Santa Cruz de Tenerife 11 Mar. (Europa Press) –
The spokesperson for the Vox parliamentary group in the Canary Islands Parliament, Nicasio Galván, has highlighted this Friday that the Canary Islands “lack the most vital emergency” among all those proclaimed, which is common sense. In this regard, he called on the regional president, Fernando Clavijo, to address “without hesitation and thoroughly” the “abolition” of inheritance and donation taxes.
During his address in the debate on the state of the Canary Islands’ nationality, held in Parliament, Galván criticized that the “narrative” presented by Clavijo on Tuesday demonstrates, in truth, that “he does not engage with reality,” with an optimism suggesting that the Canary Islands are “slightly better off.”
He asserted that throughout Vox’s history, the party “has not wavered” in its values and convictions. He reinforced his “foundations” with “terms and phrases” such as individual liberty, free market, private property, the defence of life, national unity, family, as well as equality before the law.
Within that context, he appealed to “common sense”, the most crucial of the “emergencies” yet to be declared in the Canary Islands, following the “housing, climate, migration, and water” crises, and questioned the whereabouts of the electoral promise to reduce the IGIC for the Canary Islands’ business activities.
“The 2025 Budget Law serves as a glaring illustration of what should not be done for a region like the Canary Islands to prosper. A region facing economic stagnation, where 3 out of 10 residents are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, including nearly half of our minors,” Galván stated in the Canarian Parliament, emphasising the bureaucratic and regulatory “roadblocks” that “impede” economic activities.
Therefore, he elaborated on how the Canary Islands have become a region with an “excessive unemployment” rate, consistently ranking “at the bottom” in educational achievement reports, and where “emancipation” remains a distant dream for the youth.
“The Canary Islands are still trailing behind in nearly all measurable economic and social indicators, and we are falling further from national and European averages. The economic stagnation affecting the Canary Islands, Mr President, is distancing us irreparably from the national and European per capita income averages,” the Vox spokesperson added in Parliament.
He emphasised that the Canary Islands are “at the very bottom” of national productivity and an “outrageous” gap exists when compared with other European regions.
Criticism of Tax Policy and Defence of Rare Earths
In his address, Nicasio Galván advocated for “the alternative approach” endorsed by Vox thus far, which would lead to a “prosperous” Canary Islands, where “life projects are honoured, creating an environment free from indoctrination, and with a tax system that stimulates entrepreneurship, upholding individual liberty, private property, and equality before the law.”
Galván specifically criticised the current operation of the Canary Islands Economic and Fiscal Regime (REF). “The Canary Islands are stagnant, and the foreign investment we attract amounts to less than 1% of Spain’s total, despite having the most favourable taxation in the nation.”
“The REF must be improved to be adaptive and flexible in response to the varying demands of a global and dynamic economy,” he asserted.
He also urged Clavijo to reduce the IGIC and eliminate the AEM tariff, which he described as an “unjust and immoral” tax that, according to Nicasio Galván, favours “a select few while burdening the shopping baskets of all Canarians.”
Subsequently, he encouraged the Regional Executive to implement a policy to cut “non-essential” expenditures, reducing the budget associated with “that globalist agenda” of “climate fanaticism”, among other issues, to enhance the effectiveness of public resource utilisation.
Concurrently, Galván supported the exploration and research into the existence of rare earths in Fuerteventura. “There is an EU mandate to explore and investigate the presence of rare earths within its borders to reduce dependence on China. The public universities in the Canary Islands have already completed their task and identified areas for investigation.”
“Now it is the responsibility of private initiative and public administrations,” he continued.
He argued that “the mere exploration” would position the Canary Islands at the forefront of this research in Europe and would enable the establishment of a rare earth institute. “This institute, Mr President, could serve as a foundation for attracting investment, diversifying our economy, and enhancing productivity, given that these positions require high qualifications and provide significant added value.”
Galván continued with his remarks, addressing another pressing issue: the energy crisis and energy limitations, stating that these problems cannot be solved solely with solar and wind energy; instead, the solution requires an “energy mix” supplemented by other dense and stable energy sources such as geothermal, hydroelectric, gas, or nuclear power.
“The 2030 Agenda, the Green New Deal, and the declarations from the Davos Forum have affirmed these positions. However, that will amount to nothing if we don’t take effective action,” he implied.
Regarding health matters, he stressed the importance of listening to health professionals, as this involves “managing and seeking efficiency in every euro spent,” and advocated, among other things, for the implementation of home hospitalisation as “a top priority” to enhance the services provided.
He argued that this treatment method allows the patient to feel “significantly better”, to be “much more comfortable,” and it also results in cost savings: “Let us remember, one day in a hospital bed costs between 600 and 700 euros, while home hospitalisation costs less than 200 euros,” he maintained.
Moreover, concerning waiting lists, he recalled that in “eight years, 23,356 people” awaiting these services have died in the Canary Islands, while “2,489 individuals died in 2024 alone.” Thus, he condemned the management of these lists as “the worst in Spain,” attributable to a policy based on “subsidies and welfare benefits.”
The Vox spokesperson also addressed what he deemed as the “sole solution” to the issue of illegal immigration: “to eliminate so-called effect policies.” He pointed out to Clavijo that the initiative regarding the distribution of unaccompanied foreign minors is yet another “effect policy” measure.
