The arrival of the PP and Vox arm in arm in power in different autonomies and municipalities is beginning to take root with the implementation of measures that draw a before and after. The ideals of this alliance with the weight of the ultra-right can already be seen with changes to the linguistic model, taxes, the management of tourism, housing or the veto on cultural expressions that denounce the violation of rights.
The Valencian Government has just started walking and, although it has avoided stepping on some puddles, it has already shown the new orientation after two legislatures of progressive executives. Carlos Mazón took office in the last week of the campaign and announced the abolition of inheritance and donation tax, one of the promises shared by the current partners, the PP and Vox.
Since then, the main agreements have been aimed at forming the new structure of the Government, with fewer ministries (three in the hands of the ultranationalists) and advisers. The initial difficulties of Santiago Abascal’s people to sign high positions have drawn attention, especially if compared to the return to the first line of PP leaders, many linked to the stage of Eduardo Zaplana.
With a dropper, the new Council has been chipping away at some of the first measures. This week the Valencian president announced a regulatory change to “speed up the procedures to build new homes”. A measure that has created doubts in the opposition, fearful that the housing problem will be taken advantage of to cause a new urban boom.
It was not 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, which has been in force since the time of the pandemic, will be lifted. Tourist entrepreneurs have also been pleased with the announcement to repeal the so-called tourist tax that was approved by the previous Botanic government, which, of course, was not yet underway due to a moratorium agreed between the left-wing partners.
In terms of culture, the department headed by extor Vicente Barrera has not yet taken any decision. The leader of Vox made it clear on the day of the presentation his intention for bullfighting to stop being “the Cinderella of culture”.
No serious measures have been taken in the field of education either, although the new councilor has insisted that parents will be able to choose the language of instruction for their children. This Saturday, in an interview with Europa Press, he confirmed that the multilingual model that, not without legal hurdles, was promoted by the previous government will be tweaked and the linguistic exemption for Valencian in Spanish-speaking areas will be strengthened, so that students they will not take other subjects in this language.
In terms of culture, it is where there have been the first citizen protests, although not directly linked to decisions by town councils governed by the PP and Vox. There were rallies in Borriana against the decision to remove subscriptions to supposedly Catalanist 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 protest with the most impact was the one held in Nàquera against the agreement that banned LGBTI flags from municipal buildings.
In the Balearic Government, the arrival of the PP anticipates major changes in the tourism containment policy promoted by Francina Armengol, 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 there: 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 awards will no longer be only in Catalan from the new editions. In this policy of gestures, Vox, which holds the Presidency of the Parliament, has also managed to prevent the LGTBI flag from flying on the facade of the institution. Catalan will no longer be a requirement in healthcare and we need to see what happens in the rest of the Administration.
Vox needs to demonstrate that it has power in the institutions, but profound changes are announced with the PP. Prohens has begun his mandate with the abolition of inheritance tax, which will mean a loss of income of 60 million, calculations that the opposition raises to 120.
It is in economic matters that Prohens plans to make a breakthrough. 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 executive of Armengol had approved a de facto decrease in tourism to try to contain the saturation that the islands present.
Prohens will repeal the moratorium and, in addition, will restore the possibility that hotels and certain establishments can increase places in exchange for improving their category and implementing clean energy models.
The other major political change that will come to the Balearic Islands has to do with housing regulation. The previous government approved a pioneering law that allows the expropriation of the use of empty homes from large landlords to allocate them to social rent. It also allows the exercise of the right of trial and withdrawal in sales between large holders. Marga Prohens has already announced that the law will be changed to eliminate the possibility of expropriation and, for the time being, she has aborted the purchase of 88 flats from Metrovacesa in execution of the right of trial and withdrawal that the executive of Armengol signed two days ago before the regional elections.
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 pre-appointment appearance of high-ranking officials to report on the curriculum and assets.
The alliance of the right and the ultra-right is beginning to shape a way of governing that has also been portrayed with the cancellation of cultural activities in different municipalities. In Valdemorillo, the representation of Virgina Woolf’s play Orlando was suppressed, in Getafe a play by Lope de Vega was censored and, among other examples of this political turn, in Toledo Lydia Cacho’s play was suspended . The Mexican journalist is a benchmark in the investigation and reporting of sexual exploitation networks.
