The Parliament of the Canary Islands rejects the project of the Port of Fonsalía 26 years after opening the debate on the need for its construction and 15 years after the Canarian chamber itself adopted a decision contrary to yesterday: to unanimously support the proposal of the Government of the Canary Islands to classify the Port of Fonsalía as an “exceptional public interest”. In what did coincide yesterday in the Canarian chamber, according to Efe, it was in asking the Government to look for alternatives to maritime traffic in the Tenerife province to go through the improvement of existing infrastructures, listening to citizens and institutions, and that immediate solutions be sought for the collapse of the Port of Los Cristianos.
The debate on a new port facility for the south of Tenerife was resumed last August after Casimiro Curbelo, president of the Cabildo de La Gomera and leader of the Gomera Socialist Group (ASG), demanded a solution to the “collapse” of the Port of Los Cristianos, where most of the ships of transport connecting Tenerife with La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro. Curbelo himself encountered, when taking a boat to San Sebastián de La Gomera, with a situation that had been repeating in recent years when the connection lines with the islands outside the capital coincide in their operations: endless queues of vehicles and long waits in Los Cristianos. “Citizens cannot endure a collapse for another minute that inevitably requires seeking immediate solutions in Fonsalía,” said the Gomeran president at the time.
A part of the parties, businessmen, the Port Authority and professional groups, such as the College of Civil Engineers, Channels and Ports, defended the option of Fonsalía. The project, however, had strong opposition from environmental groups from the beginning, as the pier threatened an area of special sensitivity to marine biodiversity due to the presence of large populations of cetaceans. In the midst of it all there have been parties that have changed their minds – such as CC or NC, which went from defending it to rejecting it – or even divisions within others, such as the PSOE itself, which governs in the Council and the Government of the Canary Islands. While an important sector of the insular PSOE defended the Port of Fonsalía, another no less important rejected it, alleging arguments similar to those of the strong opposition environmental movement.
Manuel Marrero, spokesman for Sí Podemos Canarias, congratulated himself in statements collected by Efe that “we are facing the last throes of an impossible project,” which “has been left in a frustrated attack against the environment.” He considered it “positive” that “most of the political spectrum” has moved towards the positions “always defended by Sí Podemos and supported by civil society” with more than 400,000 signatures, collected on the Change.org platform. In this regard, he thanked CC and NC for their “change of position” regarding this infrastructure and “the effort” of the PSOE to “give itself arguments and time”, despite the “immobility” of “very few” who continue to support this “crazy idea », Among which he mentioned the president of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Pedro Martín.
Socorro Beato, from CC-PNC, explained to the plenary session that CC de Tenerife has opted «for the definitive rejection “of the port of Fonsalía after” a process of reflection in defense of the territory, the environment and the new generations “, Although he explained that solutions are “urgent” to the collapse of Los Cristianos. NC deputy Carmen Hernández defended that it is “better to change your mind than to persist in your error.” “To say yes to Fonsalía is to govern against citizens, against the environment and against biodiversity,” he added.
Nira Fierro (PSOE) pointed out that “the problem must be solved in Los Cristianos” and that “due to responsibility” it is “advisable” to wait for the studies commissioned by the Government of the Canary Islands to “plan with conscience and serenity.” “No one can doubt our environmental commitment, but we are also going to continue solving historical connectivity problems with well-founded criteria,” he emphasized.
The deputy of the PP Manuel Dominguez praised the “responsibility” of the PSOE to wait for the reports commissioned by the Government and defended waiting for these studies before making decisions. Although he pointed out that the PP has already ruled in favor of Fonsalía, “it will not go against those opinions.” Jesús Ramos Chinea (ASG) defended that the port of Fonsalía “had a favorable environmental impact statement that mysteriously was allowed to expire” and added that “in any case, the debate is not Fonsalía yes or Fonsalía no, but inter-island cohesion and collapse of Los Cristianos ». The deputy for Citizens, Ricardo Fernández de la Puente, defended for his part that “Fonsalía is strategic for Tenerife”, asked that they stop “putting obstacles to development” and recalled that businessmen in the south of Tenerife and construction “lo they consider inalienable ».
