The PP and Vox approve their first Budgets in Castilla y León but knock down the announced tax reduction by mistake

The first Budgets of the PP-Vox coalition government in Castilla y León are already a reality, but they have gone ahead in the midst of a great parliamentary row and they are born lame: an error by both parties in the vote on the Tax Measures Bill and Financial - the one that includes the regional taxes that will finance, in part, this budgetary expense - has forced the suspension of the plenary session this Friday for more than an hour and has finally given rise to a surreal situation: PP and Vox have knocked down their own project (which included the tax reduction that is the ideological flag of both groups) to prevent the opposition from prospering, and now they will have to process it again from scratch.

The Budgets have been approved and will enter into force in January, but they will only be able to count, for the moment,

The error was due, according to the PP and Vox, to a "confusing wording" that has led them to validate the 78 socialist amendments to the Measures Law, which completely refuted the coalition government's tax model.

Thus, after an hour and a half with the session suspended —after ordering it by the president of the Cortes, Carlos Pollán (Vox), despite the fact that the House regulations prevent stopping the voting—, the right-wing groups have had to vote against its own tax model to prevent the opposition's from being approved.

The PP spokesman, Raúl de la Hoz, has blamed the opposition for causing the error.

Later, the spokesman for the Junta, Carlos Fernández Carriedo, from the same party, admitted that "things could have been done better."

Parliamentary sources assure that the tension has been maximum between those responsible for PP and Vox,

The popular ones have officially announced that, despite January being a non-business month, the procedures will be expedited so that the Measures Law is prepared again as soon as possible, the procedures are executed and the financial plan enters into force: PP and Vox will present a "joint bill" next week, a formula that implies faster processing and not submitting the text to advisory council reports.

The PP and Vox have criticized on numerous occasions that the central government uses this formula to carry out its initiatives.

The 44 votes totaled by both right-wing groups (in a Parliament with 81 seats) had allowed the approval of some Accounts reviled by the opposition and the unions at the end of the morning.

UGT and Comisiones Obreras have demonstrated in front of the Cortes to protest against the content of the Budgets and the measures taken these months by the Executive, with the extreme right especially in confrontation with the union centrals.

The spending budget is 12,809 million, 12.35% more than in 2021 thanks to European recovery funds.

The budget project goes ahead without any of the amendments presented by the other parliamentary groups having been accepted.

The sessions this Thursday and Friday have served to verify the distance between the government parties and the rest of the formations, which have charged against these Budgets.

The PP, through its Minister of Economy and Finance and regional spokesman, Carlos Fernández Carriedo, claimed the agreement on Thursday: "We see Castilla y León positively," he said.

Carriedo alluded to the "deterioration" of the general economic situation, which he blames on the central Executive of PSOE and Unidas Podemos.

Fátima Pinacho, from Vox, has also followed that line today: "It is the fault of his friend, Mr. Sánchez [president of the central government]", she has told the Socialists.

The opposition, led by the PSOE, has criticized the Accounts and several of its attorneys have denounced from the podium the expenses of 1.2 million euros in personnel of the vice-presidency of Juan García-Gallardo (Vox) to manage 122,000 euros.

The increase in senior institutional positions has also been cited in a negative work climate for the community and with adverse data such as those of the INE, which estimates that Castilla y León was the territory whose GDP grew the least in 2021.

More information

The PP-Vox coalition in Castilla y León spends 12.5% ​​more on senior positions than the previous PP with Ciudadanos

The prevailing tension this legislature in the chamber has made its president, Carlos Pollán (Vox), urge those present to avoid interruptions from the beginning of the plenary session: "We are going down the wrong path," he said.

The debates on the amendments and proposals have diluted the tension but have maintained the verbal confrontations.

While Vox quoted Santo Tomás Moro and replied from his seats to the other parliamentarians, the former vice president of the Board, Francisco Igea (Ciudadanos), ironized: "You are the kings of employment in high positions."

He called the PP and the regional president, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, a "plague that I helped to maintain", since his party governed with the PP in the previous legislature after renouncing to ally with the Socialists.

Pablo Fernández has branded the Vox charges as "drones",

that when they are in opposition they never present budgetary amendments, and they have called the vice president, Juan García-Gallardo (Vox), a "parasite of the public."

Ciudadanos has challenged the vote —and Unidas Podemos is going to do it too— because the president of the Cortes unilaterally rejected that one of the amendments, on aid to ALS patients, be voted out loud despite the fact that the regulation allows it and the Table of the Cortes supported him.

The parliamentary appointment has passed with several hundred people gathered before the Parliament, in Valladolid, summoned by the UGT and CC OO.

The union leaders, Faustino Temprano and Vicente Andrés, have charged against the Budgets: "They go against the workers, cut rights and limit union activity and the protection of companies."

The unions censure that the accounts withdraw aid to these associations in terms of labor aid to victims of sexist violence, reduce union delegates or raise costs for companies by removing support for occupational risk prevention.

Vox promised to eliminate 20 million euros that the unions receive, but the measure was not carried out after the PP refused.

The ratification of the Budgets took place minutes before two in the afternoon, with Fernández Mañueco shaking hands with his vice president and leader of Vox amid applause from his benches.

This approval comes one year and three days after Mañueco, in the middle of the budget negotiation process, broke with Ciudadanos and called elections.

The first PP-Vox coalition government emerged from those elections.