The PSOE of Puerto de la Cruz has described as “absurd” the allegations made by the City Council’s governing body of Tenerife regarding supposed irregularities from the previous administration when the socialist Marco González was in charge. The party expressed in a statement that “the situation is quite convoluted,” arguing that “following the motion of censure, it appears that it is the current municipal government that has yet to move on, as it has been acting over the past few months in a manner akin to that of the last five years: opposing Marco González.”
“We insist that the mayor cease to embarrass himself by fixating on past events and instead focus on the present, as there are numerous issues that require progress, enhancing the lives of the people of Porto, and he should take a close look at the ineffectiveness in the management of his current partners, which is genuinely concerning,” emphasised Marco González.
The socialists also criticise the municipal government for attempting to insult the intelligence of the public by discussing debts. They argue, “this is false, a deception that is not only perilous but also deeply populist.” “The objective truth, which they are aware of, is that the municipal auditor stated in his report on the budget that the “municipal treasurer in his quarterly statement and the report produced by the Audit of Accounts confirm that the City Council has no debts and possesses an additional treasury surplus of 26 million euros,” asserted the former mayor.
The socialist spokesperson highlighted that the motion of censure occurred in August, leaving nearly five months to execute all the procedures and obligations outlined in both the budget and the funding plan established for early 2024. “It is ludicrous and rather small-minded to accuse us of leaving debts and issues: what we left at City Hall was a budget with all its modifications approved and only awaiting processing, where there were adequate funds to timely cover all invoices and subsidies associated with municipal activities for cultural, social, and sports groups, as occurs in all the responsible City Councils across Spain.”
“They favour a fabricated headline”
González has charged the municipal government with not having exerted any effort in the last five months to fulfil the commitments outlined in the budget, “perhaps because they prefer a fabricated headline over fulfilling the commitments made in the approved budget for 2024, which attests to the City Council’s robust financial health.” In fact, the remaining treasury amounts to over 26 million euros still held in municipal funds, “demonstrating that this strategy by the city’s right is merely a spectacle (PP, ACP, and CC) aiming to unjustly harm the socialist administration of Marco González.”
According to the socialist spokesperson, “we are witnessing a government strategy devoid of creativity; for the next two and a half years leading up to the next elections, they will solely attempt to undermine my five years as mayor, as they remain fixated on opposition when what Puerto de la Cruz desperately needs is a mayor, together with a diligent, principled, and committed administration working towards the city’s best present and future.”
For the socialists, these have been lost five months. “In five months, they have achieved nothing; the city has regressed to a bleak condition, and by promulgating false headlines, they have failed to address the necessary management. Furthermore, it should be noted that in recent years, the socialists have had to confront more than 10 million euros in debts inherited from the PP and CC administrations: this includes almost 4 million euros for public personnel, over two million euros in debts resulting from the Social Security of the Lake Concession, in excess of 3 million euros in price recalibrations from the concessionary companies, nearly half a million for the 2019 Mueca Festival, and 360,000 euros concerning the PMM agreement.
“Mean-spirited strategy”
“Nonetheless we tackle the difficult legacy by working tirelessly to transform the Port into an appealing city, facing a global crisis, rather than sulking in the shadows,” asserts González, who states “that we did not squander time since the public had placed their trust in us, unlike other groups. This loss of trust has led them to unite in order to once again devise this mean-spirited and deceitful strategy, seeking excuses to justify an unnatural motion.” The socialists illustrate their work in funding allocated to support sports clubs until the year 2025, “subsidies that the clubs have not received since 2023 due to the lack of commitment and effort from the responsible councillor, who remains part of ACP.”
For the socialists, it is evidently clear that these attempts to belittle the socialist mandate demonstrate that the new mayor is living in the past, as he neither understands nor cares how to advance the city. “Neither Playa Jardín, nor the car parks, including the inexplicable holdup in revitalising the Plaza de Europa, nor the new infrastructure, nor the initiatives accumulating significant delays feature on his agenda: he is solely preoccupied with how to dismantle the legacy of Marco González and the PSOE over the last five years, which have been exceedingly prosperous for the city, boasting record levels of investment both public and private.”
For the socialists, as if this attempt at social manipulation were not enough, what this unnatural government is doing is extremely detrimental and devoid of morals and ethics, using the City Council as a venue to engineer a political strategy, rife with partisan interests and personal vendettas that aim solely to tarnish the socialist legacy without presenting a single proposal to enhance the city. “This nonsensical approach will inevitably transform this mandate into a frustrating waste of time for the advancement of the city and its residents.”
