The political scene in the archipelago has experienced a new dialectical upheaval that transcends the institutional sphere, delving into the realm of identity politics and the use of traditional Canarian vocabulary. The mayor of Gáldar and leader of Primero Canarias, Teodoro Sosa, ignited the debate by calling the mayor of Mogán, Onalia Bueno, a "turncoat." What appears to be a simple exchange of local insults conceals a profound political undercurrent rooted in the history of political defection, shifting alliances, and the fragmentation of the island's political parties.
The use of this term transcends mere colloquial insult. Its technical meaning becomes clear when consulting the Dictionary of Canarianisms and the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), where the word acquires the precise political definition of "unstable person." The original metaphor stems from the 20th-century Canarian and Caribbean lexicon, which referred to a type of firecracker or sparkler made of paper and gunpowder as a "saltaperico." When lit, this firework bounced unpredictably from side to side, emitting small explosions. By transferring this pyrotechnic device to the institutional arena, it describes those individuals prone to political nomadism, who change their stance, allies, or party affiliations erratically and without a fixed direction.
On the political chessboard of Gran Canaria, applying this Canarian perspective to the mayor of Mogán serves as a kind of X-ray of her historical alliances. The southern leader began her career in the People's Party, later founded the local Ciuca party, and ultimately consolidated her absolute majority under the independent banner of Together for Mogán. Her detractors use the Royal Spanish Academy's definition to portray these moves as a display of opportunism and ideological inconsistency, likening her pacts to the behavior of a firecracker that explodes with the changing electoral winds.
From a strictly analytical perspective, the label of "political opportunist" applied to the Mogán area is not a casual outburst, but rather an accusation aimed at the very heart of the southern alliance strategy. The southern region of the island has historically been fertile ground for the birth, evolution, and absorption of local parties that base their survival on a pendulum-like negotiation with the major regional blocs.
Conversely, from the perspective of southern municipalism, these shifts are not interpreted as instability, but rather as strategic pragmatism. Those who defend these leaders argue that the constant movement of party affiliations allows tourist municipalities to break free from the rigid discipline of traditional organizations. Leveraging their economic influence to negotiate direct advantages with the Island Council or the Government of the Canary Islands transforms the "political opportunist," in the eyes of their voters, into a legitimate tool for local survival against established power blocs.
