Carles Puigdemont and the Criticism of the PSOE
The Junts per Catalunya candidate for the presence of the Generalitat, Carles Puigdemont, has once again expressed his rejection of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) and the Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSC) for the insufficient investments that the State destined for Catalonia. In a message published on his account of the X network, Puigdemont has mocked the behavior of the PSOE, pointing out that they seem to believe that their propaganda campaign against independence can sustain everything. In his words, Catalan citizens who vote and wish to remain in Spain must be aware that for the Spanish Government, they and future generations are worth half as much as those from Madrid.
The Reactivation of the Debate on Dependency
Puigdemont has warned that the real obstacle to Catalonia’s development does not come from independence, but from the dependence it has been suffering from. Asking directly to the PSC, and in particular to its presidential candidate, Salvador Illa, he said: ‘How do they intend to justify to their voters the disparity in value between a citizen of Hospitalet and a PP voter in Madrid? How can they defend it without feeling ashamed?’
Defending Catalonia
The Junts leader has criticized the actions of PSC representatives in the Council of Ministers, wondering what interests they really defend. He emphasized that, with the current figures, the priorities of the socialists are not those of the Catalan citizens. ‘Not only are they breaking the agreement for investments in Catalonia, but they are also allocating more funds to Madrid than they had initially planned. This is what the parties of the system call “normality” and “stability”, he declared.
Commitment to the Interests of All Catalans
Puigdemont has stated that as long as they have the power to influence economic policy and state investments, they will firmly oppose any decision that does not respect the rights of Catalan citizens. He said that ‘everyone, without exception, deserves to be respected by the government, and not to be treated as if they were second-class citizens, where every year in Madrid they make decisions that directly affect them’.
Junts position before the Spanish Government
Together for Catalonia has rejected the budgetary stability objectives that the Government of Spain has presented on several occasions. ‘We are facing an executive that does not seem to understand that it does not have a majority in Congress and that it will need the support of other groups, including Junts, to be able to launch its initiatives. As long as the budget execution deficit continues to harm Catalonia, Junts will not give its support to the general budgets of 2025’, explained Junts deputy, Josep Maria Cruset, from Congress.
The Budget Execution Deficit
The argument for opposing the Spanish Government’s proposal is the budget execution deficit that Catalonia has suffered over the last few years. The data on the budget execution for the year 2023 reveal that only 45% of the total allocated has been used. In contrast, Autonomous Communities such as Madrid, Murcia or Castilla-La Mancha have much higher percentages: 212% in Madrid, 218% in Murcia and 115% in Castilla-La Mancha. ‘Catalonia is the one that has used the fewest resources’, Cruset lamented, recalling that the Catalans are the ones who contribute the most to the state budget.
Conclusion on the Financing Formula
Pujolment also added that it is ‘immoral’ that the investment executed in Madrid multiplies by five that of Catalonia. This situation, according to him, indicates a clear inequality in the treatment that the State gives to Catalonia compared to other regions, and highlights the need to review the current funding formula to ensure fair treatment.
