Sánchez's grand plans to combat the crisis... that aren't being fulfilled

Madrid / BarcelonaIn Pedro Sánchez's first appearance since the fires in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula reached a truly serious level, he announced a state pact against the climate emergency that strengthens prevention measures in the face of similar episodes that may occur in new heat waves. Thus, the Spanish president once again linked the PP with a proposal to depoliticize an issue such as the management of natural lands—56% of the Iberian Peninsula is forested—which is already a constant tactic when crises or catastrophes occur: from the pandemic, from the DANA (National Rainforest Administration), and from major disasters that could end up wet.

The fires

While waiting to learn Sánchez's intentions, who wants to meet first with the scientific community, businesses, and unions, in recent days many voices have lamented that a state pact on forest management is essential and overdue. This has been defended by everyone from the environmental and forestry sectors, who place the root of the problem in the depopulation of rural areas caused by neglect by public authorities. "Rural development policies have failed. They are short-term and address the symptom, not the problem. Production cycles in forests are long-term," Patricia Gómez Agrela, manager of the Confederation of Forestry Organizations of Spain (COSE), told ARA, who shares the same line of defense as Sánchez.

Three years ago, the fires in the Culebra mountain range in Castile and León—which had burned the most hectares in the country until this summer, when records were broken—already prompted legislative changes that have proven ineffective. In fact, one of them was the update of the 2022-2032 Forestry Plan, which Gómez admits is moving in the right direction. "It has good objectives, but if it's not accompanied by investment, we won't make progress. The Plan states that an investment increase of 100 euros per hectare per year must be achieved, and the current allocation is 38 euros," he laments, and warns that the context for extending the 2023 and 2024 budgets does not exist. Other opinions cast doubt on the medium- and long-term effects of the measures, such as that of CSIC professor Eduardo Moyano, who believes that the most urgent need is the professionalization of forest firefighting corps. This summer's fires have highlighted the lack of prevention plans in municipalities—the Prosecutor's Office is already investigating—the precariousness of emergency services, and, once again, discrepancies in the powers of the administrations.

The DANA

In the case of the DANA (National Anti-Corruption Plan) last October, Sánchez also announced a major plan with three phases: immediate response, reconstruction, and transformation of the affected areas. Sources from the Spanish government's Delegation in the Valencian Community indicate that these phases overlap, but that most actions are currently focused on the second phase: reconstruction. The total amount of resources budgeted by the Spanish government amounts to €16.6 billion, according to government data updated on August 18. Of these, €6.169 billion has been paid so far. It's not even a year since the DANA (National Anti-Corruption Plan) was launched, and the administrative process for only 30% of aid applications has been completed, and 40% of the applications have yet to be processed. However, some aid has been partially brought forward while the corresponding applications are being processed.

The Blackout

Regarding the blackout of April 28th throughout the State, the Spanish government failed in Congress when it came to approving a decree designed to prevent another one from happening again. It consisted of several measures supported by businesses, but the PP inflicted Sánchez's final parliamentary defeat of the year. Furthermore, the head of the State executive promised that he would clarify responsibilities, although the report he commissioned to find out the exact causes of the blackout were inconclusive.

The pandemic

Sánchez has often opted to announce sweeping plans because some of these catastrophes have exposed structural deficiencies. The first such event was the pandemic, and experts consulted by ARA lament that, five years later, there is still no public draft of the pandemic plan announced by the Spanish government, which must comply with European regulations on health emergencies. This plan should serve to organize the mechanisms for declaring emergencies, their governance, and the resources to ensure an efficient response. Sources from the Ministry of Health indicate that the text will be released for public consultation in September, when entities and members of civil society will be able to make contributions. Given this step, the ministry hopes to approve the decree in the Council of Ministers by the end of the year.

However, industry sources point out that progress has been made on some issues, such as having a strategic reserve of protective equipment or strengthening the National Epidemiological Surveillance Network and creating the State Public Health Agency. This latter body, which was already provided for in the 2011 Public Health Law and is intended to strengthen coordination between administrations and study future public health risks, is still not operational. Its creation was approved at the end of July, when the PSOE accepted some amendments introduced by the PP in the Senate, after months of opposition from the PP and also Vox and Junts. Despite its approval in Congress, the regulations governing its activities are still under development. They are expected to be ready by January at the latest.

Electoralism

The PP's state leadership has immediately distanced itself from the grand state pact that Sánchez is now proposing in the wake of the fires, accusing him of "tacticalism" and creating a "smokescreen." The Moncloa government is convinced that the conservative regional leaders want such a grand agreement to depoliticize the issue—Sánchez will bring it to the next Conference of Presidents—but that Génova "has interfered" and disagrees in order to continue the narrative that Sánchez's is a "government of chaos and corrupt institutions." With the executive branch in such a weak position, government sources admit that the proposed state pact places the PP in a delicate position, but emphasize that if the main opposition party did not adopt this "no to everything" attitude, they might accept it, as the PSOE did with the anti-terrorist pact.