Vox has registered in Les Corts Valencianes a non-binding proposal in which it asks to establish the principle of "national priority" in access to housing, social aid, and different public services throughout Spain.
The political party of Santiago Abascal demands that the Consell urge the Government of Spain to guarantee that Spanish citizens have preference in access to protected housing, social benefits, healthcare, and pensions, as well as in public aid programs.
A proposal that is already part of regional agreements
This principle has already been incorporated into agreements in other communities such as Extremadura and Aragón, and would also be included in the investiture pact of the Valencian president Juanfran Pérez Llorca, as the party has insisted in recent days.
The party now maintains that its objective is to transfer this model to the entire country and turn the "national priority" into a structural axis of public policies.
Housing, healthcare and social aid at the center of the debate
The initiative registered in Les Corts proposes that national priority be applied in access to public housing and rent subsidies, tax bonuses linked to housing, access to the healthcare system, except for vital emergencies, non-contributory benefits and pensions; and social aid programs and public services.
Furthermore, Vox proposes to toughen the conditions for the access of irregular foreigners to certain services, and calls for a review of the immigrant regularization policy.
The text also includes the request to repeal recent regulations related to the access of foreign persons to the public healthcare system and to administrative regularization processes.
Likewise, it proposes modifying the Social Security system to limit certain non-contributory benefits to Spanish citizens, and to toughen the requirements for free legal assistance to foreigners.
A political debate that escalates in the Valencian Community
The Vox spokesperson in Les Corts, José María Llanos, has defended the initiative through a statement as a response to the "deterioration of the welfare state" and the "overload of public services", linking the measure to the need to redefine access to public resources.
The proposal has been criticized by left-wing parties and the Government, which have described it as xenophobic and unconstitutional. This week, Vox submitted a motion to Congress to apply the principle of "national priority" throughout Spain, although it was rejected by all groups -except those of Abascal-, who voted against it, including the PP.