Socialist MPs from Lanzarote and La Graciosa—Marcos Bergaz, Alicia Pérez, Marcos Hernández, and Lucía Olga Tejera—have condemned the treatment of Lanzarote by the Canarian government under CC and PP regarding the 2027 budget proposal, recently submitted to the Canarian Parliament.
They argue that despite the budget being labelled the highest in Canarian history at €13.209 billion, Lanzarote remains poorly funded, ranked fifth with an allocation of €90.1 million. The MPs noted, “These are the highest budgets ever for the Canary Islands, but that growth does not result in fair investment distribution. It is unreasonable for Lanzarote to be the third most populous island yet receive the fifth most investment.”
The MPs highlighted that Lanzarote is again overshadowed by other islands in terms of funding. Fuerteventura is set to receive €110.2 million and La Palma €102.6 million, amounts significantly higher than Lanzarote’s. Gran Canaria has €249.2 million, Tenerife €261.7 million, La Gomera €74.6 million, El Hierro €44.6 million, and La Graciosa €1.9 million.
When combining funds for Lanzarote and La Graciosa, the total is €92 million, still lower than the sums allocated to Fuerteventura and La Palma. They stated, “Fuerteventura and La Palma receive more funding than Lanzarote. Even adding La Graciosa, we still fall short of their allocations, which warrants an explanation from the Canarian government.”
Among the key projects for Lanzarote, MPs pointed to €5.1 million for duplicating the LZ-40 road and €2.7 million for expanding the Costa Teguise healthcare centre, which has been awarded but lacks necessary funding to proceed. The budget proposal lacks specific allocations for the island’s hospital or the Playa Honda health centre.
In addition to these investments, €3 million is earmarked for water storage tanks, €850,000 for a new educational centre in Costa Teguise, and €1.9 million for rehabilitating the José Ramírez Cerdá Park. The MPs stressed the need for budget initiatives to lead to tangible projects for residents, saying, “It’s crucial that budget allocations translate into works and services for the public. Simply announcing investments is not enough; they must be executed.”
The MPs expressed satisfaction over a proposed allocation of €850,000 for the new Costa Teguise educational centre, which is also pending approval. Bergaz remarked that a previous amendment to secure funding for this project was rejected by the governing parties.
The Socialist group plans to amend the budget during its parliamentary review to address what they see as an unfair distribution of funds that disadvantages Lanzarote and La Graciosa. They stated, “We will not accept a budget that ranks Lanzarote fifth in actual investments. We’ll scrutinise the proposal and submit amendments to improve funding for our islands and ensure the Canarian government addresses their needs in infrastructure, healthcare, education, and water supply.”
