Twelve councillors from the Güímar Town Council (one more than the number needed for an absolute majority) have registered a motion of no confidence against the mayor, Gustavo Pérez (Coalición Canaria), who governs in a pact with the PSOE and Unidas Se Puede.
The motion is led by Carmen Luisa Castro Dorta from the PP, a candidate proposed as the new mayor, a position she previously held during the periods 2013-2015 and 2015-2019, as reported by the Popular Party in Güímar.
The document has the signatures of the nine councillors from the PP (in addition to Castro, María del Socorro González Reyes, Francisco Javier Hernández Armas, David Román Escobar, Francisco Javier del Rosario Delgado, Pedro Daniel Pérez Rodríguez, Raquel Belén Díaz Castro, María del Carmen Jorge Rodríguez, and Ana Belén Acosta Rosa), the councillor from Nueva Canarias, Carlos Pablo Llarena González, and two councillors from the PSOE who have decided to leave the current governing group: José Miguel Hernández Fernández and Patricia Encinoso Pestano.
Among the reasons justifying the motion, the signatories have highlighted the “notable” deterioration of public services — including a “profound crisis” in the Local Police — the “institutional blockage” arising from internal disagreements, the “unjustified” increase in municipal debt, as well as the lack of territorial planning, investments, and infrastructure.
They have also pointed out that, “due to the inaction of the mayor in not halting the works in Las Bajas in time”, the Town Council has been ordered to pay more than half a million euros to the awarding company. They add that the councillor for Urban Development and first deputy mayor, Airam Puerta (PSOE), “acknowledged in court that he was aware of these cost overruns,” which “demonstrates serious negligence in defending the public interest”.
The twelve councillors have warned that, regarding a sanitation project in Fátima, the “authenticity” of a municipal decree, the misuse of official signatures, and possible irregular payments are being investigated — facts that they qualify as “extraordinarily serious” and that, they stress, need urgent clarification.
They have also lamented that several projects along the coastline — such as those in Golete, La Puente, and Las Bajas — remain incomplete or have resulted in significant cost overruns.
The proponents of the motion have raised concerns about the growing sense of “public insecurity” due to the crisis in Local Police management, which — they claim — has negatively affected the Department of Fiestas, which has received “multiple complaints” from residents regarding the difficulties in holding significant events such as those planned for the municipality’s Patronal Festivals and the Bajada del Socorro.
They also hold the mayor and the first deputy mayor responsible for the “excessive” delay in processing the file to establish the Municipal Services Company, leading to a loss of time and already invested public resources.
The motion also denounces the “lack of transparency” in the awarding of certain contracts, the “breach” of agreements by awarding companies, and the “unjustified” delays in payments to suppliers, which the councillors attribute directly to Gustavo Pérez’s management.
Support from two PSOE councillors
In statements to Europa Press, socialist councillor Patricia Encinoso Pestano, who has decided to leave the governing group and support the motion put forward by the PP, stated that her role in the municipal government has been to “work for Güímar”, but she acknowledges and regrets that her decision stemmed from the fact that “the projects intended for development were entirely stalled”.
“The Fiesta Committees, which depend on me, have suffered significantly this year due to the way the governing group has been working lately, and we have completely distanced ourselves from them,” Encinoso noted.
In this way, the socialist councillor highlighted the importance for her that “all residents are in the same conditions”, regardless of who is in each department, as she stated that the areas that depended on her and José Miguel Hernández (the other councillor who has chosen to leave the governing group) have been affected by “the brake and the paralysis”. “In the end, this is reflected in the residents,” she remarked.
“We work for Güímar, and what matters to us is that all residents are in the same conditions,” she said. She also expressed her disagreement with other municipal matters that have led to legal issues.
“We do not agree with their actions, but they have ignored us,” she emphasised.
When asked about the effects of her departure and that of her colleague from the socialist political group at the municipal level, Encinoso defended that she has been and continues to be “socialist”: “I have not left the Socialist Party. In fact, if the motion succeeds, the Socialist Party will continue to govern because it has two councillors within,” she argued.
According to the law, the day after the motion is registered, the plenary session for its debate and voting will be automatically convened for within ten working days.
