The opening point is the notable rise in the 2024 budget, a detail that wasn’t entirely clear just days earlier. In short, the PP and Vox administration maintain current social spending levels without sweeping changes, start addressing the deficit and debt, and curb the surge in investment that characterized recent years. Like any public budget, this plan carries ideology: choosing how to allocate funds to specific sectors is often as much a political decision as a technical one.
For instance, higher funding for educational concerts signals a political stance that favors private education financed largely by public money. The same logic applies to designing a game to celebrate bullfighting festivals during periods of economic pressure.
Cutting aid from organizations that defend or promote unity of the native language, such as the Ramon Llull Institute, in favor of groups that oppose that view and whose programs are not aligned with Botànic, reflects another ideological choice. It is evident that the Valencian Academy of Languages (AVL) — the regulatory body for Valencian — has ruled that Valencian and Catalan can be described in two different ways depending on the context, and that this institution is responsible for those determinations. The law that creates this body is regarded as within its own competence, and all publicly funded entities are expected to take its decisions into account.
2024 accounts grow by 4.5% to maintain social spending and pay down debt
Even a projected one-billion-euro rise in tax collection might be viewed as a political choice grounded in the liberal belief that tax reductions spur economic growth and, in turn, boost VAT and other revenues.
In this framework, the tax authority Airef enabled the new Consell to underwrite its forecast with a state-delivery estimate that rose significantly versus 2023 by 16%, softening the impact of any missing or uncertain items.
In any case, the inaugural accounts, under President Carlos Mazón and Finance Chief Ruth Merino, aim to bring debt and deficit under control. An important caveat is that some financial rule relaxations were agreed upon, a warning echoed by the previous councilor who warned that brakes must be applied.
Historically, the left-leaning government argued that increasing the budget deficit and the resulting debt was necessary to bring Valencian public spending in line with the average of other regions. The objective to equalize spending across communities has largely been achieved. The question remains whether that equality can be sustained without expanding deficits and debt.
Budgets are like a quilt stretched over cold times; pull one side and the other frays. These early Mazón accounts uphold a consistent message from the campaign: social commitments stay at their current share of spending. Investments and employment policies see cuts, especially in infrastructure projects, while support to companies is trimmed. Previously, President Ximo Puig focused on social spending and framed those needs as victims of underfunding — a narrative that continues to leave vulnerable areas exposed.
The 2024 budget preserves the current balance of power within the PP and Vox ministries. The PP still directs about 95 percent of Generalitat funds, and Vox, the more symbolic partner, chooses to emphasize rhetoric over deep investment in essential areas.
The revised text maintains the original emphasis on public finance discipline, the role of ideology in budget choices, and the tension between social protection and investment in growth. It remains a portrait of a region negotiating debt reduction, service levels, and political priorities within a framework that seeks to balance fiscal prudence with social commitments, while providing a lens on how coalition dynamics shape budgetary outcomes [Airef analysis].