The president of the Toledo Business Federation (Fedeto), Javier de Antonio Arribas, launched a harsh rebuke this Friday against the judicial cases linked to political corruption that have dominated the news in recent months and weeks.
"Enough is enough! That's enough!", exclaimed Arribas during his speech at the thirtieth edition of the Fedeto Business Awards, held at Finca los Lavaderos, in the regional capital.
The top representative of Toledo's businessmen avoided going into detail about "everything that is happening," although he stressed that "it shames and disgusts us all." He added that "amidst so much shame and disgust, we cannot remain silent," because while "all these things are happening, which I will not go into," "nothing is being done to remedy" the "very serious" problems that businessmen face daily.
In this regard, he criticized the lack of effective measures to combat absenteeism, "that scourge that is becoming institutionalized, that is becoming or has already become a cultural fact because missing work has no consequences, thanks to a minister who, yes, hates us."
He also mentioned other obstacles that companies face, such as bureaucracy. Although Arribas acknowledges that attempts are being made to reduce it, he considers that "it is not enough" and calls for "eliminating all those procedural deadlines and obligations that make no sense in the 21st century."
He also railed against the lack of control over "unbridled public spending" which, in his opinion, does not align with realities such as the "very deficient" state of infrastructure, whether road, hydrological, or electrical, and denounced "public spending that often responds to a clear short-term interest," such as tax increases.
After this, he wanted to make it clear that businessmen do not shy away from their fiscal responsibilities. "We want healthcare, education, social services. But we do not want a tax system that is already bordering on confiscatory. We are tired of the Government inviting parties that we have to pay for. Enough is enough! That's enough!", he reiterated.
"We cannot continue like this for much longer. We are not lemons to be squeezed. We are not cows to be milked. But, above all, we are not the enemy to be defeated. We business owners are the basic pillar on which the entire country rests. Not understanding this is not knowing anything about economics," remarked the president of Fedeto.
To conclude, he vindicated the role of the business fabric. "We are businesswomen and businessmen who, taking risks and with great sacrifice and uncertainty, work for a legitimate economic margin that we are not ashamed of. Because by seeking that margin, we create wealth and employment and sustain everything public. We only ask for respect in return and that obstacles not be placed in our way."
Núñez attacks bureaucracy in Castilla-La Mancha
The president of the Popular Party of Castilla-La Mancha, Paco Núñez, also spoke at the event, who guaranteed that "no business project will fail in Castilla-La Mancha due to the intense bureaucracy that today suffocates initiatives, investments, and opportunities even before they begin."
Núñez defended that Castilla-La Mancha "needs a Government that accompanies the business owner and does not put obstacles in their way," and lamented that for too many years "many projects have ended up being abandoned due to administrative slowness, legal uncertainty, and the lack of strategic vision of the regional Executive."