Miguel Socorro: “We’ve Spent 22 Years—A Third of Our Lives—Fighting for a Just Cause”

22 years of struggle to save the town of Corralejo

“If we hadn’t stood up to them, Corralejo would have been lost.”
Miguel Socorro, the lawyer who, together with Goyo Benítez, has led the legal defence of the historic houses in Corralejo’s Old Town for 22 years, says this without drama or embellishment. Both men have devoted a third of their lives to what they consider a just cause, preserving the memory and dignity of an entire community

The latest favourable ruling for the elderly owners of their homes marks the 126th such judgment. As Socorro explained on the radio program La Voz de Fuerteventura (Radio Insular), the decision confirms that “the legitimate owners of those houses are the town’s residents, who have lived there all their lives.”

A multimillion‑euro urban‑planning scam

The legal battle began in 2003, when a urban‑planning scheme to seize Corralejo’s Old Town was uncovered. Dozens of rulings point to businessman José Manuel Jiménez del Valle, whom Socorro repeatedly dubbed the “Land Great Shark.”

The scheme started in 2001, when Jiménez del Valle bought a parcel of land with no precise location. Using that purchase as a pretext, he sought to appropriate the Old Town. Backed by shell companies and exploiting the administrative silence of the La Oliva Town Hall, he filed 65 segregation requests to split and register the historic homes as individual plots.

“The goal was to demolish the houses and build new developments for a multimillion‑euro windfall,” Socorro says.

“We’re not talking about one or two houses—65 segregations! They knew perfectly well these were homes in the Old Town. The council didn’t respond in time, and the plot took advantage of that,” he added, criticizing the town hall for abandoning the residents. “If the council had wanted to, it could have stopped it in time.”

He also notes that the properties affected are both private and public.

Despite numerous civil victories—what Socorro calls a “beating” in the courts—he stresses that the memory of the elderly victims remains painful, many of whom have died without ever knowing they had won their case.

Pursuing criminal accountability

The residents have now appealed to the Supreme Court, asking that the criminal case be reopened “due to an error in the evaluation of evidence.” Socorro argues that the high court has not examined the extensive documentation thoroughly enough.

A separate criminal complaint targets former president of the Port Authority of Las Palmas, Luis Hernández Pérez, accused of selling properties already ruled to belong to companies he controlled.

“Each house was valued at €980 after paying €1,100,000. That is unacceptable,” Socorro says, urging that this criminal route lead to clear responsibility. “He sold them with a judgment against him. This is very serious.”

The “verseadores” – word‑juggling allies keep the fight alive

For two decades, the fight against the corrupt scheme has been bolstered by the “verseadores,” whom Socorro describes as “word‑juggling performers” that have supported him and Benítez.

“They have calmed the town. They sing to the elderly, making them feel protected and remembered. It has been a success,” he says, visibly moved.

Now, after 22 years, Miguel Socorro and Goyo Benítez remain at the forefront of the struggle.

“People ask me if I ever get tired. No, because we are fighting for a just cause… and because, otherwise, this town would have disappeared.”