Ginés González, who facilitated the Teguise mayoralty for Coalición Canaria with his abstention, has joined the PP. The president of the PP in Lanzarote, Astrid Pérez, confirmed this on a local radio station on Monday.
The former Vox councillor in the Lanzarote municipality of Teguise, Ginés González, has formalised his affiliation with the Popular Party. The news was announced on Monday by the president of the PP in Lanzarote, Astrid Pérez, in statements to a local broadcaster. Pérez expressed her satisfaction with González's incorporation, which will bolster the party's ranks in the municipality and on the island.
González was key in forming the municipal government of Teguise after the elections in May 2023. His abstention allowed Coalición Canaria, with Olivia Duque as the candidate, to take the mayoralty from the PSOE, despite the socialist list led by Marcos Bergaz being the most voted. This pact, which also included the PP, marked the first time CC crossed its red line of not allying with Vox, which it had maintained during the campaign.
The former councillor left Vox in 2024, just over a year after the elections. He then joined the group of non-attached councillors. González justified his departure by citing "differences with the national leadership" of Santiago Abascal's party. In a press conference, he stated that he could not continue in a party that "forces its representatives to abandon their principles" and prioritised "its own welfare over that of Lanzarote and La Graciosa."
The trigger for his break with Vox was the party's refusal to equitably relocate unaccompanied migrant minors across different autonomous communities. González felt that Vox had "abandoned" the Canary Islands by opposing this measure, which aimed to alleviate the migratory pressure on the islands. This stance led Vox to break the government pacts it had with the PP in several regions.
The PP, the party to which González is now joining, has also repeatedly expressed its opposition to the relocation of migrant minors from the Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla, a position that has been criticised by the Canary Islands Government and social organisations. González's arrival at the PP comes at a time when Coalición Canaria and the PP have occasionally relied on Vox's support to govern, as happened in 2025 in the Tenerife municipality of Granadilla de Abona, where a motion of no confidence against the socialist mayor Jennifer Miranda was backed by all three parties. That same year, Vox joined the municipal government of Arona, also in Tenerife, led by the PP and CC.
González's affiliation with the PP will be made official in September, as Astrid Pérez indicated. The popular leader expressed her "delight" at welcoming the former councillor, who will now be part of the PP municipal group in Teguise. The news has been met with anticipation in the political landscape of Lanzarote, where movements between parties are common.
With this recruitment, the PP of Lanzarote strengthens its presence in the north of the island, where Teguise is a key municipality. González, who was the only Vox councillor in the council, will bring his experience in municipal management. Meanwhile, Coalición Canaria retains the mayoralty of Teguise with Olivia Duque at the helm, although the stability of the local government could be affected by changes in political loyalties.
González's affiliation with the PP also reopens the debate on alliances in the archipelago. While CC has been criticised for allying with Vox, the PP has managed to add a former far-right councillor to its ranks. González's decision to leave Vox for "principles" contrasts with his joining a party that, according to its critics, has maintained similar stances on migration issues.
The new PP member in Lanzarote will have the opportunity to demonstrate his commitment to the island and to the values he claimed to defend upon leaving Vox. For now, his arrival at Alberto Núñez Feijóo's party represents a boost for the organisation in a municipality where the PP does not govern but aims to regain prominence.
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