The Agriculture spokesperson of the PSOE in the Cortes of Aragon, Marcel Iglesias, has censured the regional Executive of the PP and Vox for, in his judgment, belittling farmers and ranchers with a draft budget that significantly reduces the resources allocated to the agricultural sector, while his governing partner publicizes a transfer of the Ebro for the people of Aragon. His statements were made this Monday during the appearance of the minister of Agriculture and Livestock in the Finance commission to detail the accounts of her department.
"Azcón and Nolasco have taken out the chainsaw and cut 26.8 million euros from the total budget for Agriculture, Livestock and Food," he said. Iglesias warned that the regional Executive led by Jorge Azcón will maintain in 2027 the line of the three years of the PP with Vox government: "not to support the primary sector."
The Socialist deputy has denounced that "they are dressing up the budget with slogans and insufficient announcements, such as the aid from the crisis fund that the Government of Aragon has approved." In his view, "it’s no longer that they arrive late; it’s that they stay very far from what is necessary." He also emphasized that "the Government of Spain has already approved measures worth 1,100 million euros to help the primary sector due to the consequences of Donald Trump’s war in Iran," he added.
Along the same lines, he stressed that "the announcement of the measures by the Government of Aragon is a bandage that does not meet the sector’s needs." The socialists find especially worrying that the regional cutback occurs in a context in which contributions from other administrations are increasing: funding from the European Union rises by 5.5 million and that from the State by 3.7 million, which amounts to 13% more.
Iglesias has reiterated that "the PP-VOX Government of Aragon reduces its contribution to the Agriculture and Livestock budget and cuts by more than 36 million euros the own resources." As he indicated, "while the European Union has increased its contributions and the Government of Spain too, we see that the incomprehensible response of Azcón’s government is to deliver a tremendous blow to the budget by cutting fundamental items such as irrigation or the incorporation of young farmers."
As for irrigation infrastructures, he has specified that the items intended for the creation and modernization of irrigation are reduced overall by 8.2 million euros: the creation falls from 8.9 to 6.1 million and modernization goes from 15.4 to 10 million. In this regard, he criticized that "Azcón and his partners talk big about water, reservoirs and new irrigated areas, but since they have been in government they have not driven forward a single hectare of new irrigated areas and now, in addition, they are cutting more than 30% the funds for the creation and modernization of irrigated areas."
The Socialist spokesperson on Agriculture has considered "extremely serious the slash to the incorporation of young farmers: 1.7 million less, by going from 15.3 to 13.6 million". In his view, "in a sector that needs to guarantee generational renewal, the Government decides to put up more obstacles and fewer resources. Do they really believe that the future of the countryside can be ensured by cutting precisely one of the most important aids for those who want to join? It’s outrageous," he added.
Marcel Iglesias has maintained that "for the PP and Vox, the people of the Aragonese countryside don’t matter; it’s only for taking photos and confronting the central government; when the reality is that in three years the government of Jorge Azcón has not driven forward a single measure of substance for the Aragonese primary sector". To conclude, he contrasted the actions of the regional executive with those of the central Government, by stating that "the Government of Pedro Sánchez has made historic investments in Aragón; it has invested more than 400 million euros in the modernization of irrigation and has mobilized more than 1.100 million euros to help the sector in light of the consequences of Donald Trump’s war in the Middle East," he concluded.