Two major tourism projects currently underway in Tenerife – the Cuna del Alma in Adeje and La Tejita Hotel in Granadilla de Abona – are under scrutiny by those who demanded a radical change in the economic model of the Canary Islands during the protests last Saturday. Now, the President of the Regional Government, Fernando Clavijo, leaves the future of these initiatives in the hands of both municipalities – both led by socialist mayors. The aim is to “find solutions and let them decide what they want to do,” he stated, as it was the city councils that planned the projects and zoned the land.
Clavijo emphasized that it is time for these local administrations to “state what they want to do” and reiterated that “as a government, we will support and assist them in their actions.” With this intention, the President will summon the Mayor of Adeje, José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga, and the Mayor of Granadilla de Abona, Jennifer Miranda, to discuss their plans regarding these two tourism projects.
This is the first step that the Canary Islands Government will take after the 20A demonstration, which brought together 60,000 people in the streets of the archipelago – according to the Government Delegation, 150,000 if the figures from the organizing associations are taken into account – to demand a change in the Islands’ tourism model. A first measure with which, according to the Socialist Party, Clavijo is just trying to shift responsibility and not take on his duties.
The regional president stated that the marches have exposed “all the weaknesses of our archipelago and our economic system” and pointed out that “things have to change” because “we cannot continue in the same way.” “The model needs to be reset,” he warned.
Indeed, the halt of the Cuna del Alma and La Tejita projects is one of the demands of the dozen activists on a hunger strike in La Laguna, who insist on meeting with the Canary Islands president, for which they have started a petition.
Clavijo has opened the door to this meeting, provided that they request it through the proper channels and provide identification. “I don’t believe change.org is the official channel. They are neither better nor worse than any other citizen of the Canary Islands, they are exactly the same,” he stated.
Nevertheless, he stressed that “the first thing” is to “listen to the mayors,” as it is the city councils that have promoted the projects and he stated that there is “some confusion” regarding this because the government “has little influence,” as the licenses and planning depend on both municipalities. He recalled that the previous Canary Islands government – led by the socialist Ángel Víctor Torres – “tried to intervene and the court ruled against them.” Therefore, he suggested that there might be “million-euro compensations” for an “interference” in this process.
The spokesperson for the Socialist Parliamentary Group, Sebastián Franquis, expressed surprise yesterday that the first measure of the regional government after the massive demonstrations of 20A is to summon the two socialist mayors. “The government has the authority to act and take a stand,” he emphasized, arguing that with this action, they are shifting responsibility to other areas “something they always do when faced with difficulties.”
According to Franquis, “this is not the response the citizens expect” and he challenged Clavijo to “use the Government Council to make decisions,” stating that “it is time to move from statements to agreements” because his territorial policies “are out of touch with the sentiment of the majority of the Canarian population.”
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