Caritas has transferred to the political parties a set of 11 proposals for the general elections of 29N with a common objective: to place people in situations of vulnerability at the center of public policies. The organization calls for measures to guarantee access to basic rights such as housing, health, employment, and care, as well as to strengthen social protection and combat the different forms of exclusion.
The document, drawn up on the basis of a participation process in which 940 people took part through 84 groups across the entire territory, takes as its reference the IX FOESSA Report on exclusion and social development. The study warns of the persistence of inequality in Spain and estimates that 4.3 million people were in a situation of severe exclusion in 2024, 8.8% of the population. To these are added 10.5% in moderate exclusion and 35.7% in a situation of precarious integration.
In this scenario, Caritas asks political formations to go beyond circumstantial responses and address the structural causes of poverty. Its proposals combine legislative reforms, expansion of public services, and measures to ensure that the rights recognized in the rules can be exercised effectively.
Housing, at the center of exclusion
One of the main thrusts of the document is access to decent housing. Caritas maintains that problems related to the home affect one out of every four households in Spain and considers that housing has become one of the main factors of inequality and social exclusion.
To deal with this situation, it proposes reforming the Urban Leases Act (LAU) in order to extend the guarantees of conventional rentals to those who live in rooms. The organization warns that this type of housing leaves its occupants in a situation of greater lack of protection and calls for adapting legislation to an increasingly widespread reality.
It also proposes modifying the Civil Procedure Act to strengthen guarantees for vulnerable people in the face of evictions. Among its demands is that there should be no eviction of a usual home unless the administrations have previously ensured an adequate housing alternative.
The third measure in this area involves recovering and expanding the public housing park for social and emergency housing. Cáritas argues that public administrations should have sufficient resources to respond to situations of greater residential exclusion, through the reservation of land, buildings, or premises intended for this purpose.
More health coverage and a public care system
The organization calls for expanding the common portfolio of the National Health System to include dental, ophthalmological, and hearing treatments that currently have limited coverage. While progress is made toward universal provision, it proposes that people and families in situations of vulnerability be given priority in access to these services.
The document also places care among the priorities for the next legislature. Cáritas asks for consolidating a public, universal, and quality system that guarantees care throughout all stages of life, with special attention to children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and those who are in a situation of dependence or who suffer from chronic illnesses.
The organization calls for the right to receive care to be translated into sufficient services, maximum waiting times, and guarantees of territorial equality. At the same time, it proposes improving the working conditions of those who work in the sector, with pay equalization, social protection, occupational risk prevention, and access to collective bargaining.
The organization calls for the right to receive care to be translated into sufficient services, maximum waiting times, and guarantees of territorial equality
In domestic employment, Cáritas proposes strengthening monitoring mechanisms and requiring the registration of contracts with the State Public Employment Service (SEPE), as well as promoting measures that favor hiring and the professional recognition of these activities.
The IMV and employment: fewer obstacles to getting out of poverty
Cáritas considers that the Minimum Vital Income ( IMV) needs a reform to become a more effective tool against poverty and severe exclusion. Its proposal involves simplifying procedures, reducing resolution times, and correcting the requirements that make access to benefits difficult.
Among the changes it proposes is to adapt the cohabitation unit to the nuclear family, to make residency conditions more flexible, and to ensure that the IMV is compatible with employment. The goal is for the assistance to reach those who need it and not become an obstacle to improving their employment situation.
Precariousness is another of the priority areas. The organization proposes amending Article 12 of the Workers’ Statute so that involuntary part-time contracts are justified by an objective cause linked to the job or to the organization of work. It also proposes strengthening workers’ right to extend their working hours when vacancies are available.
It also calls for recognizing and regulating practical training for access to employment carried out by social entities with people in situations of vulnerability. Cáritas believes that these initiatives combine job-related learning and social support and need a specific fit within employment policies.
Rights for Migrant People and Fight Against Discrimination
The proposals include measures to reduce administrative barriers and strengthen equal treatment. Cáritas asks for the comprehensive law on equal treatment and non-discrimination, approved in 2022, to be developed through regulations, in order to apply this principle across public policies and to strengthen institutional protection mechanisms.
In immigration matters, it calls for reviewing residence and work authorizations so that they do not depend exclusively on having an employment contract. It also proposes guaranteeing access to basic social benefits for people in an irregular administrative situation.
In immigration matters, it calls for reviewing residence and work authorizations so that they do not depend exclusively on having an employment contract
The organization also considers it necessary to have a comprehensive law against trafficking in persons, with a focus centered on human rights and that includes crime prevention and protection of victims against any form of exploitation.
An Ecological Transition That Does Not Leave the Most Vulnerable Behind
Caritas argues that the policies against climate change must incorporate social protection as one of their pillars. The organization calls for measures that guarantee access to energy and water, especially for families facing greater economic difficulties, and that prevent the transition toward a more sustainable model from worsening inequalities.
It also proposes strengthening the right to sustainable and affordable mobility through accessible public transport, with special attention to people with reduced mobility, low-income households, and those living in rural areas.
Caritas argues that policies against climate change must incorporate social protection as one of their pillars
The document links this agenda to the need to consolidate structural policies that protect the population against future economic, social, and environmental crises.
More international cooperation and compliance with 0.7%
The last of the 11 proposals is aimed at foreign policy and cooperation. Caritas calls for Spain to meet the commitment to allocate 0.7% of GDP to Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2030.
The entity argues that this objective should be achieved through non-reimbursable cooperation and that aid should not be conditioned on measures for migration control. The proposal responds to the organization’s international dimension and to its position that the protection of human rights must extend beyond national borders.
A call to parties in the face of polarization
Beyond specific measures, Caritas calls on parties to place human dignity and the common good above political confrontation. The organization warns that polarization and the speeches that fuel fear and distrust weaken coexistence and make it harder to find shared solutions.
Its document sets out the need for political agreements that make it possible to guarantee rights, reduce inequalities, and strengthen social cohesion. The premise that runs through the 11 proposals is that poverty and exclusion cannot be addressed only with assistance-based responses, but through legislative changes and public policies capable of preventing and reducing them.