Matilde Zambudio, a lawyer and politician, currently serves as an independent councillor with the Socialist group in the Santa Cruz City Council. After being involved with Ciudadanos (Cs) and following the motion of censure against former mayor Patricia Hernández in 2020, led by the Canary Coalition (CC) and Popular Party (PP), she transitioned to the PSOE as an independent councillor. “From the outset, we had excellent synergy to collaborate effectively,” she mentions.
During this legislative period, Zambudio has raised concerns from the opposition bench regarding matters such as the appointment of her former colleague Juan Ramón Lazcano and the reinstatement of the recently dismissed former head of Civil Protection, Santiago Martín.
-How does Santa Cruz currently assess its time in office?
“The situation remains unchanged from when José Manuel Bermúdez took over. Progress is intangible as we continue with the same practices, making it impossible to advance. There is considerable focus on executing certain budget allocations like marketing and advertising, yet the essential ones remain unattended. This will become evident in the year-end balance and the discussions regarding new budgets, which will likely mirror previous ones. Significant accessibility elements or crucial areas remain unaddressed. Although there are ongoing improvements in downtown Santa Cruz, there is no coherent strategy. We still rely on the 1992 General Plan, which illustrates a glaring incapacity to govern the city, leaving us perpetually stranded with underdeveloped neighbourhoods. If Bermúdez remains in charge, we can expect to see the same deficiencies over the next four years.”
-What does the city lack, and who do you hold responsible?
“There is a clear deficiency in accessibility, cleanliness, and cultural initiatives aren’t functioning effectively. Additionally, we lack a General Planning Plan, among numerous other issues. All these factors contribute to stalling the municipality’s economy. Our mayor appears exhausted; it seems Bermúdez no longer even aims to manage the mayor’s office effectively, which is evident in his actions. His fatigue and disinterest in the City Council are apparent, ultimately impacting what he fails to accomplish for Santa Cruz. It saddens me since we possess a city with immense potential that deserves better attention.”
-During your tenure with the PSOE in Santa Cruz, you initiated projects that the current governing team is now revisiting. What is your assessment of this?
“I view it positively as the playgrounds and sports field renovations were initiated by Patricia Hernández and have been reinstated. While she was mayor, she placed considerable emphasis on upgrading public facilities that had suffered from years of neglect and inadequate maintenance, including historical heritage. Although our time in office was brief, we accomplished significant and impactful projects for the city. Patricia Hernández’s tenure shone more brightly compared to the 15 years that Mr. Bermúdez has spent complacently.”
-Do you regard yourself as a robust opposition?
“More work is being undertaken than is apparent to the citizens. In plenary sessions, we often find ourselves essentially alone, as previously we had three spokespersons who operated almost uniformly. However, in this term, we are the sole opposition since Vox largely aligns with the PP and CC. This is evident as we have demonstrated our opposition and oversight capability by raising concerns such as the appointment of Juan Ramón Lazcano, or the actions concerning the former head of Civil Protection, Santiago Martín, who is now detained and facing provisional imprisonment.”
-You expressed concerns about Lazcano’s appointment as the new general director of Urban Transformation. Could this be perceived as a vendetta?
“It is not a vendetta. The situation with Lazcano was quite serious because the CC exploited August to appoint him without eliciting much attention, which was not the case for our municipal group. His appointment appears to be little more than a reward following the motion of censure, given that he previously did not support Bermúdez and is now granted a position. It is widely understood that his departure from Ciudadanos facilitated the motion, and the appointment serves as a form of recognition. This designation has also been contested as there were stronger candidates for the role than Lazcano, yet bizarre justifications, such as age, were used to support his selection—requirements which were not included in the official specifications. From my perspective, it is clear that Rome does not compensate traitors.”
-Has a similar situation arisen with the now detained former head of Civil Protection?
“During our administration, there were whispers regarding Santiago Martín’s conduct, prompting us to take action. In September 2019, despite the absence of confirmed facts, we made the decision to relieve him from duty, a choice I remember vividly due to the significant backlash we faced from CC members demanding explanations, often claiming the dismissal was a PSOE political decision, which was rather severe. We believed that our decision was warranted, yet we had to proceed with caution. In plenary sessions, the Security Councillor, Gladis de León, cited the reasons for his appointment, but as it was a position that did not require formal appointment, there was no obligation to provide justification for his termination. In fact, Mr. Bermúdez is undoubtedly aware of this, as upon taking office, he dismissed up to five positions, including that of the lawyer who recovered the €95 million alongside the former mayor.”
-The PSOE commissioned a report on these events, yet during the last CC plenary session, they claimed ignorance of it. What is the status of this document?
