This Monday, the eleventh legislative body of the Valencian Parliament will be created. In the period that is about to begin, the People’s Party and Vox will be in power after the pact announced by both formations on the 13th. A few days later, they made public the fifty points that would serve as the basis for the first government actions. The names of the president of the Cortes and the majority of the ministers, who will be from the Ultra party, are not yet known. Certainties to date include the popular Carlos Mazón as president of the Generalitat and Vicente Barrera, a former bullfighter from Vox, vice president.
Beyond these names, both entities inherit a Valencian Community that has faced many challenges, from the sexist violence that caused the initial crisis between PP and Vox to the demand for fair regional funding. Between one problem and another, there are other issues of the utmost importance that require an immediate response. Tax cuts, the collapse of Primary Care, multilingualism, mobility, the implementation of renewable energy or the conflict over the ecological transition are some of them.
GENDER VIOLENCE
first disagreement
It wasn’t even 24 hours since the PP and Vox’s 50-point government deal, which refers to “domestic” violence, a term used by the far-right, was announced, and it had already triggered the first crisis between the two countries. two formations. The trigger was Valencia Vox’s number two player, José María Llanos, who said “there is no gender-based violence”. Although he later rectified the situation in a post on Twitter, the damage had already been done.
The PP rushed out to respond to Llanos, starting with Mazón and continuing with national leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo. “There is gender violence. This is a scourge I won’t stop fighting for. The future head of the Generalitat, the Government he heads, will not only step back, but will strengthen all kinds of protection measures for women.”
LOW TAX
one of the big priorities
One of the top priorities Mazón advocates is the need to face a tax cut in the Community of Valencia. His proposal covers 80% of Valencians. Now it needs to harmonize its plan in financial matters with a balance that will not mean a reduction in the public resources that guarantee the welfare state. In this sense, Mazón’s approach follows the recommendations of other major popular regional leaders such as Isabel Díaz Ayuso or Juanma Moreno.
One of Mazón’s commitments during the campaign was “We will change the scale of personal income tax to benefit all incomes, especially low and middle income earners”. According to its leader, the tax reform proposed by the PP for the Valencian Community “represents the most ambitious plan ever launched”. Estimated savings exceed 1,750 million euros. In addition, Property Transfer Tax is expected to decrease from 10% to 6% for houses under 250,000 euros.
PRIMARY CARE
Stop the “collapse”
The top priority in the PP campaign has been the health status of the Valencian Community. Mazón was accused of Botànic’s balance being “a disastrous administration and a collapse in Primary Care”. It will be up to your new government to reverse this situation. To achieve this aim, among other actions, it is planned to create a General Directorate of Primary Health Care and protect by law the Valencia public health budget with 30% of the total resources.
Among other measures, the project for the health of the Executive, created by PP and Vox, aimed not to enforce the language requirement for public health system officials; To increase the number of staff members of family physicians, pediatricians, nurses and other professionals assigned in Primary Care Centers; and to legally guarantee the maximum time on the waiting list for diagnostic and surgical testing. When the deadlines exceed fifty days, the tests will be carried out in a special management service.
INVERSIONS
Denia and Elche-Vinalopó
One of the striking points about the steps to be taken by the new regional government of PP and Vox is their actions to take a step back on health issues. Among the unknowns, for example, whether these returns will be frozen or whether new customizations will be made needs to be resolved. In this context, there are the sanitary areas of Dénia and Elche-Vinalopó, whose reversal is part of the Botànic roadmap. From the left, it is pointed out that Mazón will freeze the reversal of the management of the health and hospital areas held by private companies. For their part, they confirm in the PP that a final decision on this issue has not yet been made.
Popular circles also pointed out that the first thing to do in this sense is to audit the Valencia health system to reveal its reality in detail. Based on the outcome of this audit, a decision will be made by Botànic regarding any previously planned cancellations and other possible future actions. Since it will not be an easy process, it will be one of the most intricate issues to be addressed. For example, if hospital procedures return to a private enterprise, they will have to go out to tender again with all the features they require at the personnel level.
