SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, July 16. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Canarian Vice President and Minister of Finance, Budgets and European Affairs, Román Rodríguez, has assured that he shares with some doubts in terms of efficiency the anti-inflationary measures announced by the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, in the recent debate on the state of the nation.
He does so in his weekly article, entitled ‘Sánchez: proposals, successes and forgetfulness’, in which he highlights that he missed references to some highly relevant issues that affect the islands, including migration policies or the situation in the Sahara; and he defended for the users of urban and interurban buses the same support as for those of suburban trains.
Rodríguez considers that Sánchez’s proactive attitude dislodged the opposition and his own government partners, “who applauded the measures, indicating them as their own, in some cases insufficient, but which remain in the background in this reinforcement of the Executive’s initiative and, especially, of the figure of its president. And, likewise, it left those analysts disconcerted who thought that the debate was going to be the prologue of early elections and the definitive defeat of the current Executive and its president”.
Regarding the tax on electricity companies and financial entities, he points out that the amounts that are expected to be collected are “meager compared to the billionaire benefits that energy and financial entities are accumulating with practices that clearly undermine the principle of market competition to the detriment of citizens.” .
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Rodríguez applauds the bonus for suburban and metro users, measures aimed at large population centers and that correctly combine support for the personal and family economy with making the use of public transport more attractive and, consequently, reduce pollution and fuel expense. But he understands that they should also be reflected in a community, such as the Canary Islands, “in which Renfe does not operate and in which its task is carried out by urban and interurban buses from the different islands, as well as the tram in Tenerife”.
And remember that this matter has nothing to do with the 75% obtained by Nueva Canarias for travel by plane or boat, “which is a right of residents of the Canary Islands, recognized in the REF, so that our mobility situation resembles to that of the citizens of the rest of the State. The confusion on the part of the state parties confirms that they do not know the REF and its essential role in compensating for our difficulties due to remoteness and insularity”.
In relation to Pedro Sánchez’s announcement of measures to achieve full decarbonisation in the Balearic and Canary Islands, Román Rodríguez hopes that the error made in the decree of urgent measures to respond to the economic and social consequences of the war in Ukraine will be corrected and he does not insist on the installation of regasification plants in the Islands, a possibility already rejected by the Canarian institutions.
MIGRATORY PHENOMENA
Likewise, he highlights in his opinion article the forgetfulness of the Spanish president of two matters of great relevance for the Canary Islands. On the one hand, the situation in Western Sahara after the swerve of the Spanish Government and its support for the Moroccan thesis of autonomy as a solution to the conflict.
On the other hand, “the migratory phenomena, which affect us as the southern border of Europe and which involve the annual arrival of tens of thousands of people after painful journeys in which many end up losing their lives; and in which we demand a change in policies European and state migration from respect for human rights and the search for legal and safe migration paths, as well as co-responsibility in humanitarian action, especially in the case of minors”.
Finally, Rodríguez recalls that numerous measures have been applied in the Canary Islands to deal with the current global inflationary crisis. Among others, “the return of one hundred percent of the fuel tax to transporters, farmers and ranchers, extended until December 31 this year; direct aid for 17 million euros granted to the Canarian livestock sector, which will be extended to throughout the year; the decree that allows the universities of La Laguna and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to pay their bills with remnants; or the April agreement of the Canarian Executive to authorize the revision of the prices of public works”.
Added to these measures are the zero rate of the IGIC for medical supplies and, likewise, the zero rate to help in the reconstruction of La Palma. Without forgetting that, unlike the rest of the State, the Canary Islands have a zero rate on most of the foods that make up the shopping basket, as well as on electricity, gas and fuels.
