How was the transition from the position of trustee of Ciudadanos to managing the Valencia Community’s coffers and being Consell’s spokesperson in the PP ranks?
It was a very natural transition, as I decided to leave the party last January and was presented with the opportunity to continue contributing to politics from the People’s Party with which I felt very similar. I was very comfortable from the start and am grateful that I have been allowed to contribute to the betterment of Valencian society. I think there is no need to dwell on this situation.
How did you find the Generalitat’s safe?
Botànic’s previous government left us a minefield in different parts of the Generalitat, and we owe my department an exorbitant amount of 55,000 million euros, which puts us first in terms of GDP. autonomous communities, and the latter in an absolute sense, which is completely unacceptable. Therefore, we have a difficult financial situation, but from day one we are working to reverse this legacy left to us by Botànic, with very clear ideas and the project, and above all we start by obtaining fair funding for the Valencian Community.
To what extent is this the responsibility of the previous Consell government or the insufficient funding this region suffered?
Things could have been done much better, because with more resources from both professional and European funding, it’s incredible how much more was spent than budgeted and this had no impact on an improvement in the services provided. to citizens. We find ourselves in this situation due to Botànic’s lousy management and inability to close the gap. And, of course, there is the lack of funding. There have also been recent events with Ximo Puig and his government indifferent to demanding what is just for Valencians. I guess it’s because he has a boss in Madrid and he has to keep his head down and wear warm clothes many times. What is clear is that in the last five years we have witnessed a vicious debate that has been resolved without a single step being taken.
What is your roadmap to solve this problem?
Be vengeful in Madrid, where we were meant to be. You don’t need to stick a Band-Aid or say nice words. What needs to be done is to give justice to this reform in the financial system, which has hurt us so much in recent years. Unfortunately, no government was formed. Of course, we hope that Alberto Núñez Feijóo will get a good result from the investment because it will be the best thing that can happen to the Valencian Community. But in any case, we will demand from day one a fair and adequate system that will serve all Valencians and their essential services.
He says he trusts Feijoo to be the next president, but the accounts didn’t come up, at least initially…
The truth is, he won the election and must form a government and be sworn in as president. I insist that this will be good for Spaniards in general and Valencians in particular.
One of the main slogans of the new regional government was to reduce taxes. Is this compatible with maintaining services?
This is certainly possible because it will be accompanied by a number of measures that are part of this project, such as not only reducing taxes and earning less, but also simplifying all procedures for promoting entrepreneurship and business activity. What it does is impose better tax conditions, but also attract large estates and foreign investment. Obviously these are not immediate effects, because they don’t happen from one day to the next, but at the same time, as we’ve shown, we’re trying to eliminate structural costs from day one. We will carry out an instrumental public sector reform, in which we will eliminate any duplicity in service delivery, which must be added to the reduction of senior positions. Go to this Council, which aims to make efficient use of every euro citizens contribute with their taxes.
But as you admit, this will not yield immediate results. In the meantime, how do you plan to compensate for the decrease in your income?
To manage and prioritize effectively and efficiently. This is what all ministers have been applying to since they took office. With this Council, hypocrisy is over, waste is over, waste is over. Eventually we have the accounts we have and will be able to reverse them, but in the meantime, what we’re going to do is manage efficiently to gradually help this panorama change completely.
Are they in favor of the debt being written off by the state?
We fully believe that the historical injustice that has taken place in the Valencian Community must be remedied in some way. There is destructive data out there and it has to be compensated somehow.
But it is not clear what kind of compensation it is?
We will discuss this when the finance desk can meet. We don’t have a proposal from the start, let’s say we have a very clear goal at hand, which is to provide fair financing and recoup our historic debt.
Will there be regional budgets in time and form?
It will be although the current situation in Madrid at the moment makes this difficult and we do not know the resources or some settlements that will be allocated to us. We must base ourselves on estimates from other reports, acting responsibly and sticking to data we know.
Mazón announced the closure of the Generalitat’s agencies and some departments. How will it be resolved?
Auditing and analysis of all departments of the public sector will need to be done, the reorganization of resources, and it will be necessary to see whether the functions carried out by an organization can be taken over directly by a ministry or by a general mandate. In these years when the instrumental public sector was promised to be reduced, what was done was to increase it not only in number, but at a cost of 4,000 million euros each year to all Valencians. Our goal is to optimize and cost taxpayers as little as possible.
You talked about attracting large investments into the community. How do they plan to do this?
We will put all conditions in the Valencian Community for large investments of whatever type to come in, eliminate bureaucracy, offer good tax terms and ultimately leave the doors open. We are moving forward with Volkswagen to make the gigafactory a reality as soon as possible and of course we will not put a stick in the wheels.
and Tesla?
I won’t go into specific names, but the truth is that any major investment that will create wealth and jobs in this Community will have an easy job with this government.
Alicante has always been last in terms of investment in recent years. Will you continue to be?
It is clear that the province of Alicante has been treated quite unfairly, especially by the Spanish Government. The investment data is out there, and as President Mazón said before he even became president of Consell, we’re not going to allow that anymore. Alicante is a province with great potential and riches and it is impossible not to see the justice it deserves.
And by the Generalitat?
Of course we will comply with the just demands of the province of Alicante, but the same as those of Castellón and Valencia. We will not be treated unfairly as the Spanish Government did.
Will the commitments with the Digital Zone and the City of Light be sustained?
Of course, all ongoing and projected investments will be taken into account. Everything will be reviewed and work will be carried out efficiently so that the decisions taken turn into improvements for the province of Alicante and the people of Alicante.
Are ministries overseen by Carlos Mazón?
We work as a united and dialogical government. There is no communication problem between us. Everything is discussed, everything is discussed, but ministries have autonomy within the framework of the logical premises of the government.
What is the daily life of a government with Vox like?
As I said, we work as a team and we are one government. Relationships are also very good.
But do you feel comfortable with certain behaviors, such as not publicly condemning gender violence or giving up a banner?
This Council’s commitment to combating violence against women is very solid. In the rest and in the administration, I insist that we are working perfectly in this government.