It has the challenge of attracting the majority and achieving at least the same results for PSPV-PSOE as in 2019, or at least that’s the imperative it has set for itself.
He joined the Socialist Party in June 2019. Do you think this is the right step after nearly four years?
It was a decision I made very consciously and therefore I made it for consistency.
It now tops a list of four independents. Since you are in both parts, what is the different value that an independent brings?
In politics, the combination of independents with militants is always enriching, because they are different points of view. After all, the purpose of politics is the administration of everyday life.
Was it a very personal list of PSPV-PSOE general secretary Ximo Puig?
In the end, I think this president is a government claim, and it seems consistent to me that he also has his personal stamp. Those of us who are on that list and will work on it believe and trust Ximo Puig’s political project. I also think there are some lists that combine the intergenerational axis, men and women, militants and those who have long held organic positions and a political projection, as well as independent people who have contributed to their vision.
It points to a very strict conclusion. Are you ready to go and ask for votes?
I am in politics because I like to interact with people and be on the street. I’m very talkative. I’m a woman who makes communication the way it should be: a meeting place, mutual listening. When I go to a supermarket I talk to the cashier….
But talking is not persuasive…
Now the difference is, I’m speaking as a congressman. I want to say that I am advocating a political project and therefore I am convinced that Ximo Puig’s political project is much better for the Community of Valencia and Alicante than the absolute majority of the PP in 25 years… Our project brought wealth, innovation, we live better. We can get rid of diseases without paying a contribution, we can take our 0-3 year olds without paying, and we have something we’ve never had before: our free book network. In other words, this massive commitment to essential services that improve people’s quality of life.
A time of promises comes. Does Josefina Bueno set any limits?
Josefina Bueno will not promise anything she is not convinced of. Maybe this is my main feature. I’m a very hot person, very talkative, but I can’t promise something I don’t believe in. That’s why my biggest commitment to this project comes from the truth, it’s not a matter of faith.
How much do you value surveys?
My life is not controlled by surveys.
But they are leaving their mark on the campaign that will condition his life in the coming months…
The only thing that impresses me is that I must continue to insist on the street with everyone, showing that our political project is much better for the citizens of Alicante. I’ll show you with indicators, numbers, helpers…
President Puig is running for a third term. Should they be limited?
I do not think so. If the project is positive, consolidates, gains the trust of the citizens, why will it be limited? 25 years of PP, corruption, absolute majority were not limited either…
Surveys determined that…
Clear. That’s why I’m telling you that I won’t set a limit. I firmly believe in democracy and the only thing that limits it is the votes of the people.
There is a fact, and that is that all candidates for the Presidency of the Generalitat are male. Does it squeak?
(Short silence). I have been a woman committed to feminism for as long as I can remember and I believe our pending issue is to have a female Head of Government and women continue to reach higher quotas of representation and positions of responsibility in a field of their own choosing. on people’s lives. We have a long way to go. The party I am a member of gave us roller skates so that women can travel this road faster than we do.
So it doesn’t squeak?
It is a pending issue. The difference is that my party defines itself as a feminist and has feminism on its political agenda, and there are other parties that ignore or despise it. That’s the difference.
Infrastructure, water, financing. The people of Alicante live a kind of mole day. How can you let go of this feeling?
First of all, I want to say that before and after Ximo Pug entered the Government. The province of Alicante has been marginalized all the years of the PP. We were in an area where the government was 200 kilometers away and there was nothing. As a citizen, I experienced this feeling and demanded that it change, and therefore I emphasize the sensitivity of the president to accept a request from the citizen. Being the first ministry in history to be in Alicante is an achievement of civil society. From there, the situation meant that the Generalitat was in the center of Alicante and soon the Presidential headquarters would be at the Post Office. These buildings give a sense of belonging.
Do you mean to say that having a department set up in Alicante breaks this sense of inadequacy?
At least it breaks with the lack of institutions in my city and the long trajectory of being a city with nothing. There was no political activity and this was discrimination in the real and symbolic spheres. There was no listening. I mean, having a ministry in your city contributes to equal opportunity.
You senators, why is it so difficult for us to have our voices heard in Madrid?
There is a part of reality, but also a symbolic part, where there is a discourse that comes mainly from the right that Madrid takes things from us and does not remember us. First of all, I wish the General Government Budgets were more important for the province; but in the face of these voices, I would like to remind you that there was no government in the PP that increased the current budgets and said, ‘I will give advice that does not exist’. Second, the Ximo Puig Government reversed this situation by giving Alicante overpopulated budgets, and of course Generalitat invested more than ever before.
Pedro Sánchez is not making his job any easier. Is this perception wrong?
I think there are controversial decisions, but the central government has also made a very clear commitment to outreach. I’m thinking of a reversal minimum wage increase in the state of Alicante as well.
I’m talking about issues like Imserso that Consell had to make up for…
Indeed, Consell de Ximo Puig has made a firm commitment to tourism and has provided more assistance than ever before, for example with this travel voucher.
Can a priority sector such as tourism be managed by eliminating the deficiencies in Madrid?
I believe that autonomies allow you to make your own politics and set your own priorities. I believe Consell’s policies in this regard have been successful, but I also believe that the policies of the central government are in line with ours, and I am thinking of outreach like ERTE, which ensures that they are not left without assistance in an emergency. situation.
Regarding the interruption in the Tajo-Segura transfer, how do you prepare to defend the said toughness?
It is a primary and intersecting issue. And I’m saying for sure: This Consell is up to the waterers and has shown it by taking the matter to court more than 40 times. The water issue is such a transcendent issue for citizens that it cannot be used as a political weapon or partisan interest. The water problem cannot be solved with populist rhetoric, people cannot be deceived. This is definitely a transcendent problem and needs to be fixed in offices. Ximo Puig’s pulse has not trembled to go to court, he is helping to cheapen water and we have to go hand in hand for investments that are future-proof solutions. We now have more investments than ever before. We have to bet on desalination, better water reuse and photovoltaic energy. So, not everything goes. Populist speech only makes noise, but these are not solutions.
Is it possible to envision a normalized Primary Care? Do you set such goals?
Of course, health is a mainstay. The biggest cuts occurred in 2008, when health was pretty weak and the pandemic came to end it. We are a result of PP’s cut policies, but we are also a result of privatization policies of some PP hospitals. We reversed this situation because only public health provides quality service to all citizens. A hospital cannot be profitable. Absolutely unthinkable.
He shares the bill in Alicante with Aitana Mas and Carlos Mazón. What is your opinion for both?
I think that Aitana Mas is a dialogue-oriented woman because at the ideological level some things unite me and some separate me because we are not members of the same party. Carlos Mazón and my ideology are polar opposites.
Do you see yourself as capable of reaching an agreement with both?
We already share agreements with Compromís. Regarding PP, I am an extremely open person and I believe there is always an area that allows us to reach an agreement, but it is true that there are extreme political forces that I find difficult to reach an agreement. .
Polls also point to the disappearance of some parties in the Valencian Parliament, what do you think?
I’m out to achieve what we did in 2019, where the Socialist Party is the most voted force, and I will defend it.
Is the success or failure of the 28M measured here?
I think this is my obligation. However, I am an advocate of diversity and plurality.