The president of the Andalusian People's Party, Juanma Moreno, visited the Provençals Market in Barcelona's Sant Martí neighborhood this Saturday, accompanied by Daniel Sirera, president of the People's Party group in Barcelona City Council. During his speech, Moreno highlighted the importance of the historical, cultural, and social ties between Andalusia and Catalonia, emphasizing that both regions have grown together thanks to a legacy of coexistence and diversity.
"We are going to highlight the presence of Catalans in Andalusia, because there is a significant presence of Catalans in Andalusia, and also the extremely important presence of Andalusians in Catalonia, of Catalans of Andalusian origin who continue to feel a festive and emotional connection with our land," Moreno stated. He also recalled that "just a week ago was Andalusia Day, on February 28th, and today I wanted to wait a week to be with my Andalusian neighbors, to share experiences, concerns, longing, and fellowship."
The president of the People's Party (PP) in Andalusia emphasized that Catalonia and Andalusia "are probably the regions with the most ties in all of Spain" and that the Andalusian community has historically contributed to the development of Catalonia. "Catalonia is where there are the most Andalusian Houses in Spain, more than in other autonomous communities," Moreno noted, highlighting the strong cultural influence of Andalusians in Catalonia.
Moreno recalled that Andalusian immigration in the 60s and 70s fostered these ties with Catalonia, with a community that has managed to maintain its identity while contributing to the development and coexistence of its host country. "Many Andalusians and Catalans of Andalusian origin continue to cherish, appreciate, and love both Andalusia and Catalonia, building an axis of coexistence and fraternity," he explained.
In this context, Moreno emphasized that Catalonia "has always demonstrated an enormous capacity for adaptation, absorption, and tolerance," although he regrets that "in recent years, some political forces have tried to impose a single culture, a monopoly on culture, eliminating this diversity," which, in his opinion, "impoverishes a land as beautiful, as wonderful, and as important to the whole of Spain as Catalonia."
PSOE-Junts agreement on immigration
Regarding the central government's agreement with Junts on immigration, Moreno was blunt: "I think it's absurd. And I say it as I feel. It's absurd for many reasons." First, he argued that "these are the powers of the State in all countries, including federal ones; border control is the responsibility of the federal police or the State security forces." Second, he emphasized that "the migration process is a matter of State" and raised a key question: "If tomorrow the Generalitat of Catalonia decides to expel migrants, where will it expel them? What are its mechanisms? What is its communication?"
The Andalusian president insisted that "policies have to be common" and that "we do not find it reasonable that an autonomous community can unilaterally deport people simply because they do not speak a language, in this case Catalan or Spanish." He considered that "deporting a person for that reason is neither reasonable nor sensible" and warned of a "smell of outright rejection of migrants and a supremacist attitude on the part of some political leaders that I believe must be overcome."
Crisis in the commuter train service
Moreno also addressed the crisis in the commuter rail service in Catalonia, which has suffered new incidents in recent hours. "The minister needs to explain why he has dedicated this first stage of his term to opposing the opposition, insulting Feijóo and those who disagree with him, instead of managing public interests in terms of rail, airport, and road infrastructure," Moreno stated. In this regard, he noted that "in Andalusia, the national government has disappeared in terms of infrastructure, and it is the Andalusian Regional Government that is shouldering the burden of public investment."
Thus, he insisted that "there is a problem, because the deficiencies are becoming apparent every day, and the minister also has to explain those concessions, delegations, and transfers that have often been made hastily as a result of the need for votes."
The Sánchez Government: a knocked-out, overwhelmed, and weak government
Moreno also pointed out that "a minister must dedicate himself to working for the entire state, for all the citizens he represents." "What's unacceptable is that we have part-time ministers. We have a part-time vice president who is paid by all Spaniards, but who dedicates half of her time to Andalusia and the other half to the Ministry of Finance and the vice presidency. We have another minister in Aragon, another minister in the Canary Islands, another minister in Valencia," he denounced.
He also lamented that "this is a government that has been knocked out, a government overwhelmed by the lack of and weakness of parliament, a government that lacks a social majority to support it, that lacks a parliamentary majority to support it, and that is dragging us all into an absurd agony of ill-considered, immature, and unconsidered decisions." For Moreno, "the lack of interest in management is what matters most to citizens," and he noted that "the daily politicking seen in the Parliament of Madrid is of little interest to the Spanish people."
Andalusia does not have a debt problem, but rather a financing problem.
Regarding the proposed debt forgiveness for the regional governments, Moreno was clear: "We are not going to accept the write-off for one reason: because it's a scam, given that Andalusia doesn't have a debt problem." He explained that "we have worked very hard to reduce the debt, especially in the last six years. The PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) increased the debt by 215% in the last nine years, and what we are doing is eliminating it."
For Moreno, "Andalusia's problem is not debt, but financing.He recalled that "when María Jesús Montero was Minister of Finance in Andalusia, she demanded a solution to the financing problem, and now that she's a minister, she seems to have changed her mind." Therefore, he insisted that "the solution is not a write-off, but rather a final resolution to the financing problem facing Andalusia and Spain as a whole."
The PSOE's attempt to whitewash its concessions to the separatists
Regarding security policy, Moreno highlighted the PSOE's attempt to "whitewash concessions to the pro-independence parties in Catalonia, especially to Puigdemont." He stated that "the Socialists have already expelled the National Police and the Civil Guard from Navarre and now they want to expel them from Andalusia."
Likewise, the Andalusian president is demanding more resources for the State Security Forces and Corps in the fight against drug trafficking in the Strait of Gibraltar. "We have seen murders, we have seen how a boat ran over Civil Guard officers, and there are constant complaints from police unions about the lack of resources," he denounced. "The State must maintain the dignity of its security forces, and that can only be achieved with sufficient resources," he concluded.
