social elements
In Alicante, the newly appointed sub-delegate, Juan Antonio Nieves, signaled this week that the city will press for the investment amount it deserves given its population size and GDP contribution. He spoke after outlining a social shield celebrated by journalists and highlighted by the government as a sign of its benefits for the province, comparing current gains to the situation in 2018 under the PP. In the latest state budgets, the government cut investment in the sector by 12.3 percent for the province and allocated only a third of the share justified by population. Alicante once again seems left out of the main investment flow; Nieves stressed his intent to prevent a repeat of this scenario and promised careful handling to secure Alicante’s fair share. The 2023 budgets still showed the province receiving 20 million more than the last accounts prepared by the PP.
social elements
“We must also consider all social elements”, Nieves remarked, alluding to the socialist government’s prior actions that were praised as part of the social shield. The remarks carried a political tone, echoing interventions by the Government delegate for the Valencian Community, Pilar Bernabé, from two weeks earlier. Bernabé’s comments at that time also challenged agreements reached by the PP and Vox at both regional and Alicante City Council levels.
Nieves emphasized improvements in social indicators over recent years and cited major infrastructure projects such as the Mediterranean Corridor and the New Generation EU funds. He noted the Valencian Community stands to gain from roughly €6,000 million in total, with around €2,000 million managed directly by the central government. When pressed about precise figures for direct investments or the status of project execution, Nieves did not disclose further numbers.
New conflict between Alicante City Council and Government Sub-Delegation due to police presence
As with other recent interventions by socialist representatives, Nieves defended the Sánchez administration’s record on investment, pointing to a reported 1.6 billion euros in state investments. His focus stayed on reducing unemployment, a trend he attributes to the Valencian Community, and on the community’s historical employment achievements, while acknowledging ongoing disruptions from global events such as the war in Ukraine and inflation. He highlighted reforms and measures that have supported job security and living standards in recent years.
covid crisis
The sub-delegate framed the socialist government’s response to the Covid crisis as more effective than in the previous administration. He claimed that employment levels had returned to pre-pandemic figures within two years, contrasting that with the decade-plus path during the neoliberal response to the financial crisis. He asserted that some right-wing voices warned of doom, yet Spain did not face collapse. Among notable gains cited were pension revaluations, the rise in the inter-professional minimum wage, and the government’s labour reform which has made a majority of contracts in the Valencian Community permanent. He also mentioned a social support program that reaches thousands of residents with grants or minimum living income support, specifically mentioning 96,840 beneficiaries in the province.
Other topics touched on included a new public dispute over police presence in the Playa de San Juan area and the willingness to convene a Local Security Council, which Nieves described as an appropriate, cooperative approach between public administrations. He argued for a measured response to water-use restrictions during a potential drought, stressing that policy decisions must be made with respect for authorities across administrations while remaining open to macro water deposit projects in Alicante.