The PSOE spokesperson in the Congress of Deputies, Patxi Lopezcorrected this Tuesday the spokesperson of the Executive of his party, Esther Pena. López said that the financing of provinces such as Teruel, Soria or Cuenca “is not comparable” to the single financing of Catalonia.
Peña said this Monday, during the press conference that followed the PSOE Executive, that there are other territories, in addition to Catalonia, that benefit from a unique treatment in terms of taxation, giving the example of provinces at risk of depopulation such as Teruel, Soria and Bassin.
After the uproar generated, during the press conference after the Meeting of Spokespersons of the Congress, Patxi López was asked if she considers that the situation of these provinces is comparable to the only Catalan financing.
“It is not comparable, because we are talking about provinces”“, he said, and in the case of Catalonia, “we are talking about regional financing,” he added.
The agreement between ERC and the PSC to invest Salvador Illa as president of the Generalitat in exchange for a single financing for Catalonia, he has raised serious concerns, not only within the opposition, but within the PSOE itself, with the socialist autonomous governments and regional executives positioning themselves against this proposal.
In an attempt to calm things down, Peña said on Monday that he wanted to “remember that the first differential and unique tax system in this country is that of Teruel, Soria and Cuenca and that no one has raised a cry.” It was the first press conference after learning of the agreement and he did not want to ask whether it was a concert or not.
The platform Soria NOW! He criticised the statements, which he called a “bunch of lies”, and said that the PSOE was comparing “apples and pears because they are not capable of convincing even their own”.
But they are not the only ones. The president of Aragon, Jorge Azconcalled Peña’s words a “dialectical slap in the face.” “Comparing what is happening in Teruel with what is happening in Catalonia is a thing in itself,” he said Tuesday at an informative breakfast in Madrid.
Patxi López, however, did not believe Esther Peña’s comparison, but defended the agreement with the ERC. He said that “the important thing for a citizen is not who collects a tax, but what he does with what is collected.”
But not everyone in the PSOE is equally convinced. The party will hold its Federal Committee this Saturday and many barons critical of the measure will ask to speak to criticize it. It is expected to be one of the most tense commissions in recent years, because even with the amnesty there has not been as much noise.
Governments like that of Castile-La Mancha either Asturiasand frames like that of Aragon either Extremadura They have positioned themselves directly against the agreement, believing that it breaks the solidarity between the Autonomous Communities.
