Guimarães: Mayor ousted by vote of no confidence, Socialist Party in disarray

Yesterday, at 11:53, nine councilors from the People's Party, one councilor from Nueva Canarias-Canarian Bloc (NC-BC), Carlos Llarrena, and two dissident councilors from the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), José Miguel Hernández and Patricia Encinoso, walked together across the square in front of the Güímar Town Hall. They were all dressed in black, some holding hands. From the crowd supporting them, someone shouted, "These are the people who will give you power!"

This scene, despite the mourning color, looked friendly and even warm. It foreshadowed the historic vote of no confidence that would decide the fate of the city.

About an hour later, in the stifling heat, under the watchful gaze of portraits of former mayors of Güímar, Carmen Luisa Castro received the mayoral staff. As a representative of the People's Party, she became mayor for the third time. This followed a vote of no confidence in 2013 and a victory in the 2015 elections. Her candidacy was supported by 12 councilors, one more than needed for an absolute majority. Her opponent, Gustavo Pérez (CC), received 9 votes of support from his group, a councilor from Unidas se Puede, and three socialists.

The meeting was crowded with people, and there was no shortage of tension. The secretary made remarks about order.

Güímar is a city with long-standing political traditions that are deeply rooted in the lives of local residents and their understanding of power.

To understand what happens in the town hall during a change of power, many factors must be taken into account: the expectations of people and families, unusual alliances, old feuds that resurface, and political maneuvers that rarely go unnoticed in this city.

The meeting was chaired by Jaridian Martín (CC), and Francisco Hernández Armas (PP) handed over the mayoral staff to the new leader of the People's Party to the applause of her supporters.

"You are the legitimate mayor of Güímar because the majority voted for you. I believe in your political maturity. But know that I will always be watching your work closely," Carlos Llarrena said after the vote.

The new sports councilor, who plans to run in the next elections for another party, called the new mandate "a journey with a different captain and a different team."

The explanation for the vote of no confidence listed complaints against Gustavo Pérez (CC), who had previously been mayor: extension of budget deadlines, cost overruns in the construction of the slope in Las Bajas (about one million euros), delays in the implementation of projects, a crisis in the local police that affected the holidays, the halt to the creation of a municipal waste collection company, and "lack of leadership."

Raquel Díaz Castro, a representative of the People's Party, said that "two councilors who were part of the government group were tired of improvisations and infighting and wanted to distance themselves from such a leadership style." She added that "there are councilors who have not spoken to each other for a long time." She called the vote of no confidence "political hygiene" and said that "Güímar cannot continue like this." She believes that "it is not enough to simply point out problems, it is necessary to propose changes: Carmen Luisa Castro is more prepared and will be able to 'guide' the city."

Pérez, for his part, remained calm. He recalled that the vote of no confidence is a "legitimate instrument" and called the arguments against him "baseless." He stressed that his team is "cohesive and mature" and said that "this vote will not deprive us of the desire to work for the good of Güímar."

Llarrena explained his support by "insufficient cooperation" on the part of the city authorities, "violation" of his right to be informed of matters, and exclusion from official events. He said he had suffered "constant harassment" and added: "I will not be complicit in party interests behind the backs of the residents of Güímar. My duty is to you."

The former mayor, a representative of the Socialists, Airam Puerta, called the day "embarrassing" and "anomalous." Before the vote, Puerta addressed his former allies, Encinoso and Hernández, and asked them to "stop this, remember the good times we had." It was a last attempt.

After his speech, a roll-call vote on the vote of no confidence took place. The atmosphere in the hall became tense, broken only by long silences.

The result was not surprising: 12 votes "for" and 9 "against." The vote was approved, and Carmen Luisa Castro became mayor again. In her first speech, she promised a "new beginning" for the city.

From that moment on, the atmosphere in the Güímar meeting hall changed. Everything escalated. From calm to shouting and swearing. From Puerta's bench, "despair" was expressed, accusing the councilors who supported the changes of "betraying themselves and those who put them in this chair, destroying any value that a politician should have." He asked the party to start their expulsion, calling them "turncoats."

The councilor from Unidas Sí Se Puede, César Bethencourt Yanes, pointed to what he believed was the reason for the vote of no confidence signed by the Socialist councilors: the new appointment of the local PSOE committee.

It is worth recalling that during this term, the party had three general secretaries: Puerta, who was replaced by Gonzalo Hernández, and then José Carlos Serpa García, who was officially approved in his position a few months ago.

After the change was confirmed, Castro gave the floor to Encinoso. It was then that the PSOE bench questioned the legality of the procedure. The conversation turned into a brief argument, which Castro stopped by saying, "I am the mayor now."

Immediately afterwards, the socialist faction left the meeting hall amid jeers and insults. Shortly afterwards, they were seen taking their belongings from the municipal premises.

For the first time, the two councilors detailed the reasons for supporting the vote of no confidence: lack of leadership, alleged humiliation and homophobic comments, ineffective management, and political clientelism.

Encinoso was the first to open "Pandora's box," even experiencing a likely anxiety attack on the eve of the vote of no confidence. She spoke of "inequality between areas" and denounced "sexist, homophobic, and derogatory behavior," citing phrases such as "You are not here to express your opinion," "don't be pushy," "this faggot," or "if I had your tits, I wouldn't be sitting here." She denied that she was acting out of revenge: "I am doing this because I believe it has to change. I have a socialist heart and mind."

She claimed that she had been offered "positions in the government of the Canary Islands, the position of mayor, a change of areas of activity and a higher salary" and even a "blank document" to set her terms, but she rejected these offers. "One of the areas is developing more than the others," she said.

Hernández, for his part, was particularly harsh in his speech, accusing his former government colleagues, Pérez and Puerta, of all sins, especially the former mayor: of "turning the town hall into his private property" and of "paying rent to his friends," while creating a "client network." He pointed to preferential treatment for areas controlled by CC. "Gustavo can't stand Luis," he said, explaining the vote of no confidence by "not excluding Puerta when there were grounds."

He recalled that he was Pérez's "best friend" "until I told him that "this is not how you run a town hall." He mocked the criticism for handing over the town hall to the right: "I didn't know that Coalición Canaria were communists."

According to socialist sources, Encinoso and Hernández have been temporarily excluded from the PSOE since August 4. The official notification was sent on the same day from the federal headquarters of Ferraz to the councilors who supported the vote of no confidence.

Although the affected parties have not officially received the notification, the party recalls that this fact "does not stop the process" and that, after the internal deadlines have been met, the exclusion "continues."

This procedure is intended to prevent the councilors involved from benefiting financially. The strategy is to formalize their departure from the party before integrating into the new government group.