Xavier Trabado Farré: "A universal social benefit of 200 euros per child would reduce poverty."

BarcelonaMore than Two million Catalans receive care from organizations gathered at the Roundtable of Third Sector Social Entities, which is confident that Parliament will approve, after three years, the third sector law which must recognize the work carried out by professionals and volunteers. Since May 2025, Xavier Trabado Farré has been its president, replacingEnric Morist, died suddenly

The latest data paints a picture of an impoverished and unequal Catalonia. One 36% child poverty And one in four Catalans is poor. What do you think is wrong?

— We have had for years the highest poverty rates in Europe And we are the region that reduces market-driven poverty the least. I believe this is everyone's fault: the political class hasn't been responsive, civil society and social actors haven't prioritized it, and we haven't had the capacity to influence it. But this happens because we don't have public policies with significant budgets. That's why we're trying to make the universal child benefit proposed by the Spanish government a reality. How? By structuring the benefit through a tax credit in the personal income tax (IRPF). Therefore, it would be aid that wouldn't need to be applied for. We propose 200 euros per month per child.

Having universal social benefits counters the liberal discourse against the slip?

— One of the reasons why we talk about the slip This is surely because we haven't managed to establish social rights as a system as robust as the healthcare or education systems. And in the current political climate, marked by hate speech and questioning of the public sector's capacity to serve the common good, this child benefit represents a way for society as a whole to understand that social rights concern us all. We must understand that social cohesion is not only about creating opportunities but also essential for a more productive and innovative society.

Poverty is costly both socially and economically for the country.

— The cost of child poverty is estimated at 60 billion euros annually. Because, of course, if you have a poor child going to school with nutritional problems and no extracurricular activities, this has an impact. in the PISA resultsThis facilitates early school leaving and will impact students' ability to enter the workforce and pursue professional careers. Given this, we are subjected to messages that we are living in a tax hell, which is not true. In Catalonia and Spain, we are still several points below the European average in terms of tax burden.

Organizations have been warning for years that bureaucracy prevents families from accessing benefits. Do you see any improvements in the reform announced by the current regional government?

— All the problems we have stem from the limitations of the social rights system, which isn't solely the responsibility of the current government but rather the result of many previous administrations. The system is very weak and causes... improper charges or high rates of people who do not receive benefits to which they are entitledThe announced reform is one of the most important projects we have as a country to achieve effective, agile and efficient management of all these resources, or we will miss a great opportunity.

In fact, there is no social services system, as such.

— There is no information system linking basic social services, which are the responsibility of local councils, with specialized services, which are managed through a network of third-sector organizations via various means, such as grants and agreements. If we compare it to the healthcare system, it's as if the Health Department only had information on primary care. This makes it impossible to implement person-centered care and coordinate professionals effectively.

But are there any plans to change it?

— Parliament is processing the law on the provision of care services, which is meant to establish contracting mechanisms and create an agency whose sole purpose would be the direct management of these services. This is utterly insufficient. We need a system like the one we have in healthcare, with the capacity for management, service procurement, evaluation, and the development of information systems. We must be more ambitious and take full advantage of the creation of this agency. That's why a professional, stable, and knowledge-based public management team is essential, because with each change of government, 500 management positions change. This has been happening on average every two years and three months for the last 15 years. Another thing to do is update the service portfolio that hasn't been touched in a decadeWhy does this happen? Because the machinery doesn't exist; it's completely under-resourced and lacks the necessary management capacity. But without a budget, nothing can be done.

What does it mean for the sector to have been operating with extended budgets since 2023?

— We can only survive, and we need to pool resources and prioritize those areas where we believe they are relevant. Despite GDP growth, we are regressing socially due to increasing social complexity.

How does the Board approach the process of regularizing immigrants?

— We don't yet know the details, but we've emphasized that this needs to be done across all regions and everywhere. Therefore, local councils must play a role, and social organizations could have a very active part because we have the proximity and trust of the people we support. But for that, we need resources and the legal and administrative framework. We'll see if we can achieve it.

He also warned that far-right rhetoric is gaining ground in neighborhoods with the highest concentration of vulnerable residents. How can this be countered? Mayors leading these messages?

— It's a trend international that questions the welfare state and the management of public affairs. It worries us, but fortunately, in the Netherlands Citizens no longer strongly support the far rightWhere the far right has power, it doesn't solve any problems, but people buy into it because it gives them a scapegoat, which can be immigration, people receiving benefits, or the poor.