SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Nov. 4 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Platform of People Affected by the Eruption of the Cumbre Vieja Volcano 2021 has sent a letter to the spokespersons of the political groups in Congress and the Senate to ask them, “now more than ever”, for their support in the processing of the General Budgets of the State (PGE) and that they present and support amendments that allow La Palma to be provided with the necessary financing for “the reconstruction of the economy and society after this devastating natural disaster”.
In their letter ‘Political Unity’ they request that it be foreseen in the state accounts, with the corresponding legislative modification, that possible expropriations be compensated at the value of the properties before the volcanic eruption as well as support for a reconstruction plan that has ” sufficient financing.
This group of victims warns in their letter that the volcanic catastrophe “destroyed 80% of the economy” of Palma and the continuous cancellations of international flights to La Palma “add one more uncertainty to the weak island economy.”
In addition, they demand “the cancellation of the loans and mortgages on the lost assets that their owners have not been able to assume or cancel, because, otherwise, many affected people will have too much uphill to resume their life projects.”
The message for the parliamentary spokesmen in Madrid is also that “aid must reach all those affected, given that currently it is only contemplated for those who lost their habitual residence, thus forgetting the total loss of the heritage and their way of life of many people who have no way of recovering their economic activity”.
In this “SOS” to deputies and senators from all over Spain, the population affected by the eruption warns them of “the terrible consequences of this catastrophe, with the loss of thousands of buildings, companies, roads, schools, and economic activity, and the reconstruction of the island and of the lives of the thousands of people affected, in many cases has not even begun”.
“UNCERTAIN FUTURE” IN PUERTO NAOS AND LA BOMBILLA
Added to this is the fact that, due to the presence of volcanic gases, towns such as Puerto Naos (the main tourist-residential area in the west of La Palma) and La Bombilla continue to be evacuated, “which continue with an uncertain future” almost 14 months after the eruption.
In these circumstances, the Platform of Affected People draws a “harsh reality” to the representatives in Congress and the Senate: “There are many years left for La Palma to effectively recover the economic and social level prior to the eruption, or even improve it, given that our unemployment rates were already the highest in the Canary Islands at that time, but the only way in which palmeros can hope that this objective can be achieved is political unity around the necessary measures so that it can be achieved, and these General State Budgets for 2023 must be a clear example of this”.
Thus, the platform insists that the vote “will be the time to see if the unity announced by all the political forces on the island of La Palma is real and if what the parties promise on La Palma they fulfill when the time comes.” “We palmeros can’t wait any longer,” he concludes.
