Scandal in the Canary Islands: Deputies accuse the mayor of cronyism and homophobia, they are expelled from the party.

After the vote, the floor was given to Patricia Encinoso. But then Airam Puerta doubted whether she should be given the floor, and after a short argument, he and his team left the room.

Two socialist deputies, Encinoso and José Miguel Hernández, who supported the motion of no confidence, explained why they did so.

They said that there were many reasons: there was no leader, there were hints of harassment and homophobic statements, as well as poor management, which, in their opinion, "helped cronyism."

Encinoso was the first to speak. She said that she had experienced a lot of stress before the vote. This was even stated by the Canarian Coalition (CC).

The deputy, who was previously in the ruling group with CC, PSOE and Unidas Si Podemos, pointed to "problems and inequalities" in the city's governance.

She stated that there were cases of "sexist, homophobic and contemptuous behavior." She recounted phrases that she allegedly heard in the ruling group: "You're not here to talk," "I was sick too, but I come to work," "Don't repeat yourself." As well as statements addressed to colleagues, such as "that faggot" and "if I had your tits, I wouldn't be sitting here."

The deputy denied that she was taking revenge. "I'm doing this because I believe it's the right thing to do. I'm a socialist at heart, and I'm grateful for the years when we were happy," she said. She added that she had been offered "positions in the government of the Canary Islands, the mayor's seat, a change of job and a higher salary" and even "given a blank sheet of paper to write down any conditions," but she refused and decided to sign the motion of no confidence.

José Miguel Hernández was more harsh. He accused the then mayor, Gustavo Pérez, of "turning the city hall into his private property" and "paying rent to his friends" instead of thinking about the people. "I told him this many times, right to his face. He created a network for his friends. He controlled everything like a puppeteer," he said.

According to Hernández, Pérez always favored those who were from his party. He also accused Airam Puerta of being afraid of what he might say at the meeting. "He can't stand Carmen Luisa Castro," he claimed, and added that "the fact that Airam Puerta was not punished when there were grounds to do so led to the motion of no confidence."

He recalled that he was "Gustavo's best friend, always supported him, until he told him that the city could not be run like this."

In response to criticism that the mayor's office had gone to the right, he replied ironically: "I didn't know that the Canarian Coalition were communists." He added that "they wanted to betray him as many as four times" and recalled the problems within the local PSOE.

Finally, he accused Pérez and Puerta of "looking for Llarena for a long time to remove me from power."

According to sources in the Socialist Party, Encinoso and Hernández have been temporarily expelled from the party since August 4. Although they have not received an official notification, the same sources say that "the fact that they have not received a notification does not mean that the process has stopped." After the expiration of the exclusion period, it is considered notified, and the procedure continues.

Information taken from Diario de Avisos (@diariodeavisos)