and to highlight their work by encouraging the population to consume their products.”
Regarding the exemption from paying the municipal fee to these farmers, she maintains that “last Friday” she informed them that the Plenary will rule on this in the next session at the proposal of the local government, which has been processing it “for months with the intention of maintaining the bonus that was applied during the pandemic, always within legal boundaries”.
Revitalizing the Arona Farmers’ Market, located in Valle San Lorenzo, and the primary sector is an important goal that we should all work towards, regardless of party interests, which unfortunately seems to underlie the criticism and discredit campaigns that have been launched against this resource for months.
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Dácil León appeals “for understanding and responsibility from the producers and political parties. She appreciates constructive criticism, but “taking any excuse to attack this resource only serves to harm the image of the market that we are trying to promote.” The councilor thanks “constructive criticism, collaboration, and support in this regard, something that I hope is unanimous for all the good things it brings to Arona.”
