Guadalajara.- ‘The Government of Spain is complying with the province and the people of Guadalajara. This is a government committed to the protection of the social majority, with measures such as the revaluation by law of pensions according to the IPC, which shields the purchasing power of pensioners’.
The subdelegate of the Government in Guadalajara, Mercedes Gómez, has referred to other recent measures of the Government of Spain that favor the interests of the province, such as the approval in the Council of Ministers yesterday of the hydrological plan of the Tagus, which defines for the first time ecological flows for the river and will mean a reduction in the volume of transferable water calculated between 70 and 110 cubic hectares.
“The Government of Spain has established a new road map for the transfer, which will have a favorable impact on the header reservoirs and will favor the development of the coastal municipalities. The approval of the hydrological plan adds to the reduction of the automatically transferable volume by almost 30% when the reservoirs are in level 2 or the bet for desalination,” he explained. In addition, the coastal municipalities will receive investments amounting to 40 million euros.
The use of the water of the Tagus to modernize the agriculture of our province and improve its yields has one of its main projects in the transformation of 1,567 hectares in irrigation in Illana and Leganiel (Cuenca). An investment of 20 million euros from which more than 200 farmers from these localities will benefit.
Social Shield
In a context of extraordinary difficulty, first because of the covid-19 pandemic and then because of the war in Ukraine, the Government of Spain has focused its efforts on protecting citizens. During the crisis caused by covid-19, it deployed a social shield with measures such as ERTE, which have allowed companies and jobs to be saved: 21,000 workers have been protected in Guadalajara by the ERTE, with a cost close to 68 million euros.
‘Spain was an example with the vaccination campaign against the virus and, in addition, it managed to get Europe to approve a recovery fund endowed with 140 billion that are being used to implement many development projects, as we are seeing daily here in Guadalajara as well. In response to the energy crisis caused by the war, the government fought in Europe the Iberian exception, scorned by the PP, which has managed to contain energy prices and make Spain the country with the lowest inflation in Europe. Today, this measure is an example for Europe’, said the deputy delegate.
Employment
In parallel, far-reaching measures have been taken, such as labor reform, which has increased stable work, as already recognized by international organizations such as the IMF. Likewise, the SMI has been substantially increased without the negative repercussions for employment predicted by those opposed to this measure of great social significance. In fact, Guadalajara has recovered the job lost due to the pandemic and is in unemployment rates prior to the 2008 crisis.
“Also in our province we can see fruits of the policies of the Government of Spain that benefit citizens in their daily lives, such as the gratuitousness of Renfe subscriptions and buses. In addition, 1,400 companies and self-employed freight and passengers operating in Guadalajara will benefit from fuel price bonuses for professionals, and 6,500 families in the province of Guadalajara are beneficiaries of the Electric and Thermal Social Bond,” said the subdelegate.
In recent years, he added, projects that were paralyzed have been unblocked, such as the variant of the N-320 at the Cuatro Caminos junction or the N-211, and others that have suffered significant delays are going to be completed, such as the tourist stop of Molina de Aragón, whose final investment will exceed 20 million euros.
Rural development
Also in relation to tourism, Gómez stressed that the Government is going to provide 7.8 million euros for five tourism sustainability plans deployed throughout the province, which will mobilize a total investment of more than 10 million, adding the contributions of other administrations.
The impetus for the development of the rural environment also goes hand in hand with the digital transformation, for which grants amounting to almost 13 million euros have been approved, which will allow the extension of new generation broadband to almost the entire provincial territory in 2025.
In terms of heritage recovery, the 1.5% Cultural program has attracted 2.8 million euros to the province in the last four years for seven performances. Likewise, the restoration of the Westeros Gallery of the Infantado Palace affected by aluminosis is under way, with an investment of 300,000 euros.
Finally, the subdelegate pointed out that, in Guadalajara, the Government of Spain has placed special emphasis on technological momentum, one of the main exponents of which is the Yebes Observatory, which will receive more than 13 million euros through two projects to improve and expand its infrastructures.
Revaluation of pensions
Finally, the subdelegate of the Government of Spain in the province of Guadalajara, has highlighted the revaluation of retirement pensions by 8.5% this year, according to the IPC, which will benefit more than 43,000 neighbors of the province. The increase for non-contributory pensions and for the more than 4,200 recipients of the Minimum Vital Income (IMV) will be 15%.
In the case of retirement benefits - which are the most numerous, with more than 27,000 recipients in Guadalajara - the average pension will rise this year to 1,457 euros per month. This represents an increase of 114 euros per month compared to 2022 and 1,598 euros more per year. The deputy delegate recalled that the increase would have been less than three euros per month with the revaluation of 0.25% per year imposed by the previous government since 2013.
‘Without a commitment to revaluation laid down by law, the evolution of pensions was left to the discretion of the government on duty. Now it is an unshakeable right that expresses society’s solidarity with those who have contributed and deserve protection commensurate with their efforts,’ he concluded.