Armengol accuses the right of fueling racism with its stance on immigration.

PalmThe secretary general of the PSIB (Balearic Socialist Workers' Party) and president of the Parliament, Francina Armengol, neither confirmed nor denied that she is the party's candidate for the 2027 regional elections. "I try to be respectful of the party's interim processes. We are governed by primary elections, and when the time comes, they announce it," she said. Armengol made this statement during her appearance to explain the topics to be discussed during the PSIB's parliamentary sessions to address the new political year. The secretary general described the Catalan government's willingness to reject the €1.741 billion debt write-off proposed by the Spanish government as a "betrayal of the Balearic Islands." "It's a betrayal to obey Feijoo's orders," she continued. "I would be surprised if no regional president of the PP with a certain esteem in his homeland accepts the write-off, because how will he defend it before Parliament?" she asked.

He also criticized the government for not having met with the various political groups, especially the main opposition party, to discuss an issue he considered "a matter of state." "It's serious that the debt relief is being waived without speaking or agreeing with anyone. A meeting should have been held with all political groups, with economic circles, with the university..." he noted. Along the same lines, he lamented, the regional government has used this issue to "go against" Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and follow the approach outlined by the PP's general leadership. However, he predicted that "many" of the autonomous communities that now oppose the debt relief will end up accepting it once it is approved in the Congress of Deputies. "I think Prohens should reconsider," he concluded.

Armengol also criticized the president of the regional government, Marga Prohens, and the PP for "an absolutely determined attempt" to make migration the main topic of public debate and not the regional powers over housing and tourism. "Talking about an issue that is a matter of political management, and doing so in this way to mobilize racist sentiments as is being proposed, worries me," she noted. When asked by reporters whether the accusation was directed specifically at the regional president, she said she was not referring "only" to her. "I'm referring to the right-wing and far-right's approach to migration. Racist sentiments are being instigated," she insisted.

Prohens is "lying"

The president expressed her willingness to discuss the migration crisis with Prohens. The latter has repeatedly criticized the Spanish government for not contacting her. "For Prohens to say that no one has contacted her is a lie," she stated, "because she has held conversations with the Spanish government delegate in the Balearic Islands, Alfonso Rodríguez, whenever they have needed and wanted her. When we carried out the transfer of powers, I told him, and I have always told him, that he has always given me warning. We are people who understand politics through institutional dialogue and cooperation; I have never been one for sterile wars," she emphasized. From her position as Secretary General of the PSIB, she claimed, she is in constant contact with the Spanish government and the ministers "to redirect many things and bring others to the Balearic Islands."

The Balearic government's refusal to distribute migrant minors from the Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla has also been the subject of Armengol's criticism. "The laws must be applied." "It's evident and obvious," she emphasized. "We have a situation that we must address with institutional loyalty, respect for human rights, and we must never forget that we are talking about minors who need support. I would like everyone to consider whether they would view it the same way if it were their own child," she stated.

The secretary general of the Socialists said she can understand the "criticisms" made by some NGOs regarding the lack of resources for the care and reception of adult migrants (which are the responsibility of the State) during their passage through the archipelago. "These are complex and difficult phenomena, that's true, and I understand that, but I can say that there is an important negotiation by the government delegate to achieve improvements in Ibiza and Formentera in the reception of adults who arrive by boat to our autonomous community," she concluded.