MULTILINGUALITY
Freedom of education choice
Knowing the ministries (Culture, Justice and Agriculture) that Vox will manage, PP will take charge of Education. Included in the election program was a commitment to guaranteeing families the freedom to “choose the centre, ideology and language they want in their children’s education”. One of Mazón’s first announcements after winning the election was that the Office of Language Rights, launched by Botànic in 2017 and dubbed the “Language Police Office”, would be abolished.
The future head of the Generalitat has expressed his intention to end “an entire army of carefully selected language advisers”, restore the number of education inspectors, end the “Valencia process” and “pull ideology out of the system”. Vox’s election program, for its part, demonstrated its commitment to “guarantee the freedom of education and language and the quality of teaching without ideological interference” and “remove activists and language counselors from the classrooms”.
SIMPLIFY THE PLAN
reduce bureaucracy
Mazón began to describe the citizens’ relationship with the Administration as “diabolical”. In this sense, he promised to eliminate bureaucracy and obstacles during the campaign. To this end, it presented the Simplification Plan, which aims, among other things, to bring agility to companies. The popular proposal envisions “patrimonial liability mechanisms of the administration” in the face of unjustified delays in allowing procedures, as it considers “meaning costs and expenditure for the citizen”.
According to estimates made public by the PP in recent months, the simplification of bureaucracy in the Administration will contribute to a four percentage point increase in the competitiveness of the Valencian Community. The Simplification Plan is part of one of the hundred measures that the public urgently wants to implement, of the more than 2,000 proposals that make up the electoral programs. “We don’t have time. That’s why we come home with our homework done,” Mazón stressed.
MOBILITY
A new model is needed
In this area, the Generalitat’s future president advocates the need to mobilize a new mobility model. One of the most revolutionary proposals for the province in this regard is the opening of a tram that will pass through Elche in four years. Generalitat will fully finance this business, which will be worth around 200 million and will connect the Carrús industrial area with that of Torrellano. Beyond the Elche project, the popular program commits to “fast and frequent commuter services, the expansion of public transport and metro and tram services that connect all towns and cities.”
Planned central government requests in terms of mobility include the completion of the Mediterranean Corridor, the implementation of the Valencia Community Suburban Plan or the linking of the AVE between the three provincial capitals. In addition, it is proposed to improve the road connections from inside and outside to the beach and the Tram connection between Luceros station and Renfe station in Alicante city.
RENEWABLE
Another accident plan
As in other sectors, a shock plan is also planned to be implemented in relation to the implementation of renewable energies in the Community of Valencia. Mazón announced at the end of March that in the first six months of the future Consell, it will restart “authorizations of renewable energy files without ideology and with common sense.” The popular leader denounced the loss of investment and 7,500 jobs, “very concerned about the blockade and paralysis” that the energy situation has, especially photovoltaic and renewable energy.
The differences in renewable resources between Botànic and PP come from afar. Evidence of this is the announcement at the end of last year that popular groups announced that they would take the processing of projects that they described as “collapsed” to the Ombudsman and the Services General Inspection Board, as they have already done. with Primary Level.
ECOLOGICAL TRANSITION
An area reserved for PP
Although the Agriculture area was given to Vox under a government agreement, the ultra formation will only be responsible for primary sector related matters. The one about the climate crisis and ecological transition will remain in the hands of the PP. On environmental issues, one of the biggest flags of the popular is the advocacy of the Tajo-Segura transfer. On the occasion of this issue, they filed a criminal complaint against the central government, which they accused of undermining the sustainability of the Alicante province.
As with gender violence, Vox’s actions regarding the climate crisis will be analyzed in detail. It has already attracted a lot of attention that in the fifty items jointly announced by the public and Santiago Abascal, not a single mention is made of climate change or responsible consumption. The Ultras have been in deniers of this since their inception.
REGIONAL FINANCE
historical claim
One issue that has increased support for the Community of Valencia and has a historical claim is the implementation of a fair regional financing model balanced by population weight and GDP of autonomy. Mazón is attacking the leadership of Ximo Puig and Pedro Sánchez in this area, and now it will be his turn to take the reins. All this happened while waiting for the new scenario in which the 23 July general elections will be held.
Popular ones denounced that the Valencian Community was the least recipient through the regional financing system at 2,247 euros per capita, 178 euros less than the average, condemning it to cabotage. Mazón will now have to lead the claim to reverse the situation and achieve a fairer distribution.