The municipal and regional elections on May 28 have made the electoral promises of the different political parties flourish. After the next elections, the campaign for the December general elections will begin in a very intense year at the political level. As of Friday, May 12, in each town, each city, each community, a very tight competition begins, according to the polls to date..
In his case, the PSOE comes out to defend nine of the twelve communities that concur in these elections. The Socialists currently govern with three lone executives (Asturias, Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura) and six coalition governments (Aragon, the Canary Islands, the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands, Navarra and La Rioja).. In the last 2019 elections, it was the winning party in ten communities, although the victory in the Community of Madrid and in the Region of Murcia was useless, where the PP ended up ruling thanks to agreements with Ciudadanos and Vox.
The Government has been developing measures to rebuild the public housing stock since the beginning of the legislature.
❌ Due to the dismantling carried out by the PP, today we do not have 4M public housing.@NadiaCalvino #DefiendeLoQuePiensas pic.twitter.com/91juRORUqS
– PSOE (@PSOE) May 9, 2023
For this reason, those of Pedro Sánchez arrive stomping with an extensive 90-page Framework Program. In it, the socialist candidates undertake to work from the town halls and regional governments protecting and promoting housing, public services or clean energy. In total, the Socialist Party has agreed to up to 80 common measures for all the municipalities and autonomies that can lead. The following proposals for 28-M stand out:
Doctor and school half an hour away in the rural world
At the end of April, during a rally in Úbeda (Jaén), President Sánchez promised that all citizens, and especially those who live in the rural world, will have basic services such as education and health within a maximum of half an hour from their home. “Faced with the neoliberal and individual city model, proximity seeks to recover the life of the neighborhoods, life in the community, in which we can have all the services,” the program details..
greener cities
Urban renaturation is another of the pillars of the PSOE program for these elections. To do this, the Socialists have presented what they call their “3-30-300 formula” with which to transform Spanish municipalities into 'forest cities'. “All the neighbors will have a park less than 300 meters away, they will see three trees from their house and their neighborhoods will have 30% plant cover,” explains the Framework Program.
61,000 public housing for large cities
They commit in a public manifesto to promote 61,000 publicly-promoted homes. The Government of Pedro Sánchez has promised to implement the public housing stock in Spain from 3% to 9% in the coming years. To contribute to this challenge, the leaders of the PSOE from large cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Valencia, Malaga, Zaragoza and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, will turn, in the event of winning the municipal elections, to provide a housing solution for thousands of families at affordable prices.
Less taxes on clean energy
Another of the pillars is to promote clean energy. The intention is to develop neighborhoods that are self-sufficient and, at the same time, minimize the cost of the electricity bill. The socialist candidates promise to benefit clean energy generation facilities or other measures located in neighborhoods, neighboring communities, industrial estates, commercial and business areas. In return, there will be bonuses the Real Estate Tax (IBI), as well as in rates for local stores and businesses.
Municipalities against loneliness: uniting young and old
Another challenge is to combat loneliness among the elderly. Nearly 5 million people over the age of 18 live alone in Spain and 4 out of 10 are over the age of 65, the vast majority of them women. To tackle this loneliness, the Socialists propose building inclusive cities, where “cohesion and care for people” is at the center of their municipal and regional policies.