The NC-BC parliamentarian, Natalia Santana, criticises the management of the Department of Social Welfare, which has led to the collapse of social services, with over 2,200 deaths in 2025 awaiting dependency recognition and a 129% increase in disability complaints.
The sector spokesperson for Nueva Canarias-Bloque Canarista (NC-BC), Natalia Santana, has focused on the management of the Department of Social Welfare, Equality, Youth, Childhood and Families, which she accuses of having caused the collapse of social services in the Islands. During her speech, Santana pointed out that delays, lack of staff, and poor coordination have become entrenched during this legislature, leaving thousands of families without answers.
Santana reproached the government of Fernando Clavijo and the councillor Candelaria Delgado, both from Coalición Canaria, for “living off excuses” while citizens' rights are being violated. “Excuses and inherited problems are no longer acceptable; the price of responsibility now lies with Clavijo and his councillor,” stated the parliamentarian, who believes that the issues have become chronic under the CC and PP government.
One of the most critical points, according to Santana, is the Renta Canaria de Ciudadanía. The law, passed in the previous legislature, included supplements for housing, education, and vulnerable situations that, she claims, have not been developed. “Not a single one has been implemented,” she criticised, adding that the government “inherited a solution and has turned it into a problem for thousands of families.”
Regarding dependency, Santana emphasised that the decree presented by CC as a solution has been “disproved by reality.” More than 2,200 people died in 2025 while waiting for their dependency recognition, and the Canary Islands still need nearly 19,600 residential places. “Rights are not guaranteed with announcements or press conferences; they are guaranteed with personnel, resources, and effective management,” she concluded.
The 129% increase in complaints related to disability is, for the spokesperson, “clearly unjustifiable.” People who wait between four and five years to be assessed lose assistance, treatments, and opportunities during that time. Santana linked this situation to the lack of technical staff, recalling that the Canary Islands has the worst ratio of social services professionals in the country.
In the area of childhood, the parliamentarian described the report from the Diputación del Común as “particularly serious,” which speaks of “obstructionism” by the General Directorate of Child Protection due to its lack of collaboration. “We are talking about children at risk,” warned Santana, who urged Councillor Delgado to reflect.
Santana also reproached the government for cuts and the failure to execute funds allocated for equality policies, as well as the practice of inheriting positions due to political ties within CC. The “most compelling evidence of failure,” according to the deputy, is the report from the Diputación del Común on the reality of 2025, which describes delays, administrative silence, lack of resources, and an increasing inability to guarantee the fundamental rights of Canarians.
From NC-BC, they demand that the government stop making excuses and act urgently to reverse a situation that, they warn, only worsens over time. “The Canary Islands need answers, not more excuses,” concluded Santana.
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