The PP will vote in Congress on the "national priority" agreed with Vox

MadridThe PP has presented an amendment to a Vox motion for the Congress to debate for the first time the establishment of a "national priority" when receiving aid and subsidies. An element that the two parties agreed on in the pact signed to govern in Extremadura and which the Spanish government has already taken it upon itself to censor. The Minister of Justice, Félix Bolaños, in the Senate's control session, has stated that the pact between the right and the far-right is "discriminatory, inhumane, and xenophobic." What exactly does the motion to be debated this Wednesday in the lower house entail?

Specifically, they urge the Spanish government to "promote access to all public aid, subsidies, and benefits by drawing inspiration from the principle of national priority," so that resources are allocated "as a priority" to those who "maintain a real, lasting, and verifiable connection" in the state territory. This must include, according to the PP, a "minimum period of connection," registration in the census, or a minimum period of contributions to receive aid. They also want to exclude from any structural aid a person in an irregular situation, except in cases of "vital urgency."

In the same vein, the motion also calls for the public housing access system to be based on the same criteria. They make a proposal on the "minimum" time they believe must pass to gain access: in the case of affordable rent, a minimum of five years; and to buy, a minimum of ten years. Furthermore, they consider that the existence of first-degree relatives in the specific territory or if they are young people under 36 years old, a large family, or have dependents should also be taken into account. And they add the exclusion from the public system of those who have been convicted of squatting in the last five years.

If the text were approved, it would have no practical effect, as it is a motion that simply urges the government to implement it. Crucial in this regard will be the vote of Junts, which also advocates for more restrictive policies in migratory terms, but has so far always voted against Vox's initiatives.

Different interpretation

At all times, the PP's proposal speaks of adapting this policy to the "current legality", as PP and Vox have interpreted differently what they themselves agreed upon in Extremadura. While the popular party assures that the "national priority" must be applied respecting the current law and speaks of "roots" and not nationality as a requirement, Vox refers to it generically, which opens the door to discrimination based on origin.

For this reason, in fact, the popular party has presented the amendment to Vox's original motion, in which it defended the need to establish different rights between nationals and foreigners: "It is not about arbitrariness or capricious exclusion, but about affirming a criterion of retributive justice linked to the government's duty to assist first those who sustain it and form its own national community," says the far-right. In short, PP and Vox disagree on the scope of the concept of "national priority": while the popular party maintains that it presents no problem for foreigners legally residing in Spain, the far-right makes a distinction with those who do or do not have Spanish nationality.

This is not the only issue on which they have diverged on the interpretation of the Extremadura pact. The agreement to invest María Guardiola includes a "total suppression of subsidies to NGOs that promote illegal immigration." For Vox, this can include Cáritas, as it shelters migrants and refugees, while the PP says that this religious entity "can rest assured." In fact, there are also popular barons who have distanced themselves from the content of the understanding: the president of the Community of Madrid herself, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, spoke out against the "national priority": "You cannot illegally leave anyone out of requirements for which they have rights and outside of a system to which they have contributed," she verbalized. For their part, Juanma Moreno Bonilla, the PP candidate to revalidate the presidency of Andalusia, has asked for a useful vote for the elections on May 17 to precisely avoid depending on Vox with a pact of these characteristics.

End the extraordinary regularization

At another point of the motion, it is also attempted to stop the repeal of the extraordinary regularization of migrants that is already underway. Again, even if it were to move forward, the Spanish executive would shelve the proposal, despite it meaning a symbolic defeat for Moncloa.

Along the same controversial line, this Tuesday, the spokesperson for the Spanish government, Elma Saiz, has reproached the city councils governed by PP and Vox for putting "obstacles" in the regularization process, despite the procedure being regulated by the Spanish government, and has also criticized the documentation that must be submitted. One of the documents that is generating the longest queues at the administration is the vulnerability report. In this regard, she has warned that the Spanish government will monitor compliance with the Constitution regarding the rights of migrants, both with respect to the regularization process, and with respect to the pact between PP and Vox in Extremadura which prioritizes roots when applying for aid.