Businessmen, unions and mayors of the province of Teruel, one of the territories most affected by the ecological transition and depopulation, are asking the new minister, Sara Aagesen, to accelerate aid and projects undertaken following the hasty end of coal.
His predecessor, Teresa Ribera, had a very complicated relationship with the mining regionswhich sparked strong protests after learning of the closure of the Andorra thermal power station. The personal treatment, say those who remained in contact with her at that time, was always “very good”. His politics, however, are another story.
“As a person, I can’t say anything bad. Whenever we asked, he helped us, but the transition he proposed was in no way what we would have wanted. Times have not been at the same pace. They should have started the projects first and then demolished the factory,” says CEOE Teruel president Juan Ciércoles.
This makes the new minister ask above all for “speed”. “If there is none, investments will not arrive on time and people will look for other alternatives in other territories which, by circumstances, could be better than ours. We run the risk that they end up leaving forever, because there is less investment here every day and fewer opportunities,” he laments.
According to him, the transition should have been more in line with the closure of the thermal power plant, since the investments linked to Nu Mudéjar “They are not expected before, at the earliest, the end of 2025”. “I come from Andorra and I saw the factory built and destroyed. Without these promised investments, it is impossible for people to have confidence in the future of the region. We run the risk of dying trying” , he warns.
In recent years, several neighbors have left for other provinces in search of opportunities. “If you destroy first, it is difficult to create again. It has been more than six months since the factory was completely demolished and all the announced investments have not yet arrived. We hope they will do it in 2025. But in the meantime, people are bleeding, throwing in the towel and closing their businesses,” he explains.
His feelings are shared by Alejo Galve, general secretary of the UGT of Teruel and worker at the now defunct factory. “We have had very difficult years with the closure and it continues. The dismantling is finished and we no longer see anything here. There was a great rush to close the factory. It worked and no company has come here yet,” he criticizes.
Additionally, remember that support plans The largest investments are planned for the period 2027-2028. “By then, we may no longer be human beings. Many seek a life where they can,” he adds.
Like Ciércoles, he recognizes that the agreement with Ribera has always been very good. “Now, we don’t expect this to continue. We know it will happen, but not when. “That’s not what was discussed, there should be more movement.”he emphasizes.
Galve believes that Minister Aagesen has formulas and funds to compensate the territory, such as Fite and just transition assistance. “Now we have to put them to work, and not just in Teruel. Otherwise, what will the other regions live on? »», he asks, while calling on the new head of Ecological Transition to meet “those who really know the territory”.
Joaquín Moreno, mayor of Utrillas and regional representative of Aragon-Teruel Exist, lived these years on the other side of the fence. He attended the demonstrations against Teresa Ribera and made a pilgrimage to the Andorra thermal power station. “We considered that we were not acting logically. And even more so in a region like mine, which had already suffered the closure of the Escucha center”, remember.
The mayors expected a “a real industrial reconversion” this did not happen. “We went from being producers of electricity and generators of a large part of the GDP of the province of Teruel to the paralysis of the exploitation of lignite and thermal power plants in 25 years,” he emphasizes.
This This had direct consequences. “Over the last quarter of a century, the population has halved. It went from 15,000 inhabitants to less than 8,000 due to the lack of change in the model. The aid that has been granted so far has reached more than neighboring municipalities than towards purely mining areas”, he laments.
This is why he asks the new minister “justice with the territories which have been sacrificed to produce electricity and exploit mines”. “We still have time to revisit everything that has not been done so far. We must focus on models in which the just transition brings together businesses and generates jobs,” he explains.
