The Council, with a budget of four million, criticises the “discretionary allocation” of 320,000 euros to the municipalities.
Valverde (El Hierro), 10 (Europa Press)
The president of the El Hierro Cabildo, Alpidio Armas, has voiced his concerns on Monday, at a press briefing, regarding the lack of financial backing from the Canary Islands government for the ‘Descent of the Virgen de los Reyes’ scheduled for next month in July.
Alpidio Armas described the regional executive as “politically indifferent” towards the institution that represents the islanders and accused Fernando Clavijo of “following the directives” of those in the Independent Herreña group within the government.
Armas contends that “politics should not interfere” with ‘the descent’ and the interests of the Herreños, reminding that this will be the first occasion in which the Cabildo de El Hierro, which has organised more than 80% of this four-decade tradition, will not receive budgetary support from the Autonomous Community, especially when the event has not occurred for eight years, and “the Herreños deserve a magnificent descent.”
Consequently, he announced that an extraordinary loan will be sought from banks if necessary.
The Executive has limited its financial assistance to individual City Councils, ignoring the Insular Institution, which has requested 500,000 euros since last August and has prepared a budget exceeding four million euros to address the responsibilities assigned by the Organising Committee of the descent to the Cabildo de El Hierro. This includes the Security and Emergency Plan, the refurbishment and preparation of parking areas in La Dehesa, Cruz de los Reyes, the Mareta, and other locations along the route, as well as the establishment of exceptional infrastructure and telecommunications services.
The Cabildo is also tasked with logistics, health resources, the provision of extraordinary electricity and water supply services; the enhancement of waste collection and treatment services; and improvements to the island’s road network. Further responsibilities include the Promotion and Communication Plan for ‘La Descenso’ abroad, setting up an island descent information office, support for dance groups, and a wide range of cultural and social events (valued at over 1.6 million euros), among others.
The President of El Hierro believes that this lack of financial assistance for the council regarding the LXXI Descent of the Virgin is motivated solely by political interests: “Throughout this legislative term, we have witnessed the disregard by the Canary Islands Government towards this institution, which represents the interests of all Herreños. The provisions of the Canary Islands Autonomy Statute itself assign island institutions the representation of the Government of the Canary Islands.”
Continuing, he stated, “it appears that many of these positions either do not know or are uninterested in the knowledge that the island councils assume ordinary representation of the Government and the Autonomous Administration on the island, performing the autonomic administrative functions outlined in this statute of autonomy and applicable laws, as well as those transferred or delegated.”
“Marginalisation and Oppression”
In this context, “and reflecting the same marginalisation and oppression” that the Cabildo is experiencing, he remarked that the responses to any requests or proposals “are either non-existent or met with silence, as administrative silence has become the norm, and we have become accustomed to that.”
Similarly, he emphasised, “we observe our projects experiencing delays in the regional offices, with a total blockade on any initiative originating from this council.”
In this vein, Armas mentioned that “two years of the legislature will be completed, and this has been the consistent pattern, which was already indicated by the island group that is part of the coalition that allows the government of the Canary Islands to function, when they asserted that we would suffer; it appears this was the motto before, during, and now,” referring to moments surrounding the motion of censure that led him to the presidency.
“All of this is most evident with the marginalisation and exclusion from any regional public funding to cover the substantial organisational expenses for the upcoming descent of the Virgen de los Reyes, despite having been requested in advance last year, as has been the custom in prior editions,” he explained.
The president condemned the “discretionary allocation made with the eye of a good cubero” from the government, “with the primary aim of excluding the Cabildo and distributing funds to the City of Valverde, with 210,000 euros, 60,000 for La Frontera, and 50,000 for El Pinar.”
