Edited by Seven Islands Media Group S.L.U. Also distributed in Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote
1.50€ at newsagents
THE INDEPENDENT ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER WITH LOCAL, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL NEWS
FRIDAY 10th JANUARY TO THURSDAY 23rd JANUARY 2020
property
guide
EDITION 642
FORTNIGHTLY SUPPLEMENT INSIDE
PAGES 41 - 48
CANARY PRESIDENT CALLS FOR SOLIDARITY IN 2020 Islands urged to respond to new challenges
T
HE Canar y Islands have been urged to stay strong and united as 2020 brings a whole new set of challenges, including the way ahead for tourism, Brexit and a possible economic slowdown. In a New Year message, president of the archipelago Angel Víctor Torres Pérez says society will be put to the test but no-one should rest on their laurels. He admits that 2020 will not be an easy year but insists “a better Canary Islands IS possible.” “We can’t be content. We must aspire to more. We must long for ever ything good,” he has urged. In his New Year message, Sr. Pérez says the path to a new Canaries began a few months ago but it had not been an easy start, with a chain of events putting the archipelago to the test.
First, there had been the devastating fire in Gran Canaria last August when thousands of people had to be evacuated from their
homes as the flames swept the summit, causing major damage. Then, Tenerife had faced a huge electricity blackout
Magi arrive in style!
T
ENS of thousands of people took to the streets of Tenerife to celebrate the Spanish Christmas and traditional Three Kings’ parade on January 5th.
From north to south, the celebrations saw the Magi arrive in a variety of ways, including in open-top sports cars. In Santa Cruz, a massive crowd of 18,000 in the Heliodoro Rodríguez López football stadium saw them disembark from two helicopters. As usual, the festivities everywhere were accompanied by music, dancing, entertainment and of course thousands of sweets!
which left most of the island in the dark for hours and caused widespread consternation. “And finally, another challenge, the bankruptcy of tour operator Thomas Cook,” said the president. He feels the crisis had been dealt with effectively “but it made us more aware of our fragility and the need to review our tourist model.” “All this in just six months. And honestly, as president and as citizen, I was touched by the way in which the
Canary Islands have been able to react with integrity, maturity and effectiveness in front of all those problems,” he said. “The key has been in unity of action, in solidarity and in the effort. They are the values that accompany the Canaries both inside and outside our land.” Sr. Pérez said there could be an economic slowdown because of Brexit and climate change would be a real challenge. There would also be the migrants’ crisis to deal
with, with more and more boats arriving each week from Africa and domestic violence remained a real problem, as did the distribution of wealth. However, he believes the Canaries will respond in the best way possible as the archipelago had always been isolated and faced its own battles, making solidarity the key to success.