Sumar pressures Junts to endorse the housing decree: "They have to explain why they are harming the citizens"

MadridAfter the clash with the PSOE within the council of ministers On Friday, Sumar is now focusing all its pressure on Junts and the PP to ratify the extension of rental contracts and the limitation on price increases. This is the second decree approved in addition to the one on tax cuts: it has been in effect since Sunday, but it needs the approval of Congress—with the decisive vote of Junts—to remain valid. Early Monday morning, in an interview on RNE, the Second Vice President of the Spanish government, Yolanda Díaz, made it clear that the vote will be "the last day" to extend the validity period as much as possible to validate the measure. Thus, Moncloa will have thirty working days to bring this decree-law to the lower house, which places the parliamentary review in the first week of May. "The three right-wing parties have to explain why they are harming the citizens of our country," Díaz said. Shortly afterwards, on TVE, the Minister of Social Rights, Pablo Bustinduy, called for the "biggest pressure campaign" to get the lower house to give the green light.

On the other hand, the first decree, approved last Friday, which contains tax measures and will be voted on Thursday, also lacks guaranteed parliamentary support. Podemos will abstain because it believes it will be "ineffective" in lowering prices and "insufficient to protect people," and continues to demand that the Moncloa Palace set price caps on fuel, energy, and food. On the other side of the political spectrum, the People's Party (PP) has demanded further tax cuts. PP Deputy Secretary Cuca Gamarra announced that they will send a letter to the Spanish government to "express their concern and disappointment" that the decree "falls short." "More aid is needed," she said. The PP demands that the Personal Income Tax (IRPF) be adjusted for inflation "immediately." However, with these initial objections, the PP headquarters in Madrid (Génova) has not clarified how it will vote, awaiting a response from the Moncloa Palace and continuing to analyze the full range of proposals contained in the decree. For its part, Junts has not confirmed its support, but on Friday it boasted that it had "forced" the inclusion of a series of measures in the decree and that the Spanish government "bought all the tax cuts" it had proposed, which was a "key condition for considering" its vote in favor. Junts' support—despite Podemos' abstention—would allow the decree to be ratified. What Junts rejects is the housing decree law because they consider it "a disguised temporary expropriation without compensation."

Act of pressure against Junts

Sumar organized an event with its main leaders in Congress to boast about the extension of rent relief measures and pressured Junts to support it. The plenary hall of the lower house hosted the five ministers from the left-wing coalition to the PSOE, as well as the leader of Izquierda Unida, Antonio Maíllo, and members of parliament from the group. Sumar's spokesperson in Congress, Verónica Martínez, opened the gathering, proudly stating that they had been a "decisive force" and a "political engine" in "pushing" the PSOE to enable "progress," and then took aim at Junts: "Let each group think carefully about its vote; politics only has meaning if it guarantees rights and security to those who need it most," she asserted. The other speakers echoed her sentiments.

"The Spanish government did what it had to do; now we need to mobilize everyone," Yolanda Díaz declared to her supporters. She called on members of parliament to meet with unions and environmental and feminist groups to "win in the streets a measure that is already in effect" and to work to "mobilize" society. "Whoever tries to overturn it will have to answer for their actions," she warned the PP, Junts, and Vox parties.

The Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, also sent a message to Junts: "We invite them to reflect deeply on how to best serve the interests of Catalonia." "It's pointless for the Spanish government to impose vetoes on itself and avoid bringing things to Congress for fear of losing them," he added. The federal coordinator of United Left, Antonio Maíllo, guaranteed that they would "make Junts sweat bullets" and expressed confidence in a "broad social mobilization." "We will give it our all. Pedro Sánchez dedicated one minute [to the press conference], and we will dedicate a month," said the Minister of Health, Mónica García.

Podemos will vote in favor of the housing decree

Meanwhile, Podemos announced on Monday that it will vote in favor of the housing decree because it contains "measures that could be positive," despite the party predicting that the vote will be derailed because the Spanish government chose to "isolate the measures" in a separate decree. According to the Secretary of Organization, Pablo Fernández, they would have preferred everything to be included in a single text because the right wing "would have had a slightly harder time opposing it." He also believes it is "worrying" and "outrageous" that the Moncloa Palace (the Prime Minister's office) did not include a moratorium on evictions for vulnerable families. Furthermore, without clarifying how they will vote, he criticized the decree containing tax measures, stating that it will be "ineffective" in lowering prices and "insufficient to protect people."