The BNG deputy Daniel Castro has questioned the Xunta regarding the trip of the Galician president, Alfonso Rueda, to Switzerland last March, asking if "it was necessary" to allocate "120,000 euros for catering and orchestras". The regional government has rejected these accusations and maintained that these types of initiatives "allow for reinforcing cultural identity, the bond with Galicia, and the cohesion of the Galician community".
During the 1st Commission of the Parliament, the representative of the Bloque criticized that other Galician associations abroad "do not receive the same treatment", and asked for explanations from the director general of Institutional and Parliamentary Relations, Sandra Vázquez, about "what was the public interest that justified this expense".
In her response, Vázquez explained that the official trips of the President of the Xunta are not limited "simply to visiting the community abroad", but also aim to "strengthen ties so that more Galicians return, more talents join the Galician labor market, and more families decide to settle in Galicia".
The regional official stressed that "when we talk about the Xunta's relationship with the Galician community, we are not just talking about institutional or social events, it is a country policy", and defended that the event in which Alfonso Rueda participated, with the support of the Galician Administration, "fully fits within the competencies that the Xunta has attributed in matters of migration".
For his part, Daniel Castro expressed his support for the philosophy of the Xunta's Retorna plan and for the members of the Galician Executive to maintain contact with the diaspora, but reiterated the need to clarify the cost of the event and "why other associations abroad receive nothing". At this point, he alluded to the fact that the Swiss entity visited by Rueda is presided over by a "well-known leader" of the Popular Party.
The Xunta denies the expenditure of 120,000 euros
In response to the BNG's criticism, the director general replied that "it is not an expense, it is an institutional responsibility", insisting that the trip "does not respond to a discretionary initiative", but rather to "a legal mandate" to protect the rights of Galicians residing abroad.
Likewise, he has denied that the Xunta allocated 120,000 euros "for that supposed big meal" and has specified that the menu was paid for by each of the attendees. As indicated, the regional administration only took charge of hiring two Galician musical groups, a traditional ensemble and an orchestra that "performed for more than 1,000 Galicians".
"Don't Galicians in Switzerland deserve to enjoy a celebration of our culture? Do you want to rob them of that right?", Vázquez asked, before alluding to the different meetings held by Alfonso Rueda during his stay in the Swiss country.