At 41 years of age, Yonathan de León is the youngest ever Mayor of Lanzarote’s capital and most populous council district, Arrecife.
De León took on the most important job in the capital in 2023, after two of his colleagues in Popular Party stepped aside to occupy other posts. Ruling in what seems to be a stable pact with the Coalición Canaria, he has been perhaps Arrecife’s most media-friendly Mayor so far, fully aware of the power of the press and social media.
Half-way into his mandate, we took the opportunity to chat to him about cruisers, fiestas and improving the city.
What are your impressions after two years at the head of Arrecife’s Ayuntameinto?
It’s gone very fast. I’ve realised that two years is hardly any time at all, and that we can’t do very much even in a full four-year term, but you have to try.
Is cruiser traffic important for Arrecife? There are more cruisers scheduled to arrive next season than ever before.
Yes. It generates dynamism in local commerce. We’re not a famous tourist capital, but we certainly have our attractions, such as Reducto beach, the Charco and the Castillo de San Gabriel, and we saw a 28% increase in cruise visitors last year.
Has that been reflected by shops and other businesses?
Yes, there are new businesses and franchises. It’s not always easy – many shops still close in the afternoons or on Sundays, but we’ll get there bit by bit. I want to have a city that is attractive to both residents and tourists, a place where you can enjoy shopping and just walking around, like the pleasant atmosphere we get at the weekends with the market.
Is the Open Mall important to that?
Yes. Last year it won an award as the best shopping centre in Spain and it’s going to be extended shortly. We still plan to carry out the plan to create a tree-lined eco-boulevard leading from the centre of Arrecife all the way up to the mall, and this will be supported by public transport.
We have three new buses and another four on order – all are electric vehicles, and we’re also aiming to update taxi fares and allow more taxi licences – we’re aware that there can be taxi shortages at certain times, such as when cruisers arrive, and we want to address that.
How do you answer the accusations that the council is putting on too many celebrations and fiestas?
I point to their success. For example, the Navilan Christmas Fair was visited by 115,000 people. It was popular with tourists as well as locals, who no longer had to leave the island to find Christmas celebrations.
Then there is the Lava Life festival. We’ve never attracted bands as big as Maná and Estopa to Lanzarote before, and not only does this mean that our young people don’t have to leave the island, it also attracts people here. Each concert lasts five or six hours, but brings plenty of work and money with hotels, taxis etc.
I’d also question the accusation that there are more fiestas. At Playa Reducto, for example, there’s nothing that wasn’t there before. We’ve added a couple of events, but we also lost food fairs, for example.
What do you hope to achieve in the next two years before the elections?
My main ambition is to get the Supplementary Plan for the capital approved. This will be a vital piece of legislation without which we can’t really advance.
It’s a plan that will allow the reclassification of land so that 5,000 new homes can be built – 1,500 of which will be social housing. There’ll be another 15,000 square metres devoted to industrial zones and 280,000 square metres of new parks and green areas.
We’re also planning new sports facilities in various part of the capital as well as the final opening of the Sports Pavilion in Argana Alta. I hope to do something about linking the two barrios of Argana Alta and Argana Baja, too, which have been separated by the main San Bartolomé road for years.
The floods of earlier this year have also prompted us to tackle storm drainage in three zones. We’re working on the 4 Esquinas area at the end of the Charco already.
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