Cabildo de Tenerife - the Island's governmental organisation

The Head of the Cabildo is Ricardo Melchior Navarro. He is known as the President of the Council of the Island Government and has held this office since 1999. Prior to that, he was the Vice President from 1987. Having a science background, he has worked tirelessly for the past 25 years in the field of renewable energy. He is a member of the Canarian Coalition Party.

There are a bewildering number of sub-organisations making up the Council and here they are:

The Plenary

The Plenary, or the "House", is the chief organisation in the Island Government offering Tenerife citizens political representation. It consists of the President, plus 28 other Consejeros Isulares, or Island Directors. These are made up from members of the Canarian Coalition (14), the Partido Socialista Canario, or Canarian Socialist Party (10) and the Partido Popular, or Popular Party (5).

Their duties include controlling and supervising all aspects of Island Government.

The Island Board of Governors

This is a separate body, consisting of the President and no more than nine other directors, or Consejeros. These include the Vice President and "Area Directors".

Their duties and powers are to draft Island regulations and laws, approve regional plans and regulate the budget.

The Governing Bodies

This is where it gets a bit complicated. In 2003, an amendment to a law was passed, to the effect that the organisation of the Cabildo was altered to accommodate more municipalities with large populations, rather than provincial Councils. (Yes, I couldn't quite follow it either.) Governing Bodies, as a result of this, are:

• General Area Coordinators
• Councillors with Special Delegation
• Island Directors
• Parliamentary Secretary General
• Deputy Secretary General
• Legal Director
• Auditor General

Plenary Committees

These committees undertake studies and report on them to the House for a decision. These studies may be concerned with:

• Tourism
• Health and Education
• Environment
• Roads and Housing
• Finance
• Economy, Competitiveness, Mobility
• Farming
• Culture
• Social Welfare

The Board of Speakers

This body can be convened at the request of two political groups or one-fifth of the corporate members and, effectively, debate a current topic, whether it be relating to Plenary sessions, or motions thereof, after which it will present its argument to the House.

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