UPC presents Canary Islands candidates for 29 November general election
UPC has presented its congressional and Senate candidacies, setting out its priorities for the Canary Islands ahead of the 29 November election.
Unidad del Pueblo Canario (UPC) has presented its candidates for Spain’s 29 November general election, with its lead candidate for Las Palmas, Luis Campos, saying the coalition will defend the Canary Islands’ interests and oppose a government involving the far right.
The presentation on 8 November covered UPC’s Congress of Deputies lists for the provinces of Las Palmas, which includes Fuerteventura, and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, as well as its Senate candidacies for the islands. It took place at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria’s Obelisco campus.
Priorities for the islands
Campos said UPC brought together organisations from the Canarian left behind a common candidacy. He argued that the election could put existing rights at risk if the right and far right reached power.
He said the coalition would seek an agenda for the archipelago covering housing, healthcare, education, care for dependent people, pensions and wages. He also raised the defence of the islands’ airspace and seabed, the maritime median line with Morocco, and solidarity with the Sahrawi and Palestinian peoples.
Campos said UPC would not support the investiture of a government formed by the Partido Popular and Vox. He also described the election as the first stage of a process that should continue in the Canary Islands to challenge the right for control of the regional government.
Candidates set out their aims
Marisol Collado, who leads the Congress list for Santa Cruz de Tenerife, highlighted the collective work behind the candidacy. Drawing on four decades in teaching, she called for the voices of Canarian schools, teachers and pupils to be heard in Madrid and defended public education as a route to equal opportunities.
Iratxe Serrano, second on the Las Palmas Congress list, called for public housing, land-use controls, strong health and education services, decent work and an economic model that respects the environment. Paco Santamaría, second on the Santa Cruz de Tenerife list, called for fair funding for local councils and a universal public care system with adequate resources and fair working conditions.
Gema Villareal and Iván Santana also spoke at the event about opportunities and decision-making for younger generations. The presentation closed with a call for electoral participation.