Estarellas defends the allocation for 112 and the cuts in memory policies

PalmThe first session of the Parliamentary budget debate was opened by the Minister for the Presidency and Public Administration, Antònia Estarellas, and the Minister for Tourism, Jaume Bauzá, who defended the resources allocated to their departments. Estarellas, who met with several 112 Emergency Service workers demanding better working conditions, defended the cuts to the democratic memory budget, which he denounced on the left.

"The Government and the Regional Ministry are focused on achieving safer islands," the minister emphasized. Regarding the workers, she admitted that they are experiencing a "difficult situation," but that this was already the case under the previous government, which in eight years "did not even raise the rate of 112." For its part, the left accused the People's Party (PP) of failing to implement the budget allocated to this department.

Regarding democratic memory, the PP and Vox have agreed to repeal the law enshrining it. The law has not been definitively eliminated, but since 2024 the budget allocated to these policies has decreased. In two years, it has gone from a budget of two million euros to 875,000 euros. However, Estarellas defended the Fifth Graves Plan, which is still in progress. For their part, the deputies from the PSIB, MÁS for Mallorca, and Més for Menorca have accused the government of presenting "lower" budgets for democratic memory than those in the 2023 budget. "The dignity of people who have been repressed is being exchanged for votes," lamented Socialist Teresa Suárez. Similarly, Cristina Gómez (Unidas Podemos) reproached Estarellas for not keeping the Graves Law in force.

Likewise, MÉS MP for Mallorca, Maria Ramon, called the PP and Vox agreement a "crusade against Catalan and democratic memory," as the PP has also agreed to lower the Catalan language requirement for entering the government in exchange for support from the far right. Although the elimination of the Catalan requirement in various areas does not appear in the budget, but is channeled through other channels, Estarellas defended it as a "completely logical" measure in positions that are "hard to fill."

For his part, Més MP for Menorca, Josep Castells, pointed to another "black mark" in the Ministry of the Presidency: the handling of the IB3 internalization process, which also sparked protests from workers. He accused the government of signing agreements with IB3 and 112 workers that "later..."

Vox: "We will never share a sectarian vision."

From the opposite perspective, Vox MP Sergio Rodríguez called for the creation of a documentary for IB3 about the Republican repression in Menorca and Ibiza and the bombing of civilians in Palma. "We will never share a sectarian view," he said. He also called for more resources to provide the Local Police with Taser guns.

The left delves into the PP's contradictions in tourism

Left-wing groups also delved into the PP's contradictions regarding tourism. The government has had to abandon proposals such as the increase in the Sustainable Tourism Tax (ITS) due to pressure from Vox, which flatly refuses to do so. The minister in charge, Jaume Bauzá, accused the left of "demagoguery" on the matter and of not having "managed" the tax properly during his administration.