Raúl Moreno will replace Martínez Bravo at the head of Social Rights

BarcelonaThe President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, will appoint Raúl Moreno as the new Minister of Social Rights, replacing Mònica Martínez Bravo. This was first reported by El Periódico and has been confirmed by ARA. This is the first change in the government of the legislature. President Illa explained the reasons in a brief institutional statement a few minutes ago from the Palau de la Generalitat, in which he said that Moreno will be appointed in the coming hours and will participate in the weekly executive council tomorrow.

The current minister – a doctor in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – is leaving her position at her own request, for personal reasons. According to the newspaper, Martínez Bravo communicated her decision to leave to President Illa a few weeks ago and the change has been kept in complete silence until now, when the rest of the ministers have been informed.

Moreno was, until now, the Secretary General of the department and will be the first social educator to head Social Rights. Before entering politics, he had worked as a social facilitator and educator in various entities in the social sector and also in private companies. A militant of the socialist youth since 1995, and closely linked to Santa Coloma de Gramenet and Barcelonès Nord, Moreno (1978) was the party's Secretary General for Social Policies, and before that he had spent many years in municipal politics.

Objective: maintain continuity

During his statement, Illa explained that Moreno's appointment continues the work done by counselor Martínez Bravo, whom he thanked for having successfully tackled the challenges of the Catalan social protection system. The president described the new counselor, Raúl Moreno, as an "intelligent" and "committed" man, with a long career linked to social services "and always in dialogue with the third sector".

To conclude the announcement, Illa recalled that "Catalonia is committed to leading social policies" and continuing to opt for "coexistence and the capacity for integration".

For her part, the outgoing counselor stated on social media that being a counselor "has been the greatest honor" of her life. "The vocation for public service and having seen how people's lives can be improved are a force that will always accompany me. Now I will continue with the same conviction, but from a different field, contributing from economic science and the debate of ideas," assured Martínez Bravo.

"I leave with a full heart, with the excitement of knowing that the department is in the best hands and with more desire than ever to keep moving forward to make this world a fairer place," she concluded. Sources from the department explained that Martínez Bravo is returning to academia, where she will continue her career linked to social benefits. In fact, she was one of the advisors to the Ministry of Economy for the implementation of the minimum vital income (IMV).

Pending tasks

Catalonia's social entities have asked Moreno to speed up pending reforms and increase investment to respond to the structural causes of poverty, inequality, and exclusion. The Table of Social Third Sector Entities of Catalonia has urged the new minister in a statement to face major social challenges such as child poverty, population aging, homelessness, or migration. It also thanked Martínez Bravo for his work during his two years at the head of the department and highlighted the impetus given to reducing waiting lists for dependency care and the forgiveness of debt arising from payments to beneficiaries of aid.

The opposition has also reacted to Moreno's appointment. ERC's general secretary, Elisenda Alamany, stated that "a government in these conditions is quite precarious for the challenges Catalonia faces today" and Junts' spokesperson in Parliament, Salvador Vergés, has called for a "profound overhaul" of the Catalan Executive beyond this change. The president of the Comuns in Parliament, Jéssica Albiach, expressed a similar view, demanding a fragmentation of the Department of Territory, Housing, and Ecological Transition because she considers it "unachievable for a single minister." For the CUP's general secretary, Non Casadevall, the change in Social Rights and Inclusion shows that the Government "seems to expect that by doing nothing, things will resolve themselves".