Politics The PSOE mayor of a Galician town that refuses to welcome 40 immigrants: "It is not the best for my neighbors"

The A Coruña town hall of Sobrado dos Monxes was among the Galician towns in which the Government planned to settle 400 immigrants who had arrived in the Canary Islands. The plan was to host 40 for a month in the local Monastery, but the mayor, Lisandro Santos, of the PSOE, refuses and already assumes that “they do not come here.” The reason: “A question of capacity, of logistics.” And the fact is that only 1,767 people live in Sobrado and “it does not have the capacity to care for 40 more.” It has the services typical of a rural Galician municipality that are sufficient for its population, but, to receive it correctly, “it is necessary to have a series of services” that they lack.

What is striking about this refusal is that it comes precisely from a mayor of the same party as the Government and Santos does not avoid the issue. In statements to EL MUNDO he explains: “I have a Government of the same political color, but I am mayor and I owe it to my neighbors.” He insists that he has to “look at the well-being” of the population he governs and that “right now that is not the best for my neighbors.”

Thus, he believes that the Government should look for another alternative location to house them, preferably in larger cities prepared to serve a greater number of people. “If they want to do this, I think it’s very good that they do it, but those people have to go to the capital.”

Sources consulted by Europa Press assure that O Porriño, a Pontevedra municipality governed by the PP, will be the new destination for migrants. Neither the City Council, nor the Xunta, nor the Government Delegation confirm this information.

Santos denies that this is a xenophobic refusal. “It is not because of racism, there would be more to go, quite the opposite,” says the mayor, who recalls that two years ago they welcomed 14 Afghan refugees and that among the neighbors there are Syrians, Colombians, Venezuelans, Peruvians and a Jamaican.

“Anyone who knows the Sobrado city council knows that they can accuse us of anything but being racist,” clarifies Lisandro Santos, who boasts of governing a town in which not only the Executive is sensitive to the immigration crisis, but also “the neighbors “They go out of their way to everyone who comes to the town hall. The doors are opened to everyone.”

The point is that in this case, this measure adopted by the Socialist Executive to alleviate the pressure of the massive arrivals of immigrants to the Canary coast in recent weeks means transferring to Sobrado dos Monxes “a number of people that we could not give the service they deserve.”

That is the main difference with the 14 Afghan citizens welcomed two years ago, who he assures are “delighted to have welcomed them.” In their case, they arrived in stages, with time to prepare their reception, “they did not arrive all at once.”

In Galicia, the arrival of just over 400 immigrants is expected, of which about 40 have already arrived in Vigo and A Coruña. The rest, in addition to the 40 from Sobrado, will stay in Sanxenxo, a town that in recent days has been very critical of the Government’s management. As the Xunta de Galicia also did, the popular mayor of Sanxenxo, Telmo Martín, speaks of “obscurantism” and “lack of transparency.”

This is not the case of Lisandro Santos. “I do not criticize the lack of information,” he assured EL MUNDO. As he explains, two weeks ago he spoke with the NGO that would be in charge of the transfer and management of the immigrants and told him that the amount seemed too high and last week the Government delegate in Galicia, Pedro Blanco, called him personally to inform you of arrival. He informed her of his refusal and, since then, he has not been contacted again and assumes that the transfer has been cancelled.

Pedro Blanco insisted this Monday, as he has done in recent days, that, as soon as he became aware of the transfer of the migrants to Galicia, he “immediately” informed the president of the Xunta de Galicia, Alfonso Rueda, and the mayors involved. Since then, that communication has continued. “We’re talking,” he says.

The Government delegate recalls that this migration crisis is “a very important issue that must be answered” and is convinced that all the criticism of recent days is “noise” that does not correspond to the feelings of the Galician people. “In Galicia, 99% of us are supportive people and we are willing to collaborate. There is 1% that thinks differently.”