It is not necessary for the parliamentary groups that make up the opposition to agree. The drought that threatens part of Catalonia is the big issue and the big crisis that will mark the last part of the legislature of Pere Aragonès. As was first the covid and then the runaway inflation following the war in Ukraine.
The lack of water is the most serious that has occurred in Catalonia in its entire history and in the political sphere it coincides with a Government that only has 33 deputies giving it support from Parliament. Yesterday, the entirety of the opposition in the Catalan Chamber criticized the management of the drought to the President of the Generalitat, the majority because they consider that action has been taken late or because other sectors are favored, in their opinion, such as tourism, in detriment of primary activities or local citizenship.
The opposition launched a bloc against Aragonès in the control session. The arrival of the tractors in Barcelona, ??with the protest of the farmers, set the stage for the various parliamentary groups to try to undermine the ERC Government a little more.
Aragones responded to all the criticism. He recalled that the Special Drought Plan has been active since 2021 and that thanks to this there is a predictability of all the steps that need to be taken. He explained the different approved grants: 190 million in subsidies to the local world, 160 million to the countryside affected by the drought, 168 for the modernization of irrigation systems. And he stated that he will not contribute “to the demonization” of any sector, in clear allusion to the attacks of some groups on tourist and hotel activities.
Together, he demanded self-criticism from the Republicans, since they have been in charge of the different departments of Agriculture of the Generalitat for the last eight years. “If anything shows the management of the drought crisis, it is that this Government thinks more about being in the Government than governing”, assured the leader of the formation in the Parliament, Albert Batet, taking advantage of the fact that the tractors entered the avenue Diagonal of Barcelona.
Batet criticized the double path that the president has followed to fight the lack of water: “The first, that the solution comes from the sky, that it rains” and that “now, instead of praying to La Moreneta, they entrust themselves in Almudena”. The latter, with reference to the boats with water from the Sagunto desalination plant that the Central Government will send to Catalonia if the problem persists in the summer.
In any case, JxCat demanded that a new water summit be held. An idea seconded by Salvador Illa, first secretary of the PSC. However, unlike the other groups, the socialist maintained a more proactive attitude. It is a consistent position and in accordance with the budget negotiations. Without the stridency and public pressure that there was for those of 2023. The numbers of 2024 are about to be resolved.
“The country’s energies must be focused on dealing with this situation”, he assured about the lack of water before adding that political activity must be focused on “solving the situation, not speculating”. Illa asked Aragonès to be flexible to adapt to the coming circumstances, and to lend himself to collaboration between administrations, something that has been demonstrated, he acknowledged, with the help of tankers. “Collaborate, not fine”, he postulated. A jab, here yes, at the sanctions that the Generalitat has imposed on some councils for excesses in water consumption.
Groups such as the CUP or En Comú Podemos emphasized the need to limit water consumption in the tourism sector. Cupaire Laia Estrada argued that if Aragonès asks the population to make an effort to consume less water resources, it should make the same request not only to the tourism sector, but also to the big companies “that have dried up all the rivers”. And he criticized the arrival of cruise ships in the port of Barcelona, ??which, he said, are big consumers.
Aragonés had it easy, here. He pointed out that besides the fact that most of these boats have their own desalination plant, they will not be able to supply themselves with water in Barcelona.
For her part and in the same line, Jéssica Albiach, leader of the commons in the Parliament, demanded to eliminate the “free bar” of tourism and demanded that Aragonès declare it as a specific sector. In addition, Albiach stated that the Government has acted late in “the worst drought in the history of Catalonia”.
Vox, Ciutadans and the PP also jumped in during the interventions against the republican. Carlos Carrizosa, leader of the orange formation, criticized Aragonès for having gone “from saying that Spain is stealing from us to saying that he hopes to have the maximum collaboration from Spain” and considered that he has delayed the commissioning of the desalination plants . Alejandro Fernández, president of the PP group, criticized the fact that a decade has been “lost” due to the lack of water investments.
The opposition tightened, but did not suffocate. Yes, there was a request for resignation. It was verbalized by Salvador Vergés, Junts deputy. He demanded that the Councilor for Climate Action, David Mascort, assume his share of “blame” in the dissatisfaction of the agricultural sector and that he resign if he is not able to respond to the “desperate cry” of farmers, also affected by the drought.
