Belarra demands brave and social budgets and asks the PSOE not to double military spending even if the US asks for it

Ask for a fund of 10,000 million to improve health and education, an ambitious tax reform and cap the price of fuel

The general secretary of Podemos, Ione Belarra, has urged to open the negotiation with the PSOE on the next General State Budgets for 2023 and has marked the priorities of its formation for the end of the legislature, with "forceful" measures to increase spending Social.

In contrast, he has told his partner that the country's "urgency" is not "doubling military spending", which in his opinion is already at "record" levels because "Spain is not at war" but rather to protect itself from the socioeconomic effects of the conflict in Ukraine, arguing that citizens "do not need" to buy "bombs or fighter planes" at the "requirement of a foreign power", in reference to the United States.

In this way, it has broken down among its priorities for public accounts the launch of a fund endowed with 10,000 million to invest in health and public education, continue to lower the monthly public transport subscription to 10 euros, a tax reform , increase the minimum interprofessional salary (SMI) or establish a limit on the price of fuel, as was already done with masks or gas paid for by the extraordinary tax on electricity companies.

This was explained by the also Minister of Social Rights during her speech at the Training Coordination Council, where she detailed the need to increase the ambition of the Government's policies in the face of the inflationary trend and the economic effects caused by the war in Ukraine .

A position that comes after the NATO Summit in Madrid and the call of the socialist wing to its minority partners to reflect and support raising the military budget to 2% of the country's GDP.

"We are going to do everything in our power to negotiate that the next budgets include truly forceful, effective and courageous measures to protect the purchasing power and living conditions of the people of our country", Belarra stated before the dome of We can to defend that this is the way to "walk towards an electoral victory" of the left in the face of the advance of the rights.

WE CAN RAISE THE PROGRESSIVE FLAGS "ALONE"

Moreover, he has warned of the "warmongering escalation" that is sweeping Europe in the face of this conflict and has warned of the hard blow to the social majority that inflation entails, which "can ruin" the "path" that the progressive government took in the last two budgets, whose last milestone is the measures to improve the anti-crisis decree.

But in his opinion, the latest events and declarations lead to a moment in the legislature where "clear political objectives are not perceived" in the Government's action and that perception is shared by "many progressive people", who have the "feeling" that Podemos "alone" is the one who raises the "flags" that should be the "sign of identity" of a left-wing Executive.

Therefore, he has affirmed that the next budgets have to be the "milestone" that reorients the "course" of the Government to "regain the rhythm" and give it back a "clear political horizon". In fact, he has launched that it should be "the cotton test" to "accelerate" transformations that the progressive bases "have been waiting for a long time" and cannot delay any longer.

"It is time for the urgent and the important," Belarra has broken down to demand items to reinforce public services (health, education and care) and combat inflation.

SOCIAL AND FISCAL PRIORITIES OF PODEMOS IN THE PGE

Specifically, it has demanded the "immediate" approval of the new Family Law with the extension of maternity leave to six months, the implementation of a universal income for care of 100 euros per month and a paid leave of seven days at year to all workers for the care of their families. It also appeals to comply with the increase of 600 million for Dependency and expand the Co-Responsible Plan to 200 million.

In addition, they will demand in the budget negotiation with the PSOE to increase more than 70 million in political investment to fight against sexist violence, continue to lower the transport subscription until it costs 10 euros in all communities and definitively prohibit the cutting of supplies to vulnerable people, causing these accumulated debts to be "assumed" by the electricity companies.

It has also listed, among its requests, raising the SMI again on the criteria set by the Technical Commission that has advised the Ministry of Labor, increasing by 15% the Public Indicator of Income for Multiple Effects (IPREM), which serves to set the amount of many social benefits, and update the pensions and salaries of public employees according to inflation.

In turn, he has detailed that the 10,000 million fund for health and public education is also open to communities making contributions and, for example, proposes that they contribute one euro for every two they receive from this item. Another condition is to reserve a minimum percentage of that amount for Primary Care and mental health, while in the educational area part of that funding will be shielded to create more public places for teaching from 0 to 3 years.

On the other hand, the leader of Podemos has called for an "ambitious" tax reform that "cannot wait any longer", since it does not seem "decent" to her that after these two very serious crises (the pandemic and the war in Ukraine) the large companies and fortunes have not contributed an extra euro to the public treasury to deal with them.

In this way, he has called to rebalance the fiscal balance with an extraordinary tax on energy companies, of immediate application and demands a minimum rate of 15% on the profits of large corporations.

All this added to a tax on large fortunes, which they already demanded in Congress and which the PSOE did not support, which prevents communities like Madrid from becoming "tax havens" and making "unfair competition" to other territories.

But he has also called for lowering the taxation of SMEs from 25% to 23%, applying the 'purple' rate of super-reduced VAT to products such as diapers and feminine hygiene, or also reducing this tax on the hairdressing sector.

Finally, he has described as "inexplicable" for the Democrats that the most damaging aspects of the Citizen Security Law, known by its detractors as the 'Gag Law', have not been repealed and that it has been applied for longer with a progressive government than with the former executive of the PP.

He has also challenged his partner who knows "what is needed" to close an agreement on the Housing Law and include improvements such as making Sareb homes available to public administrations or advancing in limiting rental prices. And it is that if she accepted these measures, which have great social support, she is convinced that "in a matter of days" this regulation will be approved.