Juan Manuel Moreno has boasted in his Christmas Message of practicing in his government “the Andalusian way of serenity and political moderation.” “My government, and I personally, have the maximum commitment to making politics a noble activity, of public service, far from continuous anger and confrontation,” betting on “keeping Andalusia away from the noise and lies that each day it floods public debate more.” During his speech, recorded from the Port of the Bay of Algeciras, the president of the Board highlighted that Andalusia is “on the path of growth” from an economic point of view, he recognized that there are “public services that can work better” and has asked the Government of Pedro Sánchez for greater investments in infrastructure.
“Here we have political stability and, although we have a sufficient majority, we practice dialogue with everyone: unions, businessmen, associations, political parties, with city councils, with other autonomous communities, it does not matter who governs them, and with the Government of Spain . I sincerely believe that agreement and an outstretched hand are the best possible way forward. In Andalusia and in life”, he summarized at the end of his speech.
The port of the Bay of Algeciras, the largest port in Spain and the fourth in Europe, has been the place chosen this year by the Board for Moreno’s Christmas message after choosing Doñana in 2023, an olive oil cooperative from Jaén in 2022, a tavern in Granada in 2021, a hospital in Seville in 2020 and the Huelva town of Cumbres de Enmedio, the one with the fewest inhabitants in all of Andalusia, in 2019 in his first speech as top leader of the autonomous community.
Immigration policy and Brexit
“A strategic place in Andalusia, in Europe and in the world,” said Moreno, “and a clear example of Andalusia that works and advances: of the leading Andalusia,” he highlighted of the Port of Algeciras, which he has placed “in “the little piquito below” of the Iberian Peninsula. In this economic aspect, the leader has highlighted that Andalusia has almost 3 and a half million people registered with Social Security, and the lowest unemployment rate “in the last 16 years” although in that sense “there is still a lot to do.” . At that point he provided a “surprising” fact: “Madrid is the economic engine of Spain, since Andalusia has more companies than Madrid, which we have surpassed for the second consecutive year.”
“We are on the path of growth and now, in addition, we are going for leadership in the generation of renewable energy. This port will be the origin of the first Green Hydrogen maritime corridor, which will link Algeciras and Rotterdam. A project that will turn Andalusia into an energy power,” said Moreno, who added that “the trains through the Mediterranean Corridor and the Central Corridor must depart from here. It is necessary that the Government of the Nation give a definitive boost to these infrastructures and the rest that are pending.” He has also asked the Government to “resolve” the “concern of thousands of families of civil servants who live with uncertainty about the future of Muface.”
When speaking from Algeciras, Moreno referred to migrants. “It is very easy to demagogue with immigration. But is there anyone who, in the face of this drama, can look the other way?”, at which point he has demanded from the Government of Spain “a State migration policy and that it requests from the European Union the recognition of Andalusia as the Southern border of Europe.” , as well as “a beneficial agreement for the Campo de Gibraltar after Brexit” and for which “the Government of Spain has the full support of Andalusia in this decisive negotiation.”
Few references to health
In another vein, Moreno has recognized that “there are always problems and public services that could work better.” “We are making progress in health, in education and in dependency, and we do so despite always receiving fewer resources than the richest autonomous communities”, some reflections that he has been making but that, with official figures, this newspaper recently dismantled at least in the dependency issue. “We know that there are many people waiting,” and “we already serve more people than ever with more benefits than ever,” he simply said.
Moreno has not gone into detail about the state of public health despite the fact that in the recent parliamentary debate on the state of the community he announced several new measures related to public health to try to encourage more free appointments in health centers, For example, something that citizens have been demanding for some time now, both in person and by telephone, and that at least one of the health district managers has conveyed in his own way to medical professionals: “There you have my Christmas gift. Whoever is interested send me WhatsApp privately”, They said from the west of Almeria offering 250 euros to call 40 more patients a day.
Nor has the president made any allusion, as was foreseeable, to the fact that the management of his Government is being investigated by a judge and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office for an alleged crime of prevarication in the emergency contracts that the SAS awarded privately to private clinics among 2020 and 2024. Moreno, in an interview with SER last week, confessed to having consulted “some acquaintances who are magistrates” to endorse the contracts health workers investigating Anti-Corruption. The president of the Board admitted that there could be some “administrative reproach” in the Andalusian Health Service’s contracts with private clinics and refused to put his hand on the fire for the three accused managers.
In other aspects, Moreno has briefly said that “we are advancing in equality, in rights and in the protection of the most vulnerable”, exemplifying that “this year the first pensions have been paid to 30 minors who lost their mothers due to sexist violence.” .
He has also had a memory “to the Valencians”. “This ending year will be marked by the Valencia catastrophe, which also hit Andalusia. I want to send a fraternal hug to the Valencians and the Andalusian officials, to the volunteers and emergency personnel who went out of their way to help there and here.” At that point he said that “the pandemic already taught us that we are very vulnerable and now Dana has reminded us of it again. Starting tomorrow, January 1, Andalusia will have its own Emergency Management Agency, the EMA,” he announced.
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