The lehendakari, Imanol Pradales, has sent the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, a document with 36 initiatives aimed at strengthening the protection of families and economic activity. Among them is the reduction of VAT on meat and fish to the super-reduced rate, from 10% to 4%, as well as the recovery of the VAT reduction applied to electricity and natural gas. It also proposes a discount of up to 30 cents per liter on fuels for all vehicles and the creation of a heating bonus for retirees and vulnerable groups.
Pradales announced these proposals during his speech at the special plenary session held this Wednesday by the Basque Parliament, focused on measures to ensure the well-being of citizens.
The lehendakari detailed that last Monday he sent Sánchez a text with various initiatives to address the economic problems arising from the war in Iran. The document includes 36 measures "to protect families' pockets and promote the productive economy, industry, and the primary sector."
Among the actions proposed to reduce the cost of the shopping basket are the reduction of VAT on meat and fish to the super-reduced rate, from 10% to 4%, and the recovery of the VAT reduction on electricity and natural gas. In addition, it is proposed to offer "savings of up to 30 cents per liter on fuels for all vehicles," as well as a heating bonus for retirees and vulnerable individuals ahead of winter.
Support for transport and professional diesel
The document sent to La Moncloa also includes measures to support transport and mobility. This section calls for the extension of the aid of 20 cents per liter for professional diesel and 35 cents for fishing diesel; the implementation of a 'Plan Renove' with "technological neutrality" to replace old vehicles with more efficient ones with lower emissions; and subsidies to modernize fleets of trucks, vans, and buses, making them more efficient, technologically neutral, and less polluting.
In a third section, "structural and permanent" changes are proposed to support the electro-intensive industry. Pradales proposes guaranteeing investments that allow expanding the capacity of the electricity grid, abolishing the 7% tax on electricity generation, and applying an 80% reduction in electricity transport and distribution costs.
Measures for the primary sector and "relief" for families
The text also includes a support package for 'baserritarras', farmers, winemakers, and 'arrantzales'. Among the measures are the elimination of the minimum amount of one hundred euros to access aid for fertilizer expenses, an extraordinary six-month deferral in the payment of Social Security contributions, and the activation of the CAP Agricultural Reserve, with a minimum allocation of 450 million euros annually.
The lehendakari stressed that all these proposals would mean "a relief for Basque families and for the productive economy" and expressed his confidence that the decree of measures to address the consequences of the war in Iran, announced this Wednesday by Sánchez, will incorporate a good part of these initiatives.
Warning against "magical" promises
In his speech, Pradales issued a warning against those who "promise magical formulas and quick solutions with the sole objective of instrumentalizing the feeling of loss of part of society."
"The common good requires a common effort; it's time to row together, sweating the shirt, and each one assuming their responsibility," he said, to emphasize that his executive will not "promise impossibles or deceive people."
Fiscal responsibility and the future of Euskadi
Along the same lines, he reiterated that with his policies he will not "mortgage the future of those who are yet to come," and that "it is not possible to guarantee everything from the public sector." He recalled that "Basque institutions have a fundamental task: to protect, accompany, invest, and generate the conditions for society to advance and prosper."
Alluding to EH Bildu, the lehendakari showed his "concern" for those who "talk about country capabilities and social contract to then leave all responsibility exclusively on public policies," insisting that "the public neither solves everything, nor can or should direct everything."
He stressed that "I do not believe in a model of government that substitutes, oversees, or restricts personal or collective initiative; I do not believe in always transferring all responsibility to public coffers; I do not believe in 'opening the tap' in an unlimited way."
Pradales has championed his commitment to a Basque model based on "fostering the creation of wealth and employment opportunities; and guaranteeing equitable redistribution through universal, sustainable, and highest quality public services."
"This is the basis of Euskadi's future competitiveness and sustainability: a collaborative model that integrates public and private capabilities around a common project," he added.
International Context and Boost to Democracy
The lehendakari dedicated part of his speech to analyzing the global political scenario. He again denounced "the attacks suffered by liberal democracies" by those who "do not believe in democracy, social justice, coexistence, and human dignity."
Pradales warned of the danger posed by the rise of currents and discourses "that defend authoritarianism and use it to try to control everything, to take over the world." "We cannot accept it; we have to respond today, because tomorrow may be too late," he remarked.
In this context of "international instability, wars, and crises," he admitted that "many people feel that the foundations of our lives and welfare societies are shaking." He assured that his government "takes this feeling of loss very seriously," because "the essential condition for improving people's lives is listening and empathy, putting oneself in their shoes."
Populism, "Worrying Tics" and Defense of Dignity
Pradales pointed out that, in such a scenario, it is "very human" to seek "quick answers, certainties or something to hold on to," something that is exploited by "movements that incite and instrumentalize the discomfort and fear of citizens, and that take advantage of problems and difficulties, and inflate them at their convenience."
"I am talking about populist and demagogic movements that, in reality, only seek their own benefit," he indicated, to then remark that Euskadi "is not an island," so "very worrying traces and tics, on the left and right," are also observed here.
He warned that this drift "cannot be allowed," since "governing also means curbing the bad arts of demagoguery and populism."
With this objective, he has reiterated his commitment to the defense of the person and their dignity "above all else"; with freedom "as an ideal of responsibility and commitment to others"; with community strength "to continue building our shared identity"; with social justice "as a mortar of cohesion and balance"; and with the will to continue building, through dialogue and agreement, "a more advanced and just country and world."