The PSOE deputy and socialist spokesperson on the Finance Commission of the Cortes of Aragón, Óscar Galeano, criticized this Wednesday that Jorge Azcón has presented “budgets for 2027 drawn up to Vox’s instruction, with no willingness for dialogue with the rest of the political forces and with which he intends to conceal his inability to execute the investments committed during his more than three years in charge of the Government of Aragón.”
Galeano summarized the strategy of the Aragonese president with the phrase “with Vox everything and with the rest nothing,” reproaching him for there having been no round of contacts with opposition groups before registering the accounts bill. “The doors have always been closed,” he said, stressing that the parties excluded from the negotiation represent more than 250,000 people in Aragón whom, in his view, Azcón has decided to ignore.
The socialist spokesperson recalled that the PSOE offered its collaboration to the president in December in order to avoid an early election and to close a budget agreement that would allow the term of office to be completed. He also emphasized that his group abstained recently in the vote on the spending cap as a gesture to facilitate understanding, but on both occasions Azcón’s response was rejection.
In Galeano’s opinion, the president has preferred “to fully embrace the postulates of the far right rather than seek agreements that make it possible to meet the real needs of people in Aragón.” He criticized that Azcón maintains a triumphalist discourse, which he considers far removed from people’s everyday problems, despite already accumulating more than three years in office that he must give an account for. The socialist leader focused on the low budget execution of the Government of Aragón and questioned that the president announces record investment figures when, as he said, he has still not been able to execute a large part of those already approved.
According to the data provided by Galeano, by August 2026 none of the real investments included in the accounts had been executed. This means that barely three out of every ten euros allocated to investment had materialized in the first eight months of the year. The deputy denounced that this lack of management also extends to other key areas.
He has indicated that housing-related execution does not reach 60%, "despite the difficulties that thousands of Aragonese face in accessing a home". Likewise, he has questioned that Azcón boasts of progress in healthcare while waiting lists are at record highs, and he has criticized the limited execution in items aimed at farmers and irrigation.
Galeano has reiterated that announcing large volumes of investment does not, by itself, mean improving public services or solving the population's problems. He has warned that the regional Executive accumulates commitments without fulfilling them and has demanded that, before taking pride in new investments, it explain what has been done with the resources already available.
In addition, he has questioned that Azcón presents as extraordinary budget increases in certain departments when he compares them with the 2024 figures, "the only ones he has managed to get approved since he arrived at the Presidency of the Government of Aragon".
The Socialist spokesperson has also rejected the fiscal policy announced by the regional Government, considering that the new IRPF deductions "primarily benefit those with higher incomes, while leaving out citizens with lower incomes who do not pay this tax". He has warned that these tax cuts will reduce the resources allocated to funding public services, precisely in a scenario of economic growth and high income for the Community.
Galeano has regretted that Azcón takes advantage of this period of good fortune to push for a form of taxation that, in his view, favors the highest incomes, instead of strengthening healthcare, education, housing, and the overall public services that Aragonese need.
Alternative model of the PSOE
Against this approach, the PSOE is committed to fair, equitable, and progressive taxation, aimed at redistributing wealth and guaranteeing quality public services both in cities and in rural areas.
Another of Galeano’s criticisms has focused on the silences in Azcón’s budget speech. He has reproached that the president did not dedicate “not a single word” to policies against gender-based violence, nor did he mention the fight against climate change or the role of social agents in the economic development of Aragon. In his view, “these silences are not casual, but rather they respond to the president’s decision to assume Vox’s demands and turn its political positions into the roadmap of the Government of Aragon”.
The deputy has advanced that the Socialist Parliamentary Group will defend, during the processing of the accounts, an alternative model that prioritizes strengthening public education and health care, stops the privatization of health services, guarantees equal opportunities in rural areas, and promotes housing policies that facilitate access to a home, including the application of the measures provided for in the tense zones.
Galeano has pointed out that Azcón has the right to make pacts with Vox, but he has stressed that the thousands of Aragonese who have not supported either of those two parties must also be heard. For this reason, he has announced that the PSOE will file amendments and will use the parliamentary debate to defend the demands of citizens who, as he claims, have been left out of the budgets agreed by PP and Vox.