Vox demands Badajoz scrap €192,000 in grants to foreign NGOs
Vox is calling on the city of Badajoz in Spain to cut €192,000 in international cooperation funding; the sector responds that it creates jobs and social security contributions in Spain.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Badajoz fights over €192,000: cooperation or waste?
Should a city council spend 192,000 euros on international cooperation while it has street furniture to repair and nursery places to expand? That is the question raised by Vox's spokesman on Badajoz City Council, Marcelo Amarilla, by voting against the budget line of the local government led by the Popular Party's Ignacio Gragera. His argument: the needs of people in Extremadura come first.
The clash is not only municipal. In the regional government of Extremadura, where Vox is part of the ruling coalition, the withdrawal of grants from NGOs with projects outside Spain has already had effects: the suspension of the 'Second Meeting of Amazonian Community Feminisms' and the jobs of aid workers such as Marina del Barrio Rodríguez, who warns: "International cooperation creates jobs, and those are the jobs I pay social security contributions with in Spain".
Vox's supporters argue that the municipality's money should stay in the municipality; those who back cooperation warn of the cut to "essential" projects. In between lies an uncomfortable figure: of the 200,000 euros committed, it has been claimed, less than 2,000 would reach the project once salaries and overheads are paid. That fuels suspicion that the budget is diluted in administration.
Money back to the municipality: services or NGOs?
Vox's proposal is to bring the regional model to Badajoz: abolish development cooperation and spend the money on repairing street furniture or expanding nursery places. The opposing side responds that the cut hits Spanish workers who pay social security. Underlying it all, one question: what role does a city council play in development aid?
The municipal government has not said whether it will keep the budget line. With the budget on the table, Badajoz is becoming a laboratory for the 'locals first' approach applied by a party with governing responsibilities. The file, for now, remains open. And the taxpayer, calculator in hand, is watching.
Should a city council spend 192,000 euros on international cooperation while it has street furniture to repair and nursery places to expand? That is the question raised by Vox's spokesman on Badajoz City Council, Marcelo Amarilla, by voting against the budget line of the local government led by the Popular Party's Ignacio Gragera. His argument: the needs of people in Extremadura come first.
The clash is not only municipal. In the regional government of Extremadura, where Vox is part of the ruling coalition, the withdrawal of grants from NGOs with projects outside Spain has already had effects: the suspension of the 'Second Meeting of Amazonian Community Feminisms' and the jobs of aid workers such as Marina del Barrio Rodríguez, who warns: "International cooperation creates jobs, and those are the jobs I pay social security contributions with in Spain".
Vox's supporters argue that the municipality's money should stay in the municipality; those who back cooperation warn of the cut to "essential" projects. In between lies an uncomfortable figure: of the 200,000 euros committed, it has been claimed, less than 2,000 would reach the project once salaries and overheads are paid. That fuels suspicion that the budget is diluted in administration.
Money back to the municipality: services or NGOs?
Vox's proposal is to bring the regional model to Badajoz: abolish development cooperation and spend the money on repairing street furniture or expanding nursery places. The opposing side responds that the cut hits Spanish workers who pay social security. Underlying it all, one question: what role does a city council play in development aid?
The municipal government has not said whether it will keep the budget line. With the budget on the table, Badajoz is becoming a laboratory for the 'locals first' approach applied by a party with governing responsibilities. The file, for now, remains open. And the taxpayer, calculator in hand, is watching.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (11 replies).
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