Spain aid: €8.1m for 1,894 purple boots in Ecuador

€8.1m for purple boots in the Amazon: the per-pair cost that outrages

A budget of €8.1 million to buy 1,894 pairs of purple boots for women in the Ecuadorian Amazon has sparked a flood of criticism. The figure, spread on social media and forums, puts the unit cost at around €4,277 per pair, ten times the price of any high-end technical footwear.

An overrun that smells of kickbacks

The most widely circulated argument is that of alleged corruption. It is suggested that the overprice responds to a kickback scheme: of the total, only a few euros would go to the actual product and the rest would be shared out in commissions. The coincidence with other cases of inflated international cooperation has fueled suspicion that these funds are used as a slush fund for political and business agendas. It is not the first time that development projects include disproportionate allocations for basic consumer goods.

The contrast with the management of the Valencia dana

The controversy has also revived the ghost of poor coordination in emergencies. While €8.1 million was being allocated to purple boots in Ecuador, in the recent Valencia dana — where urgent aid was needed — the official response was, according to multiple accounts, insufficient. "No food, no water, no boots, no shovels" is the summary of a complaint that compares two very different spending priorities. The image of a few thousand pairs of boots at gold prices contrasts with the lack of basic resources in a national catastrophe.

A figure that leaves you speechless

If the cost of €4,277 per pair is confirmed, each boot comes to €2,138. Enough to buy a round-alucinación flight to Quito, accommodation and a set of standard boots. The figure alone sums up the discontent: taxpayers' money moves in amounts that defy the common sense of the average taxpayer.