He led the candidacy that obtained the best electoral result of CC in Güímar, multiplying by two the number of votes and becoming, two years later and fulfilling an agreement with the PSOE, the first nationalist mayor of the municipality. In the time he has been in politics he knows what it is like to be in the opposition, to experience a motion of censure, to govern, the breaking of a pact (with the PP) and, now, to act as mayor.
The festival of El Socorro is the time when Güímar experiences the most special period of the year. After the pandemic, does it return normally?
Relief is an unrepeatable feeling. These are the festivals with the highest concentration of signs of identity in the Canary Islands. From the beginning of the month to the eighth, Güímar has a marked protocol of how and what to do every day and the güimareras and güimareros follow it innately. These last two years have taken something intangible from us, but September returns it to us with the desire to enjoy and value what El Socorro means to Güímar.
This time, he will live the party as mayor…
And sharing the same joy knowing that we will be able to see each other again along the Camino del Socorro. El Socorro has a heart that has been working since the Virgin appeared in Chimisay. That heart is not stopped by any pandemic. The Bajada de El Socorro is a motor of movement, a meeting party. Güímar will be the host venue for Tenerife on September 7. The objective of the City Council is to take care of the people and groups that make El Socorro continue to be a festival of the people, not of the City Council.
In 10 days they will already be on the big day of the municipality…
Yes, and the enthusiasm is noticeable. The calls increase and we begin to narrate how the acts are happening to our friends, relatives and those people who, feeling like güimareras, will spend the holidays in other municipalities, on the Peninsula and abroad, especially in Venezuela.
Let’s talk about other things. Güímar has been living in a continuous political confrontation for a few years. Why?
Those who are in charge of political parties can encourage and create a hostile environment with each of the decisions that are made in the city council and outside of it. For me, that is a serious mistake. I distance myself from that policy, I don’t enter that game, because we harm the güimareros. The neighbor wants a serious City Council in his decisions and that is what I look for every day, now and since I am in politics.
Do you feel a lot of pressure?
More pressure passes a family that does not reach the end of the month. Politicians have to be prepared. We should not waste time or energy complaining about everything that happens around us. We have to invest that energy in finding solutions to problems.
Will Güímar experience a tough electoral campaign?
Some parties have already started it. I don’t believe in last minute electoral campaigns and videos. What I perceive is that people are tired of being blue, green or red; people look for their problems to be solved with coherent decisions. That is the best electoral campaign, working until the last day of the mandate looking for solutions to the concerns of the neighbors.
One of the current controversies is the situation of the twenty residents of Las Bajas and a work with an extra cost.
I have signed the report justifying the aid for the 7 relocated families for more than 52,000 euros for one year. Now they will be able to access these aids while the evolution of the work is taking the path marked by the judicial processes.
Cleaning and waste collection continues poorly. What is the situation?
It is the biggest failure of political management that Güímar has had in the last six years. We must all accept that. It is time to continue pressing and pushing so that the new contract complies with all the steps stipulated to provide Güímar with the service he needs and deserves. Until that contract arrives, we propose provisional solutions: the purchase of a garbage truck, new containers and the contract for reinforcements that will help us.
El Puertito is very critical of the municipal government. The discomfort is increasing.
The residents of El Puertito suffer from a work that takes longer than expected, lack of parking, lack of social spaces and the consequences of the lack of that cleaning contract we are talking about. But soon they will find themselves with an improved Puertito, with a plan of actions among which stand out the more than 150 new parking spaces, a 500-square-meter socio-cultural space, a socio-cultural agenda full of activities, a new park, a large dog walk and a fixed maintenance crew in the neighborhood.
He has just presented an ambitious work plan in educational centers…
Education is a priority objective. We have approved a specific municipal plan to care for students in coordination with educational centers, associations of mothers and mothers and other associated agents. More than 400,000 euros are being invested in works and conditioning, responding to old demands from the educational community. We have exponentially increased the subsidies to the Ampas and have created incentives, such as awards for academic excellence and direct help to obtain a driver’s license once they reach the age of 18.
One of the hallmarks of the municipality is agriculture. What are they giving you?
Yes, Güímar is a rural municipality. Currently, this City Council provides 125,000 euros in direct aid to professionals in the primary sector; Another 300,000 euros are allocated to the conditioning of tracks and agricultural roads and, in addition, we have a project that surprises every year for its creative initiatives, which is commercial support for local products.
The commercial activity in the municipality is still remarkable. How have SMEs escaped successive crises?
I say it openly: The city council is going to throw itself into helping them, let no one forget that more than 90% of the companies in Güímar are micro-enterprises, which are the true generators of employment, which are the ones that move the municipality. Among the immediate questions is that, at last, free rotating car parks for commercial areas will go ahead. We are also working on setting up two new parking areas, we will increase the prizes for buying in Güímar by directly incentivizing the customer, there will be direct support for SMEs that want to join online sales and they will continue to have campaigns themed by commercial sectors.
There are areas of the municipality with an aged census. What is Güímar Friendly City with the Elderly?
It is our star social project. The municipality will revolve around improving the lives of our elders. Güímar is an example of the excellent management of centers for the elderly and we wanted to thank these people for their management, extrapolating it to the rest of the municipality. Soon we will make your presentation, the letter requesting membership in this network and the actions that will be undertaken in the coming months.
In environmental matters, it is not the example municipality, due to what happened in the ravines with the aggregates. But, is Güímar in line with the Sustainable Development Goals?
We have been working with a team for more than a year to present ourselves directly as one of the municipalities on the Island with the best work plan to comply with them. Our 2030 Local Agenda will directly influence decision-making. It is a new work system through which solutions are taken taking into account a detailed analysis and the real resources of the municipality. This system will help any neighbor, association, company, entity and the City Council itself to take the right path to meet the sustainable development objectives of our society.
The opposition airs the existence of problems in the municipal government. Is it so?
Without a majority, you have to reach agreements. These agreements should have as a priority to improve the quality of life for the people who live in Güímar. CC is a party that respectfully complies with the signed conditions.
