The Vox deputy in Les Corts and president of the commission on public protection housing (VPP) of Les Naus, Ana Vega, presented this Thursday a document in the autonomous chamber to request that the next session of this body, scheduled for the days 20 and 22 of October, be postponed to a new date "that will be specified in a new request that will be formulated in due course."
Although the document does not detail the reasons for the postponement, sources from the group have pointed out that the objective is "to avoid interference in the electoral process" of 29N. They indicate that "there is a judicial process that is following its course" regarding the allocations of the residences of the Les Naus complex in Playa de San Juan (Alicante) and it is intended "that it is not used opportunistically and partisanly by any political party."
The commission of Les Naus, which had not met since before the summer, was scheduled to hold sessions on the 20th and 22nd of October with a calendar of 12 appearances, six for each day. Among the summoned individuals were four investigated in the judicial case analyzing the distribution of the residential complex.
Specifically, the list of attendees included the father-in-law of the former councilor of Urbanism in Alicante for the PP, Rocío Gómez, also an awardee of a residence and investigated after her resignation. Likewise, the treasurer of the City Council of Sant Joan d'Alacant and the architect of the Alicante city council were summoned, the latter being the partner of the official from the Conselleria de Vivienda in charge of the visas for the promotion and also investigated. The list was completed with two children and a nephew of María Pérez-Hickman, former head of Contracting in Alicante and charged in the case, who also became awardees of properties in the promotion.
Regarding the postponement of the appearances, Vox sources have defended that "housing is the issue that has motivated the electoral advance" and have insisted that it is a matter "sensitive enough, important and serious to be treated in a serious, precise manner and with the rigor it deserves." "The investigative commission of the VPP of Alicante is postponed so that it is not instrumentalized by any political party," they emphasized.
Since the formation, they have added that this body "is following a line of work that has allowed to clarify key events on the topic of Les Naus," and have cited among them "the statements of Toni Gallego or the indictment by the court of the leadership of the cooperative regarding the possible irregularities committed in the distribution of the homes after its passage through the commission." In their opinion, "it demonstrates that it is a serious commission and in which work is being done rigorously to clarify responsibilities."
Compromís accuses Vox of "cowardice"
On the other hand, Compromís has attacked Vox and its leader, Santiago Abascal, whom they have labeled as "cowards" for asking that the sessions of the commission be postponed indefinitely. "This maneuver protects the PP and hinders progress in clarifying a scandal that directly affects the right to housing of the people of Alicante," stated the housing spokesperson of the Valencian coalition, Mª José Calabuig.
In Calabuig's opinion, this decision conveys to Les Corts "the political protection that Vox has offered to the PP in the Alicante City Council," where the municipal commission ended without a joint report, something she considers a "false closure." "Instead of putting means to find out what has happened, they put up obstacles. First in the City Council and now in Les Corts: when it is necessary to demand explanations from the PP, Vox stands by their side," she denounced in a statement.
The coalition has also linked this postponement to the absence of Vox deputies during the minute of silence held in Les Corts for Maricarmen, the 87-year-old woman evicted in Madrid who died after being hospitalized. "Today Vox has shown itself to be a miserable party by being absent from the minute of silence due to the death of Maricarmen. And on the same day, they allow themselves to be manipulated like puppets by the PP to postpone the Les Naus commission and cover for the mayor of Alicante," Calabuig criticized in reference to Luis Barcala.
The PSPV denounces an "alliance" between PP and Vox
From the PSPV, deputy Mª José Salvador has pointed out in statements sent to the media that "PP and Vox have allied again with their majority in the Les Naus commission table to say today, where I said I say, I say Diego," recalling that the session calendar was approved last week in the Board of Syndics with the support of both groups.
"At this moment when Barcala is absolutely cornered, they have decided to disband these commissions because, as we socialists have denounced from minute zero, there is no and has never been any will to investigate on the part of the Partido Popular and Vox in this commission, nor to clarify the truth of what has happened with that fraudulent award of the penthouses and the homes of the residential Les Naus," Salvador has asserted.