VOX claims 31,000 fewer unemployed in its first 100 days in Castilla y León

VOX highlights data: 31,000 fewer unemployed in Castilla y León

Does the list of achievements attributed to VOX entering the Castilla y León government withstand scrutiny? The party reviewed its first 100 days in the regional administration with a series of figures: 31,000 people have left unemployment, an annual improvement of 21% compared to the 16% national average, with all sectors closing July with fewer unemployed than a year prior. They also claim a 16% increase in limited companies formed, while across Spain more companies close than are created. The narrative relies on concrete data. Whether all these results are due to VOX is another matter, and opinions have sharply divided on this point.

What the unemployment and company creation numbers say

The contrast between the 21% regional figure and the 16% national one is the central piece of the argument. This is supplemented by Castilla y León closing 2022 as the third region with the lowest unemployment, a statistic the party cites as proof of management. The enthusiastic reading attributes this to reduced administrative barriers and cuts in subsidies to business associations and unions, presented as reallocating funds toward job creators.

The skeptical reading is less engaging and harder to refute: the region starts from a heavily disadvantaged base, and much of the momentum comes from European funds and plans that already existed. There is no miracle here, just accounting. Some argue that evaluating a minor coalition partner based on the macroeconomic evolution of the entire region is, at best, generous.

Reduction of industrial fees: from 12,458 euros to 428

Where VOX has a more traceable role is in its own taxation. The regional government has reduced registration fees for establishing industries with a scaling system that, in the upper tier, is hard to exaggerate: companies with investments over one million euros now pay between 12,458 euros down to 428.40 euros. The middle tier, between 30,001 and one million, drops from 1,755 to 95.20 euros, and the smallest tier remains at 47.60.

This is accompanied by increased subsidy amounts per self-employed worker and encouragement of self-employment among graduates, with higher amounts for young people, those over 45, long-term unemployed, people with disabilities, and those starting businesses in municipalities with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants. Free fees for professional certificates during one year were also declared. The full breakdown of tiers and amounts is the part of the review least discussed and easiest to verify.

Why Castilla y León’s forestry plan is not new

VOX presents as its own achievement the hiring of the unemployed to clear forests and regenerate pastures. The objection comes with a date: some recall that the Elmet Plan has allocated five million euros annually since 2017 for provincial councils to hire the unemployed for forest clearing, sometimes even more. With rising minimum wages and frozen budgets, the same money buys fewer contracts. Claiming a five-year plan as your own is a classic tactic.

In the same vein, the law protecting farmers, with limited slaughter of sick animals, and the ban on installing photovoltaic and wind facilities in farming and irrigation zones outline a clear agricultural model, celebrated by some as defense of the primary sector and read by others as a brake on the energy transition.

Rental subsidies, civil servant salary increases, and public spending

The most uncomfortable flank is housing. A count circulated on forums based on beneficiary lists for rental subsidies suggests that 95% of rejected applications came from Spanish applicants. Opposing this is a 1.5% raise for regional public employees, according to data in the thread, and cuts in subsidies to business and union organizations.

There are also unresolved accusations: alleged cronyism around the vice president, controversial appointments, and a Culture Councilor with a political past uncomfortable for his own party, adding to the defense of the 15.6 million euros received by the Siglo Foundation. All this coexists without shame with rhetoric about slimming down the public apparatus.

Concordia, bullfighting, and domestic violence

In the cultural chapter, VOX has pushed a concordia law claiming to combat indoctrination attributed to historical memory legislation, and a domestic violence law stating that violence has no gender. A Documental Bullfighting Center has also been created with research scholarships, and all references to sustainability and gender privilege have been removed from regulations.

Available data point to an administration that legislates as much as it boasts. Regarding the withdrawal of subsidies for unaccompanied migrant minors, the version defended in the thread is that these youths eventually move to other regions.

With these figures, Castilla y León should be filling up with factories and new arrivals.