The secretary general of Vox, Ignacio Garriga, has expressed his confidence that the government agreements with the PP in Extremadura, Aragon and Castilla y León can be made public "very soon", although he has ruled out that they will be communicated simultaneously, given that the one in Extremadura has accumulated more negotiation time. Even so, he considers that these pacts will be a "lever" to bring Santiago Abascal closer to leading the Government of Spain. Furthermore, he has stressed that his party has filed 36 lawsuits against those who attribute corruption to them.
This was indicated in an interview on RNE, reported by Europa Press, where he detailed that the conversations are progressing and that in recent days they are doing so "at a faster pace". According to what he said, when the agreements are made public, citizens will verify that it was indeed possible to modify issues that both PP and PSOE maintained could not be changed.
He has insisted, however, that "will not occur" a joint announcement of all regional agreements, among other reasons because some are more mature, such as that of Extremadura, where regional elections were held first in recent months.
Garriga has shown himself convinced that "when the government agreements are known and Vox governs, it will be a great lever" so that "Santiago Abascal is closer to leading the change" that they aspire to head in Spain, "which is a total change."
In any case, the Vox leader has stressed that his priority is to reach a great agreement that allows "to shield" the primary sector, to face the healthcare and housing "collapse", the security problems and the "great fiscal suffocation" that, in his opinion, the Spanish people endure.
Pacts with the PP and scope of the agreements
In their view, when citizens know the content of these pacts, they will verify that it was "a lie" that the PP spoke of blockage, and that in reality a "complex negotiation" was being carried out with the aim of improving things "for real".
He has admitted that the agreements will be "far" from what Vox would like, but he has recognized that they cannot be otherwise and that "they cannot impose their government program," since they must assume the electoral support obtained and that they do not have an "absolute majority." Even so, he believes that they will represent "a step" to reverse the policies they describe as "disastrous."
Garriga has also wanted to emphasize the "difference" between Génova 13, national headquarters of the PP, and the "good communication" they maintain with the popular territorial barons and "especially in recent weeks". He has thanked them for their "perseverance and discipline" in trying to close a detailed agreement.
Although he has reiterated that the state leadership of the PP has not shown the same attitude and that at times has "torpedoed" the conversations "with leaks", he considers that now "is not a time for reproaches", but to demonstrate to Spaniards Vox's will to transform things.
"That we are going to demonstrate, I hope, very soon, announcing those government agreements and, of course, we present ourselves with the will to truly change Andalusia," he advanced, reproaching Juanma Moreno that "that which Moreno Bonilla promised eight years ago" has not materialized.
Garriga denies corruption in Vox
The secretary general of Vox has also referred to corruption, alluding to the judicial processes taking place these days both in the Supreme Court, against former socialist minister José Luis Ábalos for the alleged rigging of mask contracts and cronyism in public media, as well as in the National Court for the 'Kitchen case', which puts former PP officials in the dock for their alleged involvement in the espionage of the party's former manager, Luis Bárcenas.
Garriga has assured that his party has "zero" corruption cases and, in relation to the accusations received, including the request from former Vox leader Javier Ortega Smith for him to present form 347, he has warned that Vox has filed "more than 36 defamation lawsuits and we have submitted more than 30 requests for rectification to the media".
In contrast, he/she has reiterated that in Spain "there are two parties, PP and PSOE, that have governed for 40 years, have stolen and have corruption cases." Although he/she has insisted that Vox maintains zero cases, he/she has regretted that there are "many interested parties" in trying to put them "in the same bag."
"Spaniards first" and rejection of regularization
Garriga has wanted to emphasize that Vox intends to demonstrate that, when it influences public policies, it is possible to prioritize national citizens: "Spaniards first." "Nothing about privileging the first one who has just arrived," he has emphasized.
Along these lines, he has affirmed that his party wants to demonstrate that it will cut the ties that, he maintains, PP and PSOE have imposed on the countryside, industry, workers and Spanish families, whom, in his opinion, they have condemned "to precarity, to fiscal hell, to insecurity, and to feeling increasingly like foreigners in their neighborhoods."
Has defended the principle of equality of all Spaniards enshrined in the Constitution and has reiterated that "it is unacceptable" for institutions to grant more advantages "to those who have just arrived" than to Spanish citizens themselves.
In this context, he has rejected the regularization promoted by the Government of Pedro Sánchez, which is expected to be validated next Tuesday in Parliament and which will affect, according to the Executive, between 500,000 and 800,000 people, although Vox calculates that it will exceed one million due to family reunification processes. Garriga maintains that it makes no sense to approve this measure in a scenario of "healthcare, housing, and insecurity collapse".
He considers that this decision will harm Spaniards and has given as an example the guaranteed income data paid by the socialist Government of Navarra. He has indicated that "that little payment" was received in 2014 by 53 percent of Spaniards and 47 percent of foreigners, while in 2024 the figures would have been inverted, with 63 percent of foreign beneficiaries compared to 36 percent of Spaniards.
"Neither xenophobia, nor racism, it is defending national priority and that I believe Spaniards share," he has pointed out. Faced with the interviewer's reply, who pointed out to him that that policy does not mean taking anything away from Spaniards, Garriga has responded: "You will say that."
Next, he has rejected the sending of funds to countries like Senegal or Morocco and has demanded that they be allocated to school meal scholarships for families who don't make ends meet, to energy vouchers when the price of electricity or gasoline rises, or to lower personal income tax. "The taxes of Spaniards are for managing and evidently improving the public services of Spaniards," he stressed.
Garriga has stressed that "resources are not infinite" and has insisted on the need to promote "national priority", recalling that one in four people in Spain is at risk of poverty and that this affects one in three minors. "Pedro Sánchez has managed to make Spain lead the misery index in the European Union, which as you know is the indicator that crosses inflation and unemployment".
He added that with the current Government, "the looting of Spaniards has increased by 20 percent" because "tax pressure and effort have risen to suffocating levels."