On Wednesday, Pablo Casado, President of the People’s Party, called on all administrative divisions to act jointly and quickly to provide “immediate relief” and provide houses to the residents of La Palma. They lost their houses in the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano.
The opposition leader visited the island of La Palma, where, together with the President of the Canary Islands and the President of the Cabildo of La Palma, he visited the areas of El Fuerte and Tahuya. He also intends to visit the forward command post and areas affected by the eruption.
Speaking to reporters, he called on the Spanish government, regional government and Cabildo for “swift and united action.” He stressed that everyone reacted on time, despite the call made by the opposition: “In the face of natural disasters, we must go together.”
The leader of the People’s Party offered his support to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. He urgently declared the area a catastrophe, so that supportive actions begin as soon as possible.
“We are asking for financial support and immediate assistance for the victims,” Casado said. He also informed about the eruption’s impact on agriculture: lava can affect the irrigation infrastructure used on banana plantations.
Casado called for legislative changes in the housing sector: given that those who have lost their houses do not plan to return to them, he suggested that Sareb, foundations or city administrations now provide empty houses at the residents’ disposal.
“What we are experiencing is not a beautiful sight, but a terrible natural disaster that has affected more than 6,000 people. Some were forced to leave their houses because of the impending threat; others lost their houses because of this disaster,” Casado said.
The People’s Party made a non-legislative proposal in Congress. The proposal is to declare La Palma an area “severely affected by the emergency”. It was announced by Sanchez and the need to implement follow-up assistance to individuals, municipalities and companies, or approve lines of subsidies and financial loans.
It was also suggested that a commission should be convened to develop a unique plan for rebuilding the area, including solving the housing issue that Casado had requested. The need to transfer land plots to those who lost their houses was announced, and several other proposals were heard regarding, for example, the revision of the existing seismic network.