The Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, led by José Luis Escrivá, summoned this Sunday the mayors of the main cities and regional councilors to address this Tuesday afternoon “the situation of arrivals at the expense of migrants” for weeks. to the Canary coasts, especially the islands of El Hierro and Tenerife. It is estimated that in October more than 13,000 people landed in the Canary Islands, numbers not seen since the canoe crisis of 2006.
The Government’s communication to the territories and councils took place this Sunday, after criticism from the Popular Party increased during the last week, which demanded that Pedro Sánchez urgently hold a sectoral meeting due to the lack of information, both on the situation of arrivals to the Canary archipelago in recent weeks as well as the distribution by autonomies to manage reception, for which there is hardly any data and for which the popular demand a coordinated plan.
Claims that for days the Government and several ministries rejected, at the same time that the main opposition party was accused of being “not very responsible and not very supportive”, as the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, considered in response to the demands of the president of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo on this issue.
Especially displeased in La Moncloa were the statements made this week by the Madrid president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who accused Pedro Sánchez of not having paid attention to the immigration issue in the Canary Islands and, when it is already “overwhelmed”, “getting rid of” the problem with “nocturnity” and without coordinating with the regions or with the large municipalities of the country.
However, the coalition Executive changed its position this Sunday and sent a communication to the autonomies, the main mayors and those responsible for the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP). In said notification, to which this newspaper has had access, the Ministry of Inclusion summons said political actors to a videoconference with Minister Escrivá next Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.
The Ministry of Inclusion has asked those summoned through this message that each institution be represented at the highest level at this Tuesday’s meeting so that the meeting is “effective.” The ministry’s intention is to transfer most of the people who have arrived in the Canary Islands in recent weeks to the peninsula. At the moment the Government has distributed some 6,000 immigrants to various parts of the national territory, but the autonomies – the majority governed by the PP – demand that Pedro Sánchez redouble coordination and dialogue for better organization.
In recent days, the pace of boat arrivals to the coasts of several Canary Islands has been maintained. Last Friday, Maritime Rescue rescued a canoe south of the island of Tenerife with 221 people on board, including one deceased and four seriously injured. And early this Sunday another boat arrived at the port of Los Cristianos, also on the island of Tenerife, with 43 people on board, of which it is estimated that twelve are minors.