Enrique Pérez: “Betancuria managed to spend barely 25% of its 2025 budget”

Low budget spending, a lack of strategic investment and a steady decline in population are the main concerns raised by the spokesperson for the only opposition party in Betancuria. Speaking on La Voz de Fuerteventura, a programme on Radio Insular, Enrique Pérez said that the “reasonable period” allowed to the town’s mayor, Enrique Cerdeña, after his predecessor Marcelino Cerdeña resigned, had come to an end.

He placed particular emphasis on the execution of a budget of around €3.4 million for 2026. “In 2023, around 49% of the budget was spent, and the figure was very similar in 2024,” he said. In 2025, when the budget was approved halfway through the year, “not even 25% was spent”, he lamented.

One of the main shortcomings he identified was the lack of actual investment in infrastructure. “Chapter 6, the investment chapter, was practically not executed,” Pérez said, stressing that this limits the municipality’s ability to address long-standing problems. These include the lack of sewerage in some settlements, stalled projects such as the municipal cemetery, and the absence of lasting solutions at critical points such as the La Vega bridge, which is affected whenever the ravine flows.

Betancuria, with a population of between 700 and 800, is also seeing a steady stream of residents move to other municipalities. “If we don’t provide services and make life more convenient for residents, people will keep leaving,” the nationalist spokesperson warned. He stressed the need for active policies to combat depopulation, as is already happening in places with small populations, such as Tejeda.

The opposition says there is not enough provision of educational, cultural and sporting activities. “A resident of La Vega or Río Palma has to leave the municipality if they want their children to take part in activities or spend time with other children,” he explained.

He welcomed the local government’s support for two motions put forward by the nationalists to increase funding for after-school activities and grants for school materials for students enrolled at one-teacher schools who live in Betancuria.

Five workplace harassment complaints in a workforce of fewer than twenty

During the interview, Pérez was also asked about the workplace harassment complaints that have been filed. The AM-CC spokesperson acknowledged that, for an extended period, some municipal services had provided little public access. “Residents told us they would call the Town Council and no one would answer, or they would find offices closed,” he said. The situation, he added, had improved to some extent with the recruitment of staff through employment schemes.

He voiced concern about the day-to-day situation among members of the workforce. “We are concerned that there are several workplace harassment cases pending at such a small Town Council,” he said, calling for information on the status of the proceedings—five in total, in a workforce of fewer than twenty—and highlighting the importance of having up-to-date protocols. In the Town Council’s case, he said, the protocols were drawn up after the complaints had been filed.

The municipality’s future and political direction

Asamblea Majorera–Coalición Canaria argues that Betancuria has the potential to become a model for small municipalities in the Canary Islands. “Being the smallest municipality in the archipelago can also be turned into an opportunity,” Pérez said, advocating that the flow of tourists through the historic centre be used to create jobs and keep people living in the area.

His proposals include incentives to renovate homes, lower fees to encourage construction, and measures to make living in the municipality more attractive. “By six in the evening, Betancuria is empty, and that cannot go on,” he lamented.

On the political front, the spokesperson said his group pursued a “responsible” opposition, supporting budgets when they included positive measures but not shying away from criticism. “We want to show that another way of governing Betancuria is possible,” he concluded, leaving the electorate to decide the municipality’s direction at the next election. The group is approaching the poll “with enthusiasm”, seeing it as an “opportunity” to govern the town after more than three five-year periods under Unidos Por Betancuria. Marcelino Cerdeña is no longer a leading figure in the party.

The nationalist spokesperson made these comments in a longer interview, which we are also covering in a separate article and which you can watch below.