SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE Nov. 20 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The ‘Canarias Palante’ group, comprising over 70 social organisations across the islands, has described the 51 measures announced by the regional government aimed at initiating a change in the archipelago’s development model this Tuesday as “a farce and hypocritical.”
They have also expressed their disappointment in a joint statement concerning the lack of public involvement encouraged by the Executive, which has failed to address the groups’ proposal for the establishment of negotiation tables, a request made since last May.
Conversely, they have condemned the Government’s “opportunistic response” during citizen protests, accusing it of “appropriating the discourse” surrounding the model change and announcing the formation of expert panels “without any representation of citizens or groups with social and ecological interests from the islands.”
They argue that “these tables operated all summer in a non-transparent manner without dialogue with social stakeholders, whilst the ‘Canarias Palante’ participatory process continued concurrently without institutional backing and gathered over 1,200 proposals from residents across all the islands.”
As an illustration, they noted that the public participation initiative has achieved a “ridiculous figure” of just 66 citizen contributions.
Concerning the 51 measures, the participating groups assert that they exhibit “no genuine intention for change,” contending that “it is impossible to construct the ‘Canary Islands of the Future’ while disregarding the citizens and the groups.”
So much so, that rather than imposing limits on growth, as was emphatically called for from the streets on both 20-A and 20-O, the Government’s proposals “even suggest increasing concrete and asphalt, with measures aimed at “expediting the approval of urban planning licences, concentrating on the urban and tourist development of rural areas and islands with smaller populations.”
Moreover, they have pointed out that they plan to enhance professional training in tourism, having eliminated several courses from the agricultural professional family this year, which “is quite a statement of intent” since “the sole plan” of Canarian institutions is to “deepen” the same model that is leading the archipelago towards “collapse.”
“DECLAREMENTS TO NO AVAIL”
In this regard, they have questioned the “empty statements” made by some political figures such as the president of the Cabildo of Tenerife, Rosa Dávila, or her counterpart in Gran Canaria, Antonio Morales, who refer to “saturation” or the implementation of a moratorium on holiday rentals, but without taking any concrete actions or expediting island plans for “additional hotel licences.”
On the other hand, they have outlined that for instance, the Balearic Islands have a tourist tax that has been in place for a decade aimed at conservation efforts, or they have been “trailblazers” in measures such as requiring elevated beds in hotels, restricting the number of daily cruises at the port of Palma, banning short-term rentals in the capital of Mallorca, or limiting tourist visits and rental vehicles.
“And despite all these initiatives, they remain far from achieving a change of model,” they cautioned.
According to the groups, the Canary Islands are facing “a crucial moment to alter the status quo on the islands and across the globe” as future generations “do not deserve” to inherit a socioeconomic model that “is nearing its end,” alongside a dignified quality of life and a “healthy” environment.
“We must strive for an economic and social model that honours the land and its people, whatever the price,” they asserted.