Yolanda Díaz announces that she is negotiating with the PSOE measures to contain food and mortgage prices

Yolanda Díaz has announced this Wednesday that her formation will negotiate with the PSOE new measures to contain the prices of the shopping cart and mortgages in the decree of measures against the crisis derived from the war in Ukraine, which must be approved before the end of year.

One day after the President of the Government, in an informal conversation with journalists during the events to celebrate the 44th anniversary of the Constitution in Congress, slipped out that the Executive is looking for a formula to lower food prices, although without caps , the second vice president has once again defended this idea, which already stirred up small businesses in September.

To questions from journalists, the Minister of Labor has defended that the relationship with Podemos "is not broken",

although the hostilities between the party and the leader of Sumar, the political project promoted by Díaz, have been evident in recent times.

A 40dB survey.

for EL PAÍS and Cadena SER, published on Tuesday, granted up to 57 seats to the space to the left of the PSOE in the event that it concurs together with the 2023 general elections, compared to the 32 deputies that it would achieve if it did so separately.

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"The IPC data indicates that where the Government does not act we have enormous problems," the vice president stated at a press conference.

Díaz referred to the 15.4% increase in the case of products in the shopping basket, compared to sectors such as energy, where price containment has caused the inflation data to moderate for the fourth month consecutive in November up to 6.8%, compared to 10.5% in August.

“We say that you have to act on the shopping basket and on mortgages.

It is an impossible mission for many Spanish families to assume the increase that the Euribor represents ”, the minister has also considered, referring to the 44% more quota for those who review their mortgage now.

Díaz has indicated that her group intends to freeze mortgages since the rise in the Euribor in July, therefore,

Retroactive.

"They are policies that affect the middle classes," he pointed out about what he considers to be two "enormous problems" for families in Spain.

"The negotiating commission on behalf of the Vice President of the Government to negotiate with the PSOE has already been constituted and these two aspects are going to be raised again in these emergency measures," he revealed.

Labor sources have specified that the Secretary of State for Social Rights and economic man of Podemos, Nacho Álvarez, the head of Díaz's Cabinet, Josep Vendrell, and the economic adviser Manuel Lago, will be in these talks for UP.

"The negotiating commission on behalf of the Vice President of the Government to negotiate with the PSOE has already been constituted and these two aspects are going to be raised again in these emergency measures," he revealed.

Labor sources have specified that the Secretary of State for Social Rights and economic man of Podemos, Nacho Álvarez, the head of Díaz's Cabinet, Josep Vendrell, and the economic adviser Manuel Lago, will be in these talks for UP.

"The negotiating commission on behalf of the Vice President of the Government to negotiate with the PSOE has already been constituted and these two aspects are going to be raised again in these emergency measures," he revealed.

Labor sources have specified that the Secretary of State for Social Rights and economic man of Podemos, Nacho Álvarez, the head of Díaz's Cabinet, Josep Vendrell, and the economic adviser Manuel Lago, will be in these talks for UP.

The vice president has not clarified what would be the applicable formula in the case of the shopping basket, although she has ruled out a general drop in VAT and has charged the Popular Party.

"We do not share the proposals that are made from the economic right, and especially from the PP, because they are not effective," she maintained, recalling that many products already have a reduced VAT.

"It's not about that.

What we are seeing is that there is a very direct transfer of corporate profits to the large food distributors.

There are companies that are benefiting ”, she denounced.

Already in September, the head of Labor and Social Economy defended an agreement for the large supermarket chains to lower the sale price of between 20 and 30 products, a formula that would exclude other smaller establishments, with no room to reduce their prices. benefits, but which according to their employers denounced, could end up being counterproductive for the sector, since the price reduction works as a claim to consume in large stores instead of doing it in small stores.

Those meetings with the distributors then came to nothing, beyond the launch by one of them (Carrefour) of a lower cost basket, but which left out basic products such as milk or eggs.

Sánchez was the first to point out on Tuesday that the Government was studying a formula to lower the price of food, although without establishing any type of ceiling, which will be approved in the decree that the Executive is preparing with the measures against inflation for the coming months, since the current one falls on the 31st.

The Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, who was the one who most harshly rejected the idea that Díaz raised in September, because he understands that it could harm the sector, has admitted this Wednesday that the Executive is studying some formula because it is "logical" that if Action has been taken on energy or transport, which directly affect the basic consumption of citizens, and also on food.

However, Planas also raises the complexity of doing so,

because he believes that most of the increases in the price of food come from the rise in the costs of producing them.

In any case, he has admitted that they have been instructed by the president to find a formula and are working on it.

Relationship with Podemos

The vice president has also rejected this Wednesday that her relationship with Podemos is broken.

"This morning I spoke with the general secretary of Podemos, she is not broken and I think they saw us together yesterday," she said, referring to the acts of the Constitution.

"As always, we work hard for our country," she replied.

In private, however, no one hides the tensions between the party and the head of Labor.

In the last month, Podemos has increased the pressure on Díaz, which it demands to clarify as soon as possible if you want to be the candidate of the entire space in the general elections and to which it demands a "generous" agreement, that is, starting positions in the lists of his future candidacy.

Sources close to the vice president assure that the head of Labor is not ready to give in to the "pressure" of the party at this stage of the process, although they do not rule out that she will make her participation in the elections official.

“The Sumar process is unstoppable.

This is what I can tell you”, Díaz has limited himself to responding about the deadlines for that announcement.

In different acts, the last one in Pamplona, ​​the Galician leader has already shown herself "willing" to "take a step forward" to lead Sumar in the next elections.

This Wednesday, he once again claimed his project as "the secret for a new progressive coalition", and predicted that it could be "a real revulsion", although, again, he called for unity: "In Sumar what is missing is too many people" .

Sources from Podemos believe, however, that unity depends on it.