The Minister of Finance and Public Administration, Miguel Corgos, defended in Parliament the Orzamentos for 2025 which continue the path traced by the Galician Executive in recent years, with a new “sustainable” increase in spending, in accordance with budgetary rules and European regulations which come into force. strength, in a year where the regional government forecasts growth of 2.13% for next year and 2.1% in 2026. Some estimates are “cautious” in the words of the city councilor, who stressed at the by 2030 the full convergence of the Galician economy with the Spanish economy, with equal per capita income between the two.
The advisor highlighted the positive export cycle that the Community is experiencing, a key factor to understand the Galician growth of recent years despite circumstances like the pandemic or the war in Ukraine, as well as domestic demand, the two pillars as well as the good behavior of the economy. labor market which justify broader provisions for next year according to Corgos. The roadmap marked by the head of Facenda highlights a 2025 with a greater investment effort on the part of the Xunta, with a greater weight of its own resources in relation to elements such as European funds, which will decrease next year, in addition to specific measures such as the strengthening of social measures. spend “up to figures never seen before” according to Corgos – with an emphasis on the modernization of education and health -, a set of tax measures linked to housing which allow better access, particularly for young people ; and an increased effort to attract talent and invest in innovation.
In addition, the councilor highlighted the strengthening of positions dedicated to dependency, investments in climate policies and those to promote the Galician language, as well as the creation of public job offers to improve the capacity of the service. Concretely, Corgos announced that before the end of this year, the Xunta will approve the public employment offer of the general administration for 2024 with 593 new places with free access.
On the other hand, he stressed that the debt relief, defended by the two opposition parties, is not a “good deal for Galicia”, unlike other communities such as Catalonia, reproduced more late by the BNG in the Congress of Deputies. A “tailor-made” measure for Catalonia, where the debt pressure is greater on the “healthier” Galician accounts, explained Corgos, who pleaded for a more “equitable” financing system, after reaffirming that the reduction would not bring spending capacity to Galicia in a context of criticism from socialists and nationalists, who have shown their astonishment at an agreement that they consider eminently positive.
During his speech, the leader of the PSdeG, José Ramón Gómez Besteiro, questioned the investment effort promised by the Executive, highlighting its disappearance in relation to the role of the State and local entities that the Xunta “attack and ignore”. On the other hand, he criticized the fact that the cost of tolls that connect Galician urban centers continues to increase while the regional government focuses more on their “rescue” than on making them free, in addition to attacking the lack measures in the field of housing, “an unguaranteed right”, or even “deficit” funding for teaching and nursing staff.
In the case of the BNG, Ana Pontón accused the PP of presenting “anti-social projects that benefit the richest”, accusing them of being at the service of “lobbies and friendly companies” of the party against the interests of citizens. Likewise, he disfigured the lack of capacity of Alfonso Rueda’s government to execute the budgets – “historic”, he repeated several times with irony after describing them as a “propaganda hoax” -.
Pontón also focused his criticism on the “growth of poverty in Galicia”, as opposed to the improvement of this aspect defended by the councilor of Facenda, in addition to accusing the Executive of engaging in “demagoguery” regarding debt relief and seeking the extinction of Galician, defending more budget in language policies in amendments that were rejected, such as those presented by the socialists.
(There will be an extension)
