This week, he posted photos on his personal Facebook profile of rats that have escaped onto the beaches of southern Gran Canaria. In October 2025, a report from the Canary Islands Government's Public Health Department warned of a serious health risk in Las Palmas (PSOE) due to waste, rat proliferation, and the danger of infectious diseases. In August 2026, the PP (People's Party) made the same criticism. So what does this have to do with southern Gran Canaria? The Gran Canaria Tourism Councillor, Carlos Álamo (PSOE), hasn't said anything about those two incidents, but he has commented on a rat escape in southern Gran Canaria, which was featured on TVE—the same broadcaster that provides the audiovisual content for the Soul Maspalomas Festival and also broadcasts the Maspalomas Carnival, complete with a presenter.
In a contradictory statement, the PSOE primary candidate for the 2027 elections in southern Gran Canaria said, "This is not the image of quality that a destination like ours deserves, and it undoubtedly affects our work and jeopardizes the island's collective effort in promoting and conveying the message we want to project." However, he added, "During our visit, we were able to confirm that the responsible company is working on the cleanup, which we appreciate, because this cannot happen again." The local governing coalition, formed by AV-PP and CC, expressed their displeasure, stating, "No one likes this isolated incident, but to mention it and then claim it's being properly fixed is illogical."
It is not known whether Álamo carries out the same inspections in Las Palmas capital, but what is certain is that he has indicated that "it is a problem that has crossed the island borders" and is "completely unacceptable," he said.
Carlos Álamo's public outcry demanding accountability from the southern municipality is not an isolated incident, but rather a strictly organizational move within the PSOE's electoral strategy in San Bartolomé de Tirajana. The island councilor, one of the most influential figures in Gran Canaria's socialist movement, has intensified his presence and scrutiny in the southern municipality, exposing the shortcomings of the municipal administration and placing himself at the center of local politics in the lead-up to the next election cycles.
Despite the forcefulness of his criticism regarding the degradation of the beaches, Álamo's statements have deliberately avoided any mention or commentary on similar urban sanitation problems in other parts of the island—such as the recurring rodent infestations in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The island's tourism official has focused all his criticism on the sanitation issues in the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, thus establishing a political stance against the local council.
After contacting the mayor's office directly to convey the institution's unease, the councilor acknowledged that the City Council shares the concern and that the concessionary companies have already launched emergency operations to eradicate rats and clean the affected areas. Furthermore, the Island Council has formally offered technical assistance and financial resources should the City Council lack the necessary means to ensure the optimal maintenance of beaches which, as Álamo reminded everyone, are the main economic driver and international calling card of Gran Canaria.
