The arrival of the PP and Vox hand in hand to power in various autonomies and municipalities begins to take shape with the implementation of measures that draw a before and after. The ideas of this alliance with the weight of the extreme right can already be seen with changes in the linguistic model, taxes, tourism management, housing or the veto of cultural expressions that denounce the violation of rights.
The Valencian Government has just started and although it has avoided stepping on some puddles, it has already shown signs of the new orientation after two legislatures of progressive executives. Carlos Mazón took office the last week of the campaign and announced the suppression of the Inheritance and Donations Tax, one of the promises shared by the now partners, PP and Vox.
Since then, the main agreements have been used to form the new government structure, with fewer ministers (three of them in the hands of the ultranationalists) and advisers. The initial difficulties of those from Santiago Abascal to sign high-ranking officials have attracted attention, especially when compared with the return to the first line of PP leaders, many linked to the stage of Eduardo Zaplana.
Little by little, the new Consell has been reeling off some of its first measures. This week, the Valencian president announced a regulatory change to “expedite the procedures for the construction of new homes.” A measure that has generated doubts in the fearful opposition that the housing problem will be taken advantage of to generate a new urban boom.
It has not been the only controversial decision taken by the Valencian Council. Mazón has also reported that the ban on smoking on the terraces of bars and restaurants that had been in force since the time of the pandemic will be lifted. Tourism businessmen have also been pleased with the announcement to repeal the so-called tourist tax approved by the previous government of the Botànic, which, yes, was not yet in place due to a moratorium agreed between the left-wing partners.
In cultural matters, the department headed by former bullfighter Vicente Barrera has not yet made any decision. The leader of Vox made it clear on the day of his presentation his intention that bullfighting stop being “the Cinderella of culture.”
Nor have significant measures been taken in educational matters, although the new minister has insisted that parents will be able to choose the language of education for their children. This Saturday, in an interview in Europa Press, he confirmed that the multilingual model promoted by the previous government, not without judicial obstacles, will be retouched and the linguistic exemption of Valencian will be reinforced in Spanish-speaking areas so that students will not take other subjects in this language.
In terms of culture, it is where the first citizen protests have taken place, although not directly linked to government decisions but to city councils governed by PP and Vox. There were concentrations in Borriana against the decision to eliminate the subscription to supposedly Catalan magazines, which was rectified. Or in Torrent, where the council has removed the name of the co-founder of Al Tall from the municipal auditorium. The most notorious protest was the one held in Nàquera against the agreement that prohibited LGTBI flags in municipal buildings.
In the Balearic Government, the arrival of the PP anticipates far-reaching changes in the tourist containment policy promoted by Francina Armengol, the predecessor of Marga Prohens. The first measures that have been taken give an idea of ??where Vox wants to condition the Balearic Executive without being in it: less presence of Catalan in the institutions, with guarantees of bilingualism in the administration.
Palma City Council has changed a language regulation in force for 30 years so that citizens receive communications in Spanish and the literary prizes will no longer be only in Catalan as of the new editions. In this policy of gestures, Vox, which has the Presidency of the Parliament, has also managed to prevent the LGTBI flag from flying on the façade of the institution. Catalan will no longer be a requirement in health and it remains to be seen what happens in the rest of the administration.
Vox needs to show that it has power in the institutions, but the profound changes are announced by the PP. Prohens has started his mandate with the suppression of the inheritance tax that will mean a loss of income of 60 million, some calculations that the opposition raises to 120.
It is in economic matters where Prohens plans to give the turn. The Balearic Islands have a moratorium on tourist places in force that prevents the granting of new licenses in a community that has 1.2 million inhabitants and almost 500,000 places. The Armengol executive had approved a de facto tourist decrease to try to contain the saturation that the islands present.
Prohens will repeal the moratorium and will also recover the possibility that hotels and certain establishments can increase rooms in exchange for improving their category and implementing clean energy models.
The other great political change that will come to the Balearic Islands has to do with the regulation of housing. The previous government approved a pioneering law that allows the expropriation of the use of empty homes of large holders to allocate them to social rent. It also allows the exercise of the right of first refusal and withdrawal in sales between large holders. Marga Prohens has already announced that the law will be changed to eliminate the possibilities of expropriation and, for the moment, has aborted the purchase of 88 apartments from Metrovacesa in execution of the right of first refusal and withdrawal that the Armengol executive signed two days before the elections autonomous.
The Government of Extremadura, with a coalition between the PP and Vox, held the first meeting on July 28 and its first measure was to repeal the appearance prior to their appointment of senior officials to account for their curriculum and assets.
The alliance of the right and the extreme right begins to configure a way of governing that has also been portrayed with cancellations of cultural activities in various municipalities. In Valdemorillo, the performance of the play Orlando, by Virginia Woolf, was suppressed. In Getafe a work by Lope de Vega has been censored and, among other examples of this political turn, in Toledo the work of Lydia Cacho was suspended. The Mexican journalist is a benchmark in the investigation and denunciation of sexual exploitation networks.
After the government, regional and municipal pacts, between the Popular Party and Vox, projects related to sustainable mobility have been repealed in various parts of the country. In Elche, Palma de Mallorca and Gijón, the bloc made up of the right and the extreme right has shared, in the past, its intention to remove bike lanes. Now, the same municipalities seek to reduce or delay the low emission zones (ZBE) despite the European obligation.
More and more municipalities are backing down on policies related to the climate crisis. In Valladolid, the partial repeal and modification of the Municipal Ordinance was initially approved in June to establish certain restricted-use lanes in the city. In Gijón, cars without labels, the oldest and the most polluting, have once again been allowed to park, and it is planned to expand their traffic area.
