The government delegate in Galicia, José Miñones, reiterated today to the members of the “Galicia Baleira” Platform the commitment of the Government of Pedro Sánchez for rural: “We were the first government to put on the table the problem of the demographic challenge” said the delegate “and that raised it to the category of State policy associated with investments and political actions”.
José Miñones met today in the Government Subdelegation in Lugo with a broad representation of this platform, headed by its president, Jesús Vázquez, and vice president, Manuel Mosquera. The meeting was also attended by the deputy delegate of the Government in the province of Lugo, Isabel Rodríguez.
The meeting served to transfer the lines of action of the Government in the field of demographic challenge and to know and share the concerns of this group, which brings together neighborhood associations from the provinces of Lugo and Ourense. The delegate highlighted this meeting by recalling that the demographic challenge requires joint and coordinated action by the administrations and civil society.
In this regard, he agreed on the need to ensure that “people who want to live in rural areas can live in rural areas”, and that people in these areas have access to the same public services and opportunities as the population as a whole.
Transversal policy
José Miñones stressed that the demographic challenge, like equality, is a transversal policy of the Government, and as such it is transferred to the different strategies and plans executed by the Ministries, and in a relevant way, to the Plan of Recovery, Transformation and Resilience. This Plan contemplates as one of the main objectives to advance in the territorial cohesion of Spain, to guarantee the same opportunities in all territories, and formulates a large part of its components in accordance with this goal.
At the meeting, the delegate pointed out to “Galicia Baleira” the priorities of the Government for this policy. This year the execution of the Plan of 130 Measures against the Demographic Challenge ends, which mobilized 10 billion euros throughout Spain. The objectives now include acting in a suitable offer of essential services, ensuring the functionality of the territory with infrastructures for both physical and digital connectivity and facilitating the generation of business, cultural and social projects throughout the territory.
Impact in Galicia
The delegate reviewed with the Platform some of the measures that the Government has in place in Galicia to promote population fixation in rural areas.
In digitalization, one of the most relevant aspects, he pointed out that the Government is mobilizing 100 million euros to guarantee digital connectivity with broadband throughout the territory of Galicia through the UNICO-Broadband program. This program will soon be joined by the possibility of satellite connection with a fixed price of 35 euros per month. He also announced the launch of a new program, “Digital Rural Challenge”, to train the citizens of small municipalities in digital skills.
In relation to relations with the administration, José Miñones recalled the implementation in this legislature of the program of rural posters, which allow the payment of receipts and other procedures from the home. The program “The Administration Near You” is also underway, to train the population of the 238 smaller municipalities in electronic relations with the Administration: “To this day, 193 municipalities in the four provinces have already benefited from this initiative and we will continue to complete the entire project.”
Regarding housing, the delegate recalled the creation of a specific program of aid for the acquisition or rental of housing to young people in municipalities of less than 10,000 inhabitants, which the Government finances with 3.8 million euros. Also the housing energy rehabilitation programme, which received 1.8 million euros from the Government.
Along these lines, the delegate detailed the ecological transition aid programs for municipalities of demographic challenge, “which already granted 56 aid in Galicia worth 26.4 million euros”, or the impulse to 13 pilot projects against depopulation, which receive 2.3 million euros from the Government.