López Miras announces an increase in funds for health and the Mar Menor in the 2023 Budgets

Health, especially Primary Care, will be a priority line of the Budgets of the Region of Murcia for 2023, whose draft bill is on the exit ramp to be approved by the Governing Council in the coming days.

This was announced this Wednesday by the president of the regional Executive, Fernando López Miras, during his appearance in the Assembly to answer questions from parliamentary spokesmen.

Questioned by the spokesman for the Popular Parliamentary Group, Joaquín Segado, about the general lines of the Budgets, López Miras announced that they will be “historical” accounts, in which practically all the items “necessary to endure this crisis” will experience an increase, as consequence of the increase of 533 million euros in the spending ceiling.

In addition to the increased investment in Primary Care, which has suffered “wear and tear after the pandemic”, the Mar Menor will be another of the priorities. Although the Chief Executive did not specify the amount, he did guarantee that these items will grow considerably “in order to continue next year with the daily cleaning work of the lagoon that was so successful last summer.”

Likewise, the Community Budgets for 2023 will include “aid for families, companies, the self-employed and the most vulnerable sectors” so that they can overcome this crisis situation, said the president.

Negotiation with the PSOE

Fernando López Miras demanded support for public accounts from all parliamentary groups represented in the Assembly. Among them the PSOE, whose general secretary in the Region of Murcia, José Vélez, sent the Government a proposal with a series of actions, focused on health and education and quantified at 673 million euros.

Precisely the socialist spokesman in the Chamber, asked the president if he is willing to accept said offer. “If Mr. Vélez, the only socialist baron who has applauded the reform of the crime of sedition, is capable of putting the interest of the Region before that of Pedro Sánchez, and also presents a serious and rigorous proposal, I am willing to reach an agreement” the president responded.

Lucas reproached the PP for governing with “defaulters, corrupt, deniers and expelled of all kinds” and asked him if he sleeps well at night. «Do you want to end the legislature by cleaning up the institutions and that we convey a message of ethics and integrity about politics? Well, here you have the 17 deputies and deputies of the PSOE. Accept Pepe Vélez’s proposal,” the spokesman continued.

Miras reproached him for “the insults to the party with whom he wants to negotiate” and questioned, for this reason, that the Socialists are really interested in agreeing on the Budgets. However, he asked for more specificity in the proposal, “saying which items we reduce to increase others.” “And you don’t know how to do it, I advise you to consult the PSOE deputies in Congress, who have reduced the budget for the terraced highway to build a bridge in Álava,” lamented the president.

Vidal ‘resurrects’ the ‘Vaccines case’

On the other hand, Ana Martínez Vidal (Cs) made her debut as spokesperson for the Mixed Group. And her first question had to do with the case of irregular vaccinations in the Region in the third wave of the pandemic, the cause that Ciudadanos put forward to present a motion of censure against the Government of which he was a part.

Vidal questioned the reasons why the Executive has not published the list of vaccinated out of protocol, despite the existence of a resolution from the Transparency Council that urged him to do so. And he insisted that “senior PP officials, family and friends” were improperly vaccinated. Even people from other autonomous communities “who knew that in the Region of Murcia there was an open bar.”

The president insisted that the regional government has not published the list “because we do nothing against the legal system and the recommendations of the legal services of the Community.” In turn, he invited Martínez Vidal “to say with names and surnames who jumped the queue in the Region of Murcia, if he has any proof, indication or simply suspicion.”

For his part, Francisco Álvarez (Liberal Group) focused on the anti-inflation measures of the Government of Spain, which he considered “mere pathetic patches and occurrences to stay one more day in power.” The debate turned towards national politics, with the reform of the crimes of sedition and embezzlement. “The central government is dismantling the legal system in the interest of a single person: Pedro Sánchez,” sentenced Fernando López Miras.