It was 1999, and Román Rodríguez, a doctor by profession and future founder of Nueva Canarias, was president of the Canary Islands government. Wearing a white coat, he decided that southern Gran Canaria needed a tourism moratorium. No one knows if it was a precaution, an aesthetic one, or a whim, but the result was as spectacular as it was unexpected: twenty years later, that moratorium translates into €19.373.700,30 that taxpayers must fork over to Maspalomas Resort SL, a subsidiary of Lopesan, for plot APHB-3 of the Meloneras 2-A Partial Plan, where the company dreamed of building five hotels. Five. Frozen like a soufflé in the political oven.
The High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands put an end to the farce on September 2, 2025. The Second Section of the Administrative Litigation Chamber approved the agreement reached between the company and the Ministry of Territorial Policy, Sustainability, and Security of the Government of the Canary Islands. María Mercedes Martín, president of the chamber, along with judges María del Carmen Monte and Lucía Padilla, put an end to the soap opera: the proceedings were dismissed, no costs were awarded, and everyone was left to pay their own way.
The origin of the conflict is no mystery: Ruling 131/2013 annulled an administrative act of the Autonomous Community and granted Maspalomas Resort the right to claim compensation for the reclassification of the land. The Supreme Court said "indeed, they are right" in 2016. But here's the real kicker: Rodríguez's moratorium blocked any further development, paralyzing public and private investments exceeding €700 million. The result: a decades-long litigation that ultimately resulted in multi-million-dollar compensation, courtesy of the taxpayer.
The TSJC details that the compensation amounts to exactly €19.373.700,30, corresponding to the plot known as Hotel Golf. The initial discrepancies over the calculations disappeared in the face of evidence: when politics freezes projects, the numbers don't cool down; they are cooked up in hard cash. The court reminds, in an academic but deadly tone, that enforcement of judgments is mandatory, but the parties can agree on how to comply. In this case, the agreement was ratified: it does not violate the law or harm third parties. The litigation is closed, yes, but it sends a clear message: when a doctor becomes president and freezes hotels, the citizens foot the bill, without any anesthesia.
The future of the Meloneras 2-A Partial Plan? It remains subject to political and environmental debate. Compensation is guaranteed, but doubts about new hotel infrastructure continue to loom like shadows in the sand. Moral of the story: Román Rodríguez may have cured illnesses, founded a political party, and left his mark on the history of the Canary Islands. But, above all, he taught us all that the political dust-ups of twenty years ago inevitably turn into millions of euros that someone must pay. Spoiler alert: it's always the taxpayer.
