SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 18 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Sebastián Franquis, the spokesperson for the Socialist Parliamentary Group, delivered a scathing critique of Fernando Clavijo’s first year leading the Canary Islands Government for a second term, highlighting major shortcomings under the Canarian Coalition Government (CC) and the Popular Party (PP).
“The Canary Islands have regressed over the past year, facing setbacks, budget cuts, deception, non-compliance, and growing inequality,” he expressed during a press conference.
Franquis, alongside Nira Fierro, the president of the Socialist Group, emphasised the social disparities and the unviable economic model driven by the CC-PP Government, pointing out that they are failing to meet the region’s needs and expectations of the citizens they represent.
The spokesperson criticised the increasing wealth gap between the rich and poor in the Canary Islands, stating that “despite economic advancements, job creation, and growth in Social Security beneficiaries, the reality remains that the impoverished are getting poorer while the affluent get richer. This indicates a failing system where economic prosperity fails to alleviate poverty and inequality.”
Franquis highlighted that poverty and inequality indicators in the Canary Islands surpass the Spanish average, even during periods of economic growth.
He further highlighted statistics such as the region’s exceptionally high cost of living and the fact that 33.8% of the Canarian population is at risk of poverty or social exclusion.
“These figures should serve as a wake-up call for the government to rethink its approach, moving away from complacency and towards addressing the real needs of the citizens. The Canary Islands require a government that prioritises the people over economic interests,” he warned.
Unsustainable and Development-Driven Model
Franquis also pointed out the second major flaw – the unsustainable development model advocated by the current Government, which has disrupted the tourism sector by adhering to a flawed growth strategy focused solely on increasing accommodations and visitor numbers. This approach has led to social unrest due to soaring property prices, inflation, stagnant wage growth, and other issues affecting the population,” he outlined.
He argued that the Canary Islands cannot afford to disregard the mounting pressures on energy infrastructure, traffic congestion, water scarcity, waste management, and inadequate environmental conservation that could jeopardise the region’s primary economic sector.
“Instead of acknowledging and addressing these challenges, the Government appears intent on censoring dissenting voices and steering the narrative away from the environmental, social, and economic sustainability issues plaguing the region. These crucial concerns are being sidelined,” he continued.
He criticised the government’s response to these challenges as being characterised by “empty promises, confusion, contradictions, shirking responsibilities, and relying on intergovernmental meetings without producing tangible agreements or actions beyond the formation of political discussion groups.”
Based on data illustrating social inequality and the unsustainable economic model, Franquis concluded that under the CC-PP Government, the Canarian economy is shifting away from being socially conscious towards operating solely as a market economy.
Deceptive Election Promises: IGIC Reduction and Excessive Spending
The Socialist spokesperson went on to denounce the third failure of the Government – the deception of voters by promising to reduce the general IGIC rate from 7% to 5%, resulting in an unjust, regressive tax policy that favoured the wealthy demographic.
He also criticised the Government’s decision to grant a tax amnesty to the affluent residents of the archipelago through decree, benefitting only 6,000 individuals through modifications to inheritance and gift taxes.
He highlighted the discrepancy between the electoral promise of forming a frugal administration and the reality of establishing the most expensive government in the history of the Canary Islands, marked by an increase in ministries, vice ministries, directors-general, and advisors resulting in a 30% surge in expenses.
The decline in essential services, including healthcare, social welfare, and education, was listed as a fourth failure, a recurring issue under CC-PP governance.
Franquis lamented the prolonged waiting times for medical treatment, diagnoses, and surgeries, with over 148,000 patients currently on outpatient waiting lists, and 54% of Canarians expressing dissatisfaction with the deteriorating healthcare system.
Nearly 16,000 Individuals on Dependency Waitlists
Addressing the status of social services, Franquis highlighted the lengthy waiting lists for the 15,802 dependent individuals in the Canary Islands, witnessing a rise of 2,800 claimants in the past year and social assistance recipients enduring almost 16 months of waiting before receiving aid.
Additionally, setbacks were observed in the education sector regarding the objective of attaining 5% GDP investment and the preference for private early childhood education over public institutions for children aged 0 to 3, which leaned towards privatisation, coupled with uncertainties surrounding Vocational Training due to a 63% budget reduction and the elimination of professional families.
Franquis also criticised the Government’s significant non-compliance with legislations approved by the Canary Islands Parliament, particularly affecting critical sectors such as education, culture, social welfare, and universities, without any tangible actions taken to rectify the situation.
He further commented on cutbacks in housing policies favouring property developers, reduced support for elderly care, hindered employment promotion, limited backing for research, primary sector constraints, and the Government’s insensitivity towards environmental issues manifested through amendments to the Climate Change Law.
He concluded that the region is transitioning from raising awareness to profit-oriented initiatives, shifting focus from awareness-building to economic gain.
To counter these challenges, he stressed the necessity for an alternative to the conservative approach in the region and affirmed the PSOE’s commitment to constructing a more fair, equal, balanced, and sustainable Canary Islands.
“This is the vision that we, as socialists, hold for the Canary Islands, and we will continue our efforts towards realising this vision,” he concluded.
