The mayor, Fatima Lemes (PP), has taken on the responsibilities previously held by the four councillors from Más por Arona whom she dismissed this Wednesday, which include Urban Planning and Tourism. She will oversee these areas until she is able to announce a new agreement and team that will ensure governance for the remaining two years of her term. In addition to these critical sectors, Lemes will also be in charge of Economic Promotion, Primary Sector, Employment, Equality, Public Works, and Housing.
These responsibilities were formerly managed by the quartet of Más por Arona councillors who were removed due to a “loss of confidence”: Dácil León, Luis García, Juan Sebastián Roque, and Pura Martín. Lemes hopes that this exceptional circumstance will be of short duration. Her aim is to reveal the new agreement and governance team as promptly as possible, ideally by the following week.
The exit of these four politicians, who had previously parted ways with the PSOE and created a new party – Más por Arona – which made its debut in the May 2023 elections, compels Fátima Lemes to reevaluate the power structures within the City Council. An arrangement has been reached for two Vox councillors to join the municipal administration, while the five members of CC will continue to serve; this party made it clear in a statement on Wednesday that it was not involved in the decision to terminate the agreement with Más por Arona, which was stated to be solely made by Lemes.
The popular councillor would lack the support of a single councillor needed to secure the majority required to implement her policies aimed at revitalising Arona. To achieve this, she either has the option of bringing in the sole mayor from Nueva Canarias, Nauzet Fariña, into the government team or securing external support. Notably, the eight councillors from the PSOE are excluded from this dynamic, as they were the leading party in the May 2023 municipal elections and have now positioned themselves as the primary opposition due to ongoing disagreements with the five members of the PP.
While waiting for the reorganisation announcement, the dissolution of the pact with Más por Arona has only taken the four dismissed councillors by surprise. Dácil León, who was the deputy to Lemes until her dismissal on Wednesday, stated this Thursday in comments to Canarian Television that she “does not comprehend” the mayor’s choice. «Neither can we understand it in Más por Arona, nor does anyone else seem to get it. Even the Canarian Coalition has expressed to us its concerns over this decision, which they have emphasised was made unilaterally by Lemes,” explained the individual responsible for Economic Promotion and Tourism. This morning, the party led by those politicians who split from the Aronero PSOE will conduct a press conference to clarify their stance following the expulsion of their councillors.
This action, however, has been brewing for at least two months due to the clear internal tensions between the PP and Más por Arona within the municipal government. Lemes felt let down by the Más por Arona councillors’ approach to decision-making without her consultation, alongside disagreements regarding her management of the assigned responsibilities.
