The Secretary of Organisation for the Canary Islands PSOE, Nira Fierro, has challenged the President of the Regional Government, Fernando Clavijo, and the President of the Tenerife Cabildo, Rosa Dávila, to prevent the upcoming Vuelta a España cycling race from holding its final stages in the Islands if a team from Israel participates, assuming the Canary executive and the insular corporations of Tenerife and Gran Canaria agree with the organisation.
The socialists will express their opposition to the competition’s passage through Tenerife through a motion that they will also present in the municipalities they govern as a means to boycott the event. The first to express his “total and absolute rejection” of La Vuelta passing through his locality is the mayor of La Laguna, Luis Yeray Gutiérrez.
The Condition: Security Guarantees
This is the PSOE’s reaction to comments made by the first vice president of the insular corporation, Lope Afonso (PP), who stated the day before yesterday that “it would be madness not to take the opportunity to bring a competition as significant as the Vuelta a España to Tenerife”. He also asserted that if security, organisation and broadcast conditions are not guaranteed, it “probably won’t interest us.”
This position was endorsed by the second vice president of the Cabildo, José Miguel Ruano (CC), who expressed his “absolute agreement” with his government’s colleague’s remarks. “We are not here to create problems where there are none,” concluded the ‘popular’ leader promptly.
Lope Afonso (left) and José Miguel Ruano yesterday. / El Día / Juanjo Velázquez Photographer
Genocide, Barbarism and Massacre
The movement of protests against the destruction of Gaza by Israel, and the presence of the Israeli team Premier Tech in the event, which prevented the completion of the last stage of the Vuelta a España in Madrid last Sunday, has sparked a public political debate in which the socialists do not hesitate to label Israel’s actions as genocide, a term both Afonso and Ruano avoided in their appearance yesterday when outlining the agreements of the Insular Government Council. They limited themselves to discussing “massacre” and “barbarism.” It is worth noting that an independent intervention by the UN, commissioned by the Human Rights Council, highlights the “genocidal intent” of the Israeli government.
Although he began by expressing that “we do not oppose the Vuelta a España being held in the municipality. On the contrary, we would love it”, the mayor of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, José Manuel Bermúdez, maintained that “it makes no sense to be against it for political reasons when it is still not known which teams will participate.” In the event that the presence of Russian and/or Israeli teams is confirmed, the mayor concluded with caution: “In that case, we should reflect within the governing group on our position, but these decisions must be made when the list is known. Until we know it, Santa Cruz remains an option. It makes no sense to say no without knowing the list.”
Negotiations Will Continue
In this context, Lope Afonso emphasised that the intention is to continue negotiations with both the Vuelta organisation and the federative entities, if security, organisational capacity, logistics, and association with the island’s image are guaranteed. Afonso stated his personal position of “absolute” and “unqualified” condemnation of what is happening in Gaza, insisting that he does not condone “either Israel, Hamas, the Maduro regime, or Russia.”
Without an explicit citation, the vice president of the Cabildo responded directly to the socialists. By that time, the mayor of La Laguna had already stated that “what is occurring in Gaza is undoubtedly a genocide and to whitewash genocide seems terrifying to me“. He also criticised “right-wing parties” for their “tendentious use of agitated and hate-filled messages.”
“Canarian institutions cannot whitewash any form of warmongering or the genocide and barbarism being committed against the Palestinian people”
The Canary Islands PSOE, through Nira Fierro, emphasised that “the Canarian institutions cannot whitewash any form of warmongering or the genocide and barbarism being committed against the Palestinian people.”
Whitewashing Through Sport
The celebration of the Vuelta a España in the Canary Islands “costs money.” Its funding requires financial contributions from Canarian institutions such as the Cabildos of Gran Canaria, Tenerife, and the Government of the Canary Islands. “Therefore, both the President of the Government, Fernando Clavijo, and Rosa Dávila must clarify whether they will support the whitewashing of what is happening in Palestine through sport by allowing the participation of the Israeli team.”
Gran Canaria’s Clarity
The Gran Canaria insular corporation announced last Monday that it will not allow the Vuelta to be held on the island if the peloton includes the presence of an Israeli team. So far, the Tenerife Cabildo has not expressed itself with such clarity or decisiveness.
In this regard, Tamara Raya demanded that the president of the insular corporation clarify “clearly” to the Tenerife society “if she is willing for the island to participate in the Vuelta Ciclista with the inclusion of Israel,” insisting that international organisations “must exclude Israel from sporting events, just as they did with Russia.”
A pro-Palestinian group arriving at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. / El Día
An International Response
This is an argument also referred to by the second vice president of the Cabildo, José Miguel Ruano, who acknowledged that the “massacre” occurring in Gaza “is attributable to Israel,” but the response must come from the international community and its organisations, as well as the European Union, “in our case.” The condemnation of the “barbarism” by both vice presidents is “unqualified.”
For socialist deputy Tamara Raya, the Popular Party in the Canary Islands “has been showing since the beginning of this legislative term that it is not at all committed to human rights, and we have experienced this first-hand with what has happened with migrant minors. And if Coalición Canaria does not act, it will continue to be complicit in that attitude which I reiterate and repeat, does not represent the sentiment of the vast majority of Canary society, not even that of Tenerife.”
Across the Island
Raya announced that the Socialist Group will present a motion in the Tenerife Cabildo for all political parties “to declare whether they are in favour or against.” This motion will be communicated to the municipalities of the Island, where they have a dozen mayors and govern in another two.
