Fátima Lemes and the vice president of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Lope Afonso, at Las Vistas Beach this week. / The Province
Despite the fact that the upheaval had been in preparation somewhat discreetly for a few weeks, it only erupted yesterday: the mayor of Arona, Fátima Lemes, opted to exclude the councillors of Más por Arona from the municipal administration and establish a new, peculiar, and ill-advised majority with Vox – which will manage several departments – and Nueva Canarias – whose sole councillor will support the mayor’s team from the periphery. To clarify swiftly about NC: their councillor was not particularly hesitant to engage in the new agreement, but the party leadership cautioned him that such participation would not be accepted. It is said that Mrs. Lemes was quite pleased with her actions yesterday, further reflecting her lack of political astuteness. She leaves Guatemala to journey, smiling and beaming, to Guatepeor.
Más por Arona serves as a political platform for those affected by Menism. The socialist José Julián Mena, who secured a commanding absolute majority in 2019, was responsible for dismantling it halfway through his term. The PSOE was unable to counter it. Firmly established in the mayoral office, Mena proved intransigent even against Santos Cerdán, who visited Tenerife in light of the evident inefficacy of Pedro Martín and Ángel Víctor Torres to amend the situation: a tangled web of commercial interests, bitter animosity among councillors, corrupt advisors, manipulative officials, and egotistical delusions that would have horrified Mario Puzo. Unlikely as it might seem, Mena neither desired nor could he be ousted from the PSOE, and it was the dissidents who found themselves disregarded by the party. In preparation for the 2023 local elections, they launched Más por Arona at full speed, culminating in the disintegration of the PSOE and the loss of nearly half of its membership within the municipality. With Dácil León as their candidate for Mayor, Más por Arona achieved, rather miraculously, the financial backing of contributors as uncredited as they were generous for their electoral campaign, securing four councillors and a noteworthy share of influence. León would be in charge of, among other responsibilities, Tourism and Economic Promotion, along with a seasoned figure in Aron’s political landscape and a profound knowledge of the municipal workings, Luis García, who would oversee Urban Planning and Territorial Planning.
This serves as a primary, albeit not the sole, reason for the fracture of the governmental agreement. In truth, it encapsulates the central cause of all the crises, instabilities, internal disputes, recurrent schemes, fatal divisions, and relentless rumours surrounding the urban governance in one of the prominent tourist municipalities of Tenerife and the Canary Islands. The mayor holds the belief that strategic decisions regarding this issue should solely rest with her. The Urban Planning Councillor is intensely protective of his autonomy, especially after the tribulations he encountered with Mena and his associates. Each party possesses their analyses, perspectives, situations, and friendships that dictate their decisions – some favouring chicken while others opt for rabbit, an assortment of different ideologies. It is quite probable that the mayor may choose to retain Urban Planning for herself. However, concerning Vox and the integration of the far-right into the municipal administration. This unwisely fragments the right-wing dynamic in Tenerife, with Vox’s rise primarily detrimental to the Popular Party. Normalising Vox as a legitimate political entity should deter Canarian Coalition and NC from succumbing to temptation. From a political standpoint, it is a disadvantage in the medium to long term for either centre-right or centre-left nationalism to collaborate with an extreme right that seeks to obliterate them. Some political analysts assert that the agreement between Lemes and the two Vox councillors contains an undisclosed clause: Naim Valerio Yánez and Melania Desiré Santos must disassociate from Vox within a fortnight. It remains to be observed what signs of return may emerge.
Subscribe to continue reading
