"From working for La Moncloa or the world's top artists, I have gone to sleeping in an office that I have already sold." Today Acerina Guillén spends her nights in the same place in Puerto Naos (La Palma) that for years was the headquarters of the island's first VIP passenger transport company with chauffeurs.
When the Cumbre Vieja volcano started spewing lava one September afternoon in 2021, Acerina was compared to her namesake, the wife of Tanausú, the last leader of the island who resisted Castilian conquest: "strong, of great spirit and initiative." That's why, even though she had to change residences twice with just a backpack as her only luggage, she kept her business running.
During the volcanic crisis, she transported the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, or the then regional president and current Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, along the winding roads of La Palma. She did it just like she had previously driven Karol G and Maná around the beautiful island. She also volunteered in evacuating those affected by the Tajogaite volcano.
But now all of that has vanished. The space where her work once thrived is now replaced by a twitch in her eye "due to chronic stress." And not because she wasn't prepared when she started her company. Acerina knew from the beginning that the market, on a small island, wouldn't be easy. From 2015 to 2021, she had to face protests from the taxi sector, business pressures, and administrative obstacles to obtain three licenses. Nothing compared to the last four years, when this expert in Transport, Commerce, and Marketing has been unable to carry out any activity.
The reason? "A direct and exclusive consequence of the administrative behavior of the Cabildo de La Palma in processing my files," she emphasizes firmly. Therefore, the businesswoman has requested a patrimonial responsibility of ¤240,000, ¤80,000 for each of the three VTC licenses that she was "forced to surrender" due to the loss of clientele and unamortized investments. "This goes beyond closing a company. It has meant a radical change in my life and my personal expectations. Everything I had built has crumbled due to delays. I was doing well in my job, towards a good, different, and distinctive work. I was getting more and more orders: I had agreements with Tourism, tour operators... I was waiting every day for a letter that never arrived, losing vital orders. The helplessness is indescribable."
The beginning of the end has a date: September 2, 2022. On that day, Acerina submitted all the necessary documentation to the Cabildo to renew the authorizations' visas and change a vehicle: she had purchased a Ford Titanium Hybrid to enhance the service. But what she received was a request for a notification address, even though it was common knowledge that her office in Puerto Naos was closed due to ashfall and carbon dioxide.
At that time, she was still relocated in a hotel due to the volcano's effects, and "all alarms went off." But she never imagined what would come next. "Suddenly, administrative problems that didn't exist before started to arise and directly affected the operation of my vehicles," she recalls. What had been a routine procedure turned into a bureaucratic maze. "They asked for the original transport cards, complaint books, annual accounts, opening license... I submitted the documentation and they kept requesting what had already been provided," she denounces.
In June 2023, there was a change in government in the Cabildo de La Palma. Mariano Hernández Zapata (PP) left the presidency, and Sergio Rodríguez (Coalición Canaria) took over. The following month, Acerina had a face-to-face meeting with Darwin Rodríguez, councilor of Public Works, Services and Transport, Security, and Emergencies. But the meeting was not positive. "I thought it would be different, but the councilor greeted me with a notification in hand and demanded that I hadn't submitted the documentation and needed to open another office in a different area," she remembers.
In April 2024, she received good news. The Insular Emergency Plan of La Palma informed her that the sensor data placed in her office had passed the test of being within the allowed values for 11 days. They authorized the opening of the premises, but it was of no use. They kept asking for documentation. "I kept paying self-employed taxes, employees, taxes, loans... but without being able to move a car, without income. It was unsustainable," she recounts.
The businesswoman made allegations, knocked on the doors of different associations, and dealt with up to four different lawyers, one of them appointed. She filed an appeal for inactivity, but it was denied on the last day of the three-month response deadline. "At the same time, I received a purchase offer from another company. We reached an agreement, but the Cabildo told the buyer that the licenses were not my property and that there were issues with them, when it is known that these licenses can be rented, sold, or transferred in case of death like taxi licenses. Obviously, the buyer backed out," she narrates.
With the sale ruled out, she had two months to decide whether to proceed with the litigation and be unable to use the vehicles during the process or to give up. "I was already drowning and exhausted, so I decided, out of sheer necessity and with all my displeasure, to relinquish the licenses to at least have the opportunity to make the patrimonial claim."
On the other hand, councilor Darwin Rodríguez assures that the file is still pending and refuses to comment on the substance of the matter. "The reality is clear, and like all patrimonial responsibility application files, it will be resolved. The Cabildo de La Palma cannot engage in interviews or documentaries that anyone wants to promote, especially with a file that is not yet resolved. It's not logical," he asserts. Besides being a politician, Darwin is a prominent Spanish mixed martial arts fighter (MMA). In September, he fought to become the first champion in the light heavyweight division of Ilia Topuria's promotion but lost. The title went to his opponent, Enoc Solves.
While awaiting the resolution, Acerina has sold "everything" to "pay off the debts" to the bank and self-employed. "Without that, I can't deregister the company. I can't even sign up for unemployment yet. I live in fear that everything I do will harm me. But my company has cost me my life. I want to see this through to the end to get the reset I deserve," she concludes.