Galicia celebrates this Monday the first debate on the state of autonomy in the post-Feijóo era, the first major examination on general policy for the current president of the Xunta, Alfonso Ruedaand, as a coup d’état, it has announced several social measures aimed at families and the elderly, among which the implementation of a universal bonus stands out. 5,000 euros per year for all dependent people who receive care from a family member, a neighbor or a professional in their own home.
This bonus is unprecedented in any Spanish community and will make Galicia the only autonomous community that will have a universal bonus for people with dependency, regardless of their degree or income, to guarantee that they receive care at home.
Alfonso Rueda does not forget about people with dependency, who receive assistance in specialized centers. Thus, those who already have a voucher to go to the residential center they wish will receive a supplement of 1,200 euros per yearequally independent of the recipient’s income or degree of dependency.
Furthermore, the Xunta de Galicia remembers that these new aid will be added to another great measure designed for dependent people, the launch of the first public intermediate care center in Spain, which will open its doors in Santiago in 2024, which will continue with a second center of these characteristics in Mos (Pontevedra). In this way, they are confident that Galicia will become a national leader in supporting people with dependency.
This first major debate by Alfonso Rueda had a marked pre-electoral overtone, just a few months before the holding of the regional elections in Galicia, still undated. The leader of the BNG, Ana Pontonsees “insult to intelligence” and “lack of respect” for Galicians in the “recital of advertisements, promises and propaganda” of the leader of the PP, whom he sees “giving his last blows” before the elections and the group’s spokesperson socialist, Luis Alvarezit disgraced him that he had chosen to turn the debate into the first campaign event without coming down from his “ivory tower.”
Furthermore, outside the Chamber, the political event served to kick off the PSOE’s internal primaries to elect a candidate. The socialist deputy in Congress José Ramón Gómez Besteiro I take advantage of the appointment to officially announce to the media that I will attend the primaries recently called by the Socialist Federal Executive for October 29 and the candidate in 2020 and current regional deputy Gonzalo Caballero he puts himself “at the disposal” of the party.
The debate was also held at a state level, with direct references from Alfonso Rueda to the national police when he insisted that Galicia “will not tolerate” a hypothetical debt forgiveness to Catalonia. In relation to the hypothetical investiture of Pedro Sánchez, he sees the issues that are on the negotiating table with the independence movement as “an immense mistake”, since what is up for debate “is not the future of any politician”, but the future of all of Spain. .
Rueda has assured that he will make his voice “heard more than ever” in Spain and, as a balance, he has reproached the central government of Pedro Sánchez for “non-compliance” and “ignoring” the community.
In addition to the universal dependency bonus, the Galician president advanced the creation of the +65 Card, which seeks, in a context of prices and inflation, to support Galicians who reach retirement with discounts in different establishments and services. It will equate those over 64 with the Youth Card for youth and will include a program of trips and stays for active enjoyment.
Thinking about families, the regional president adds another announcement to launch during 2024 an administrative simplification plan to reduce to a minimum the procedures that families have to carry out to receive different aid.
Also in a social key, he announced a new reduction in the Property Transfer Tax, which is currently at 9% and next year it will be reduced by an additional point, to 8%. In practice, it will translate into a saving of around 1,000 euros for a property of 100,000 euros or 2,000 for one of 200,000 euros.
Economy and industry were other axes of his speech, which lasted an hour and 20. With the aim of attracting investments and industrial projects to Galicia, he announced that all those that create 25 or more jobs, have an investment of 2 million euros or more and represent a relevant territorial and socioeconomic incident will be declared Strategic Industrial Projects. From now on, all these projects will be guaranteed that their processing will last a maximum of one year and medium-sized projects will be helped through an acceleration plan that will reduce deadlines by half.
Likewise, he announced the creation of a public-private fund with a foundation capital of 300 million euros that will allow those projects with the most potential that are stalled due to lack of financing to start.