The consensus and harmony between the benches has not lasted more than five minutes in the plenary session that takes place this Thursday in the Parliament of La Rioja. The first question raised by the spokesperson of the Socialist Group, Javier García, was resolved with harmony. … to the President of the Government of La Rioja, Gonzalo Capellán, about the Infrastructure Pact, the climate of disagreement has once again permeated the Rioja Chamber in anticipation of another marathon session.
It doesn’t matter the matter. The confrontation has broken out in all areas: in education, in health, in the economy… As for the first heading, the scuffle over the school cafeteria service, the socialist deputy María Teresa Villuendas, and the advisor of the branch, Alberto Galiana. According to the representative of the PSOE, the price of the school cafeteria, which since last January rose to 6.82 euros, will rise to between 7.17 and 7.95 euros starting in September, which represents an increase of between 53 and 75% compared to 4.59 until December 2023. «It is a practically unaffordable increase for many Rioja families, especially for the 1,300 that do not have a dining scholarship, and, in addition, it will make La Rioja the most expensive community while “The quality remains to be seen.” “If they do not adequately fund this service, they will be responsible for making this service exclusively for the privileged,” she added, warning that “this problem requires an urgent response now.”
In his speech, the head of Education announced that next week he will appear in Parliament to announce all the news related to the school cafeteria service, among which he has indicated the winning companies, the prices and “we will also talk about everything that It has to do with scholarships.
“Prices have risen, it is true,” acknowledged Galiana, who has justified this increase on three issues: “Firstly, the contract we inherited had an anomalously low price, because economic criteria prevailed over others; second, there has been an increase in the CPI, especially in innovation; and, finally, it has to do with the increase in quality that is going to occur, which is one of the commitments also assumed by this Chamber and which forces prices to rise.
The counselor has also denied the biggest accusation that it is a service for the privileged and has asserted that “the service is being used more and there are more diners, in January there were 3,765 and in May, more than 4,100.” In this sense, after remembering the increase in scholarships approved last January, 590,000 euros for the 2023-2024 academic year,” he has announced new developments in reference to the already announced boost to free school meals in the 0 to 3 age group. years.
“Creeping politics”
Nor has there been any agreement in the areas related to the advice of María Martín, Health and Social Policies. After the scuffle between the socialist spokesperson Javier García and the president Gonzalo Capellán on behalf of Primary Care, the witness has been picked up by the PSOE deputy Miguel González de Legarra and the head of the branch, María Martín, to transfer him to the San Pedro hospital , specifically to its management.
From the socialist bench, Legarra recalled the dismissal of the previous person in charge, Jesús Álvarez, for the collection of “illegal bonuses” despite, he highlighted, the “excellent management” in reducing waiting lists that the counselor herself recognized. And after setting his sights, he fired: “What criteria determined the election of the new Seris manager?” he asked to remember that Luis Ángel González had been fired in Castilla y León precisely because of “his poor results in the management of the Salamanca Hospital, where surgical waiting lists rose to 179 days.
In her reply, especially forceful, counselor María Martín, after ensuring that the new manager was hired for “his extensive training and experience in health management,” demanded that the socialists “stop being so low and getting involved in personal issues.” . They are not ashamed, when they were in the Government the waiting lists skyrocketed and, in addition, they called for continued attention outside of ordinary working hours for what they now call bonuses.”
Wallet cards
Nor have tempers tempered in the following clash between María Martín and her predecessor in the ministry, the socialist María Somalo, who has accused the Government of La Rioja of not attending the technical meeting between their communities and the Ministry of Social Rights Lastly, the implementation of the Wallet Card program for the distribution of food to families at risk of exclusion with dependent minors.
After denying the accusation – “I don’t know who informed you, but your spies have been failing more lately than a shotgun at a fair, because we did attend that meeting,” the counselor snapped -, both have clashed again over the new program itself. . While María Somalo has criticized that La Rioja has not already implemented a program that “has been operating satisfactorily in other autonomous communities for some time”, María Martín has regretted “previously, through the Food Bank, almost 14,800 people in La Rioja received care.” “But with the change in the program and this wonderful ministry, it will go on to provide food to only 400 Rioja families.”
Tax reduction
In a plenary session with a planned duration of almost nine hours, there is enough time for everything, including talking about taxes. The matter has been brought to the lectern by the Vox deputy Ángel Alda, who has asked the Riojan Executive about his unfulfilled promise to eliminate the Wealth Tax, which he has calculated to be around just over four million euros. In his response, the Minister of the Treasury, Alfonso Domínguez, after correcting the deputy – “the collection is higher, it is between 12 and 15 million euros” – has asserted that “we will comply with our electoral program and, as we have already done, with “five tax reductions in just one year, the estate tax will also be eliminated.”
