During last Friday’s press conference at which the motion of censure was presented, and in statements by various party leaders, there was mention of a local CC committee in Puerto de la Cruz that does not actually exist. Since December 2023, when the local secretary of the formation in the tourist city, Sandra Rodríguez, was disqualified due to a sentence against her for prevarication later annulled (last June) by the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands, The nationalists of Porto have a management team which, in principle, limits their scope of action. Nevertheless, Alonso Acevedo, the current president, spokesman in the city council and signatory of the censure against the socialist mayor Marco González assures Canary Islands Now that the decision to change the government in alliance with the PP and ACP has been made correctly. He announces an assembly of members during this week to ratify the motion, presented last Thursday together with the other two formations.
According to Alonso, although he cannot specify the exact date, “we already held an assembly about a month ago in which there were between 35 and 40 people who supported this step.” Despite this, he stresses that they will consult the membership again this week and, in any case, he does not fear that any member will file an appeal in court that could annul the participation of the two CC councillors in this historic political change in the main city in the north of Tenerife, even after the censure scheduled for next Friday, August 16.
Acevedo emphasizes that, although they have a management committee and have met the deadline established by the CC statutes of six months to elect a new local secretary, the censure has all the necessary backing by having the “support of the island and regional executives”. Hence, he does not fear any subsequent annulment by the courts.
In contrast, nationalist members argue that the last local assembly of CC, at least an “official” one, took place on May 15 at the Marquesa hotel, with prior notice given three days before (May 12). According to the agenda of the ordinary call for this meeting, various reports were presented, additions and departures in the party were detailed, the European elections campaign was addressed, and a question and answer session was held. They claim that there were 31 attendees and the topic of a possible censure was not discussed at any point. They state that if there was an assembly afterward, it was not officially convened.
The party itself mentioned this assembly of May 15 on its social networks, highlighting the hard work done by its members over the past three months to make CC more transparent and inclusive in the city. They also talked about the work done by the two councilors, Alonso Acevedo and Diego Moreno, without specifically mentioning the censure motion, prioritizing social welfare, citizen rights, and transparency.
As per the local regulations of CC, Acevedo states that the necessary steps for a programmatic agreement and formation of governments were undertaken about a month ago. These will be addressed again in a new assembly of militants this week, even though the censure motion has already been signed and presented.
Acevedo’s socialist past
No appeals are expected from members. Acevedo asserts that all the members he has spoken to unequivocally support the decision. He mentions his past affiliation with the Socialist Party in support of his nephew, former councillor Jonay Rodríguez, during Lola Padrón’s leadership of the PSOE in El Puerto. He clarifies that he was never a historical socialist, and many current or past councillors have changed parties. He believes the decision to censure the current mayor is crucial for the city, despite acknowledging the challenges it may pose.
According to sources, Yonathan Fumero and Pedro González for the PP were heavily involved in the censure negotiations, along with David Hernández of the ACP.
