Díaz affirms that UP "in its entirety" was immersed in the negotiation of the PGE and it was agreed to remove Defense from the spending ceiling

He says that it was a wise decision to prevent it from affecting social investment and does not enter into Echenique's complaint

OVIEDO, 7 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The second vice president, Yolanda Díaz, has underlined that the budget negotiation with the PSOE was carried out by United We Can "in its entirety" and that before the holidays it was agreed that an increase in defense spending would remain outside the spending ceiling so as not to compete with social investment.

In statements to the media during a visit to Asturias and asked about the criticism of the parliamentary spokesman, Pablo Echenique, to the PSOE for this increase, Díaz has not entered into the complaint of the purple formation regarding the lack of information on the increase of 25, 8%.

Yes, it has revealed that this formula of separating the defense spending items from the spending ceiling was "correct" and decided within the confederal space, to avoid that "the debate on the budgets was this."

"We have looked for an interesting political solution knowing that we have different positions. The commitment was that this increase would not be in the spending ceiling so that it would not compete with the social investment items. Therefore, the bet was decided and it was a negotiation at together in United We Can", he has sentenced.

Recently, sources from the purple formation stressed that Podemos did not know the percentage of 26% of the increase in military spending and that they were not provided by the socialist wing with precise information on this matter during the budget negotiation.

All this after the head of the Treasury, María Jesús Montero, assured that the negotiating team of the confederal space knew how the Defense section was left.

Regarding this controversy, sources from the purple sector specified that it was agreed with the PSOE, as Diaz herself and various leaders of the confluence explained, that defense spending did not count within the spending ceiling and that, therefore, they were also aware that this implied that there would be investment through the special plans associated with the Armed Forces.

In this way, they conceded that this accounting mechanism was a letter that the PSOE had and that at this point there is no contradiction within United We Can, but they did allege that the Socialists at no time revealed that percentage increase to them.

Moreover, they assert that during the last week from their negotiating team (of which Secretary of State Nacho Álvarez is a part) the Treasury was asked how the plot of military spending was going to turn out, and that the answer was imprecise and they were not given the detailed macroeconomic picture, as it did on other occasions. Therefore, they assert that in the entire confederal space the percentage of 26% was unknown, in line with Echenique's position.

Within United We Can it is shared that this decision is not liked but that data already came out in the media in August. Also within the confederal space, they emphasize that it must be specified that this increase seems aimed at increasing the salary of the troops and for industrial enclaves in the country, associated, for example, with the activity of Navantia.

On the other hand, the Minister for Equality, Irene Montero, insisted on accusing the PSOE of increasing defense spending, although she recognized that her party is a minority partner of the Government, so they have to accept this condition.

In turn, Podemos expressed its discomfort at the fact that the budget negotiation did not include the definitive approval of the housing law and, for example, Echenique revealed that he was going to give the "political" battle while the Minister of Social Rights, Ione Belarra, called for mobilization in the face of the PSOE's total rejection of the unblocking of this initiative.