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

MadridThe PP has presented an amendment to a Vox motion for the first time to debate in Congress the establishment of a "national priority" when receiving aid and subsidies. This is an element that both parties agreed on in the pact signed to govern in Extremadura —although the candidate for re-election, María Guardiola, did not mention it in Tuesday's investiture debate— and which the Spanish government has already taken it upon itself to censor. The Minister of Justice, Félix Bolaños, in the Senate control session, stated that the pact between the right and the far-right is "discriminatory, inhumane, and xenophobic." In the Extremaduran investiture

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 inspired by the principle of national priority," so that resources are assigned "as a priority" to those who "maintain a real, lasting, and verifiable connection" to the state territory. This must include, according to the PP, a "minimum period of residence," registration as a resident, or a minimum contribution period to receive aid. They also want to exclude from any structural aid a person in an irregular situation, except in cases of "vital emergency."

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 regarding the "minimum" time they believe must pass to gain access: for 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. They also 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. The vote of Junts will be key in this regard, as they also advocate for more restrictive policies in migratory terms, but have 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", since 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 in a generic way, which opens the door to discrimination based on origin.

End the extraordinary regularizationIt 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 favor illegal immigration". For Vox, this could 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 same president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, spoke out against "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 stated. For his part, Juanma Moreno Bonilla, the PP candidate to revalidate the presidency of Andalusia, has called for a useful vote for the elections on May 17 to precisely avoid depending on Vox with a pact of these characteristics.

End of the extraordinary regularization

At another point of the motion, an attempt is also made to stop the extraordinary regularization of migrants that is already underway. Again, even if it were to go ahead, the Spanish executive would shelve the proposal, despite it meaning a symbolic defeat for Moncloa.

In the same line of controversy, 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 fact that the procedure is 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 in 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 in the face of the agreement between PP and Vox in Extremadura that prioritizes roots when applying for aid.