The mayor of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Canary Islands Coalition candidate, José Manuel Bermúdez, promised yesterday to incorporate into his municipal government program the more than 700 neighborhood proposals received during the Santa Cruz active listening process, with all five senses. This was announced at the presentation of the conclusions of this citizen participation initiative, in which his team has been working for several months, in view of the drafting of the electoral program with which they will run in the municipal elections on May 28. “Permanent listening is part of Coalición Canaria’s DNA, it is our way of understanding politics and living the city,” he said. “The proposals received represent a personal challenge and a challenge to continue building together the great capital that we all want.”
Bermúdez outlined that the first conclusion they draw from this listening process is “a common interest and an enormous illusion to continue improving the quality of life in the municipality, to build new opportunities for our young people, to expand spaces for citizen coexistence, and for taking care of our elders. The mayor thanked the work of the more than 500 people “of all conditions, ages and opinions, who anonymously and disinterestedly have formed part of the sectoral and territorial work groups”, convened in the five districts of the municipality. Around tables of about eight people each, with no other tools than a large blank cardboard and a few packets of post-its, the participants have formed what has probably been “the biggest brainstorm about the future of Santa Cruz.”
Representatives of the third sector, groups of the elderly, entrepreneurs, experts in sustainability and development, the environment, culture or sports have participated in the work meetings. This translates into “new ideas to improve public services, such as cleaning and caring for parks and gardens, social proposals and economic revitalization, or initiatives to promote the identity” of the city. “Santa Cruz is today a city to live and invest in, and it must continue to be so in the future with better conditions and opportunities for our people and our neighborhoods,” Bermúdez stressed.
