Abascal gives Mazón a boost: PP-Vox pre-agreement on the DANA budget

ValenciaThe far right gives Carlos Mazón a breath of fresh air, and in return, he embraces the criminalization of migration and the climate denialism of the extremists. Political and judicial siege over the management of DANA, the Valencian president announced this morning a preliminary agreement with Vox for the 2025 budget. "In the coming days, we hope to finalize a broad program of measures," he said in an institutional statement without questions and in which he did not specify the initiatives.

Those who have provided more details have been Vox, which, this afternoon, in a statement, detailed the measures they believe should be included in the new budget. Regarding immigration, they demand the elimination of all subsidies to NGOs that support irregular immigration. They also demand the incorporation of a budget for reliable age diagnostic tests for immigrants, a ban on the Valencian Community accepting more unaccompanied minors, and a budget to promote a plan for the return of irregular immigrants. With these demands, the ultras seek to have the Generalitat counteract the extraordinary regularization approved by the Spanish government.

Regarding climate denialism, Vox calls for the elimination of all items allocated to the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development and the abolition of all fees derived from the European Green Deal, and for the Generalitat to assume the sanctions that the European Union or the State may adopt against the councils that without its leadership.

In the linguistic field, it demands a significant cut in the budget of the Valencian Academy of Language and subsidies for the promotion of Valencian, and in the area of historical memory, maintaining only the "mandatory aid for the identification of corpses."

In fiscal matters, it calls for a two-point cut in the Tax on Property Transfers and Legal Acts, currently at 10%, a reduction of the reduced rate on the Property Transfer Tax from 10% to 4% for transfers of plots with an agricultural vocation, and an expansion of the bonus. It also aims to equate the wealth tax with that on large fortunes. Furthermore, the PP and VOX are expected to undertake an ambitious reform of personal income tax throughout 2025.

and in which he has already defended that the accounts will allow "direct aid without taxes or bureaucracy" and the construction of water infrastructure to avoid flooding.

Santiago Abascal's party, who had been negotiating with the PP for weeks, They have become Mazón's main ally for holding office and not resigning. The extremists even criticized the assessments of the judge investigating the DANA case, who had already made it clear that the regional government had jurisdiction to prevent the tragedy on October 29 and that the 228 deaths were avoidable. However, this Monday, the far-right party went a step further and could guarantee the PP new financial statements that would bring stability to a Consell (Consell) on the ropes for its handling of the catastrophe.

As expected, Vox's support comes at a price, and Mazón—who had already agreed on the investiture and the 2024 financial statements with the extremists—has had to embrace the more radical ideology of the party led by Abascal. Thus, and in reference to immigration policy, the Valencian president stated that the Generalitat (Catalan government) "will not accept any further distribution of illegal immigration" and asked the Spanish government to report on the number of people arrested for looting and theft from supermarkets and other establishments, as well as the nationality of those arrested. The request, in practice, links migration with public safety, a position Vox has championed since its inception. "We cannot allow people who have lost everything due to the flood to see the perpetrators of looting and pillaging their homes and businesses in the days following October 29th go unpunished," the head of the Consell (Consell) explained.

Regarding climate denialism and opposition to measures that mitigate the impact of human action on the environment, the head of the Consell has said that "climate dogmatism and regulatory rigidity cannot be a hindrance to the construction [of water infrastructure] that is necessary." "We had warned that the sectarian policies of the left would have consequences for people," Mazón added.

Abascal: "Mazón is moving in the right direction."

The Valencian president's words have satisfied the far-right party, which, led by the party's president, Santiago Abascal, applauded Mazón for going in what he called the "right direction: unabashedly confronting the [European] Green Pact and policies that encourage illegal immigration." "Both issues had to do with the causes of the DANA tragedy and the aggravated consequences of looting. I congratulate Mr. Mazón for his courage in publicly denouncing it," said Abascal, adding that he is confident that with "this course of action," the Valencian Community "will have the budget it needs for reconstruction."

In gratitude, Mazón heaped praise on Vox. He said the far-right party members had "lived up to the task" and praised their "sincere will" to contribute to reconstruction "despite the ideological differences" he claims exist with his party. "We have to thank them for the broad vision that we haven't found in other opposition parties," he added, accusing the Valencian left of "starting the hate mill" instead of seeking an agreement when the consequences of the DANA (National Anti-Dumping Act) made it "imperative." "We hope that this good agreement will be valued regardless of acronyms and political bias," he added.

Regarding future budget investments, Mazón announced that they will include the "review of emergency systems and protocols," as well as "the construction of water infrastructure." The Valencian president also once again established himself as the guarantor of the recovery of the Valencian Country against the Spanish government, which was the constant target of his barbs throughout the speech. "We must once again censure the attitude of Pedro Sánchez's government, which is more concerned with forgiving millions in debt to its separatist partners than presenting a state plan for this region," he said, and among other things, defended the need for regional aid through the DANA (National Action Plan) to reach the population "five times faster" than that of the exe (Exe).

The preliminary agreement announced today could mean the approval of a Generalitat budget that has suffered several delays, including a postponement after the PP announced its presentation and parliamentary processing. In this scenario of uncertainty, last week the Council approved an extraordinary credit in the current budget for the 2025 financial year of 2.364 billion, intended to cover the immediate response and recovery measures adopted since October 29 to address the expenses arising from the floods.

Baldoví: "Mazón crawls"

The preliminary agreement between the PP and Vox has been harshly criticized by opposition groups. For Compromís spokesperson Joan Baldoví, Mazón "has shown that the only thing he cares about is himself and continuing to be protected so that he doesn't end up receiving the instruction from the judge in Catarroja." "He has groveled before the far right," he added. Regarding Vox's role in the agreement, it is exclusively because they want to benefit electorally from this situation [...] even if it means continuing to maintain, as they themselves have said, an incompetent person as president of the Generalitat."