Francisco García López, mayor of Santa Lucía de Tirajana, has announced his decision to resign from Nueva Canarias due to disagreements with the party's leadership, although he will continue to serve as City Council leader. In a letter addressed to Nueva Canarias members, García informed the party's Local Executive Committee in Santa Lucía of his decision. In his message, the mayor reaffirmed his commitment to continue leading the municipality within the framework of the governing pact he maintains with the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) and Unidos por Gran Canaria (United for Gran Canaria).
García's departure comes amid a context in which five other government councilors have also decided to leave Nueva Canarias. Of the nine councilors who were elected in the 2023 elections, only three remain loyal to the party led by Román Rodríguez and Carmelo Ramírez. The current governing team of the Santa Lucía City Council is made up of nine councilors from Nueva Canarias-Frente Amplio Canarista, five from the PSOE, and one from Unidos por Gran Canaria.
García explained to his colleagues that his decision to leave Nueva Canarias was due to the refusal of the party's national leadership to allow a change in leadership. In his letter, he emphasized that he has always considered democracy a space for dialogue and collaboration, and that political parties should be tools for collective work, not instruments serving personal interests.
“Threats, the creation of lists of those who disagree, and the inaction of some political leaders are contrary to this vision,” he stated in his letter. The mayor also emphasized that “as progressive nationalists, we must demonstrate, both in discourse and in political practice, that democracy is lived day by day, listening to activists and citizens.” García advocates for an optimistic approach that is reflected in coherent, participatory, and democratic political practices.
With Francisco García's decision, Nueva Canarias loses one of its most emblematic mayoralties. This resignation comes at a time when a group of local parties, led by the mayors of Gáldar and Agüimes, Teodoro Sosa and Óscar Hernández, have broken their alliances with Nueva Canarias and are in the process of forming a new electoral platform.
