Sánchez Llibre opts to lead Foment for the third time after eliminating term limits

BarcelonaThe president of Foment del Treball, Josep Sánchez Llibre, has decided to run for a third term at the head of the Catalan employers' organization, until 2030. He communicated this today to the board of directors, in which the organization's next elections have been called for May 18, instead of July 18, which is when the term expires. The deadline for submitting candidacies is May 8. In 2024, the statutes of this employers' association were modified to lift the term limit, established until then at two consecutive terms, which leads to the current president. The change gave Sánchez Llibre the possibility to run for president again, which he has finally decided to do.

Green Paper on Taxation in Catalonia. Today he insisted on the fact that Catalonia continues "living in a fiscal hell" for families and businesses.

If, as on previous occasions, there are no other candidacies than Sánchez Llibre's, he will be proclaimed president on May 15, but it will be necessary to reach the general assembly on the 18th for it to ratify the new board of directors.

The entity's general assembly endorsed the change in statutes from two years ago to eradicate the term limit. All members voted in favor, with only two abstentions: the vice president of Foment and president of the Vallesana Cecot, Xavier Panés, who did so "out of internal coherence with his organization, which does foresee term limits" – and that of board member Carlos Garriga. With this initiative, Foment joined the step taken by the CEOE, of which it holds the vice presidency, which in 2023 voted to abolish the term limit, which in this case benefits the current president, Antonio Garamendi.

Sánchez Llibre has become one of the main critics not only of Pedro Sánchez's government's labor measures, especially the reduction of working hours, for which he obtained Junts' support; but also of Salvador Illa's executive on issues such as taxation. In fact, the concept "fiscal hell", which the PP now uses, originated from Foment when it established a group of experts to draft the Green Paper on Taxation in Catalonia in 2024. Today he insisted on the fact that Catalonia continues "living in a fiscal hell" for families and businesses.

Green Paper on Taxation in Catalonia. Today he insisted on the fact that Catalonia continues "living in a fiscal hell" for families and businesses.

Furthermore, at last month's Foment assembly, Sánchez Llibre announced that the organization was considering taking the regulation of speculative housing purchases agreed between the PSC and Comunes to the Constitutional Court. "The recent pact between the Generalitat Government and Comunes is the socialization of private property, it is an attack on private property, it is a measure that has no place in our society. If necessary, we will promote the filing of an appeal for unconstitutionality or the raising of a question of unconstitutionality against this measure, which we find lethal for the Catalan economy and society," he stated.