A no without ambiguities or half measures. That has been the initial reaction of the political forces in the community of Aragon to the Generalitat’s proposal to capture water from the Ebro River to supply the swamps of the Priorat region and ensure its agricultural activity. An initiative that would involve diverting water from these reservoirs with a double project valued at 60 million euros to be executed in three years if authorization from the Ebro Hydrographic Conference (CHE) is achieved.
The first to speak out against this ‘mini-transfer’ was the president of the community, Jorge Azcón. During an early interview in the regional SER, he stated that his Government rejects “any transfer that means removing water from the Ebro hydrographic basin”, where “there is no excess water” and there are “very important” projects still to be executed. “The hydraulic works have stopped, unfortunately, and in our community we do not have water to transfer to other basins,” added the popular one.
Azcón, focused from the beginning of his presidency on attacking Pedro Sánchez’s Executive, has considered that the current national political situation, with the independentistas as a key piece in governability, represents “a threat” on this issue. For this reason, he has demanded that the Aragonese PSOE reject “with the same forcefulness” this possible ‘mini-transfer’ so that they can hear it in the Moncloa. “This front in the community should not be broken,” he asserted.
From the socialist ranks it did not take long for them to reply. His spokesperson in the Cortes, Mayte Pérez, has stressed his opposition to the proposed project to irrigate some 5,000 hectares of Priorat, since “any transfer does not fall within the logic of this party.” Even so, he has avoided positioning himself within that “common front” requested by Azcón, which he accused of “dynamiting consensus.”
The regionalist parties have also made their opposition public, although with nuances. Chunta Aragonesista stressed that there are “environmental, economic and scientific” reasons to support his “strong and coherent opposition to the transfer of water between basins.” For this reason, he demands that Azcón expand this front against the transfer with his party colleagues in Valencia and Murcia or with the members of Vox, his Government partner, whose leader, Santiago Abascal, “has defended the Ebro transfer at all times.” each of the electoral appointments.”
The spokesman for the Aragonese Party, Alberto Izquierdo, has been more vehement, assuring that “they will not allow a transfer of the Ebro to irrigate in Catalonia while in Aragon the fields are dying of thirst.”
“This is another payment that Pedro Sánchez will surely have already negotiated with the Generalitat,” added the only representative of this formation in the Cortes, who also commented that it is not known if the recent change in the presidency of the CHE is “to benefit also to Catalonia or is it an ordinary change?
Finally, the spokesperson for Izquierda Unida, Álvaro Sanz, recalled in a press conference that the “historical position” of his party is to be against any transfer.
