The Government of Castile-La Mancha will dedicate one euro in four of the regional budgets for 2025 to the implementation of measures aimed at stopping and reversing depopulation in the autonomous community, and which are included in the Demographic Impact Report which, for the third consecutive year, is included in the regional accounts.
This was stated Monday by the first vice president of the Regional Executive, José Luis Martínez Guijarro, during his appearance at the Comission of the economy and budgets of the Cortes of Castile-La Mancha to detail your department’s budget for the next financial year.
As estimated, 2,036 million euros are included in the demographic impact report, which brings together all the budget items for next year aimed at stopping demographic loss. A figure which, in the words of the first vice-president, demonstrates “the commitment of this government to mitigate this trend that we are facing with all the resources at our disposal”.
Concretely, Martínez Guijarro specified that these 2.036 million represent almost 25 percent, or a quarter, of the expenditure ceiling of the Castile-La Mancha budget bill for the next fiscal year, whose parliamentary processing has already begun and which also translates into 3.7 percent of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the autonomous community, “well above what some entities linked to this claim type of policies.
Analyzing the figures, the first vice-president clarified that the budget for active policies against depopulation for next year increased by 6 percent compared to that planned for 2024, allocating almost 115 million euros. moreover. This means that almost 5.6 million euros per day will be allocated to the integral development of rural areas in the region and to guaranteeing access to public services for the entire population, regardless of where they live. residence.
At this point, Martínez Guijarro highlighted the results left by the almost four years of application of the law on measures against depopulation, which left us with a positive migration balance of 11,368 inhabitants in sparsely populated and at-risk rural areas depopulation. highlighting that 67 percent of the total occurred in the provinces of Cuenca and Guadalajara, the most affected by the depopulation of Castilla-La Tache.
Urban and rural development programs
The first vice-president insisted on the fact that to continue moving forward in the fight against depopulation and within the framework of the Regional Strategy against depopulation, “we want to bring the magnifying glass closer to each of the 26 areas with which we work” to through the “Urban and Rural Development Agendas” which will serve to advance in each area indicated in the Law of Measures against Depopulation, both the content of this norm and the instrument that derives from it, the Regional strategy against depopulation in Castile-La Mancha 2021-2031.
In this sense, he recalled that a few months ago collaboration agreements were signed with the Castellano-Manchega Rural Development Network (Recamder), which establishes the preparation of the first five agendas as pilot experiences before the end of 2025 and continues with the development of a total of 26, which once launched “will serve as a guide to be able to influence the areas already identified in the law on measures against depopulation with more concrete actions, and thus multiply the results”.
These first five ADURs, whose contracts we will sign next Thursday, will focus on the regions from Sierra de Alcaraz to Albacete; Campo de Montiel in Ciudad Real; Central basin; Lordship Molina in Guadalajara; and the La Jara region of Toledo.
In addition, Martínez Guijarro detailed that the budget allocated to the structure of the Presidency of Castilla-La Mancha, on which the First Vice Presidency depends; the second vice-presidency; and the Ministry of Spokesperson, amounts to 26 million euros, which represents only 0.20 percent of the total accounts of the Regional Executive, “the same amount that has been allocated in recent years”.