“Following Mr. Martín’s dismissal in 2019, we requested a report dubbed the Work Climate within the service, delivered in January 2020, containing two parts, which are, of course, accessible at the City Council. Thus, the assertions made by Gladis de León that they possessed only one report are incorrect. The reality is they are disinterested because if they do know about it, that’s unfortunate. And if they do not have it, then that is their fault as it is their responsibility to be informed regarding the happenings in each department. It cannot be the case that everyone is aware, with signed reports in existence, while they deny knowledge. There exists a report concerning incidents in the Civil Protection group, conducted by the Preving group, detailing incidents reported by the former head of the service. The City Council possesses this document; I reiterate. It dates back to January 27, 2020, and includes testimonies concerning inappropriate touching of certain volunteers and other severe allegations. For this reason, I was incredulous during the last plenary session when the area councillor blamed PSOE. We took action and dismissed him, but Bermúdez, even before the provisional dismissal order issued in May 2021, reinstated him in a position that was not filled through opposition, but rather via direct appointment. The issue now is that Martín has been arrested and is in provisional custody, facing accusations of human trafficking for servitude, facilitating irregular immigration, and multiple counts of sexual assault and harassment. No one…
They respond to this, denying the major and the mea culpa is not acknowledged. The truth is that we dismissed him, and he has been reappointed, remaining on the City Council until 2024 despite a report that includes another report of incidents arising from that assignment. They cannot refute this, because by approaching the company that produced it, one can easily ascertain who it was delivered to. With this report available, the fact that the appointment occurred already warrants resignation and even the demand for accountability.
-But the City Council has already dismissed Santiago Martín…
“His dismissal has been interim, not permanent, despite him being under preventive scrutiny. I am uncertain what further information they require to make the necessary decisions. The events transpired as they did, although in the last plenary session, CC attempted to misrepresent it. If the PSOE acted in this manner previously, it was due to a lack of conviction at that time, which is why we cancelled it following the correct procedures and the technicians’ advice. The issue is that when CC reinstated him, they assumed that individuals within Civil Protection had to coexist with the alleged aggressor, which was both unnecessary and unjustified, all whilst I still recall the tweets from Councillor José Alberto Díaz Estébanez and Mr. Bermúdez discussing the great professionalism, integrity, and morality of Santiago Martín.”
-Why do you believe Santiago Martín was reinstated, then?
“I simply cannot grasp their reasoning for reappointing him when the accusations are so serious. They will need to clarify this, but the facts are straightforward. We were the ones who dismissed him, and they (CC) are the ones who reinstated him. That is undisputed. The reports exist, as does the file that contains very serious allegations, and after gathering testimony, the service area and Citizen Security were prompted to take any necessary actions to report the matters. Ultimately, irrespective of whether the offer of shares was presented or not to appear, which they should have responded to with that report, they chose to turn a blind eye.”
-What actions will the PSOE undertake regarding this issue?
“What has occurred must be clarified and explanations provided. It is unacceptable for the Security Councillor to claim that she does not possess the reports, as that does not constitute a valid excuse. Gladis de León is the current councillor for this area, although it is accurate that Evelyn Alonso did not take up the position in the year that Santiago Martín was reappointed as head of Civil Protection. However, neither of them can claim ignorance, as they seem to imply, while the municipal Socialist group was fully aware. Let everyone make their own conclusions from this. The overarching problem we face in Spain is mirrored in the City Council. Responsibility is seldom accepted, and on top of that, it is suggested that the opposite is true. As I reiterated earlier, it’s quite simple: there are those who dismiss him and those who reappoint him.”
-What does the future hold for Santa Cruz?
“It appears to be one of immobility, which we have unfortunately become accustomed to. There is a lack of inspiring projects on the horizon. They have performed a little bit of resurfacing, made some minor repairs, and created a bike lane, which, I might add, has not pleased users nor residents and business owners in the central area. Although parking spots were part of the 1992 planning, the reality is that we are now in 2024 and not a single space has been established in the centre amidst the parking difficulties. However, it is important to recognise that in this city, plans should start from the top down. Instead of initially creating parking spots and then subsequently removing them from the street to develop the bike lane, everything seems to be done in reverse. They ought to have begun by completing the planned bike lanes on the Rambla or along the coast, yet they chose to start painting lines in the middle of Santa Cruz, taking away parking spaces and inconveniencing the residents, similar to what they have done on La Rosa street. Additionally, this is another initiative originally undertaken by us, which illustrates that this administration has never possessed ideas for the city, but merely infographics that are never brought to fruition.”
-Do you envision yourself leading the Mayor’s Office once more?
“Yes, as Patricia Hernández is executing commendable work, and partly as a result, we secured victory in the 2023 elections in Santa Cruz. This is a fact, and now we will continue working for and by the residents until the elections approach. We will see how things unfold, but I would be thrilled to collaborate with her.”
