Casimiro Curbelo
President of the Cabildo of La Gomera and spokesperson for ASG in the Parliament of the Canary Islands
There are many people who ask me if I am not afraid of “what is going to happen.” Well I don't have it. Because those of us who have lived for many years have gone through moments of extreme turbulence, tremendous crises and in the end it always ends up dawning again. I have not forgotten those turbulent years. But we went through all those storms and we won. We move forward, as we will also overcome the difficulties that we will have to endure in the coming years.
I'm not afraid, but I'm very worried. Because what is going to happen in the Canary Islands is extremely serious. We Spanish citizens are going to live the consequences of the paralysis of the productive and consumer economy. For half a month the country's engines have stopped. And that is going to have a cost for Spain. It is estimated that we will lose 8% of GDP and that unemployment will reach 20%, based on 2011 figures, with five million or so unemployed.
But in the case of the Canary Islands there is another aggravated circumstance. Our islands are going to suffer the same punishment as the rest of the country due to the forced confinement of workers and the temporary closure of companies, but they will also lose all tourist activity. This year there will be no tourism in the Canary Islands. And the next one, we'll see. And that is something very serious—very serious—that is going to cause terrible damage to our society. There is talk that we could lose between 20 and 30% of GDP and that unemployment figures on the islands could exceed all historical records, above 40%. That, translated, means a lot of hunger, a lot of need and a lot of desperation.
Tourism represents a very important part of the wealth of the Canary Islands. But, in addition, the more than ten billion that we are going to lose this year will have deadly consequences in other activities such as restaurants, commerce or transportation. There are thousands of self-employed people who will disappear because they will have nothing to live on. And thousands of small businesses that will close in the commercial sector. We are in danger of not being able to maintain the large air and sea transport companies in the Canary Islands. And if we lose them, the damage to our islands will be incalculable. Not to mention that our hotels and apartments will end up closing or in the hands of foreign vulture funds.
Faced with a panorama like this, who cannot be alarmed and worried? I have enormous faith in the capacity for sacrifice and the talent of the Canaries. But we can't get out of this alone. Spain is looking towards the European Union. The Canary Islands, inexorably, will need the State to move forward, because the situation that we are going to have to face exceeds our own possibilities.
In a few months, the archipelago will experience a situation of social emergency. We will have thousands of unemployed in an economy in which only agriculture and industry will function. Thousands of families will need help to live. And what is worse, the public institutions that are on the front line of the battle against this poverty, the Cabildos and the City Councils, are in danger of extinction because we will lose the financing of the Canarian indirect taxes.
The Government of the Canary Islands now has the responsibility of fighting for our survival on its shoulders. For yours and for everyone's. It has the duty to convey to Madrid the need to address the social emergency that is going to occur in our land. To make them aware of the evidence of sudden poverty that will punish the weakest classes of our society.
Madrid has to urgently authorize us to use all the public money that local Canarian corporations have saved and are in the banks. The sacrifice we made can now help us survive. And it must guarantee us extraordinary financing that allows the Government of these islands to guarantee that not a single person, not a single family, will suffer extreme needs in this time of poverty that awaits us.
This is not a time for bad politics. We must forget about strategies. The Canary Islands are facing the worst situation they have experienced in decades. It is the time for unity, responsibility and common sense. We are going to close ranks and ensure that no one is left stranded in the gutter. The Canary Islands will have to sacrifice for a long time to overcome these difficult times, but we will get there. With the help of the State and with our own forces.
