Solve at once Chronic infrastructure deficit in Catalonia It is a claim that does not cease to make sense because it is recurring. The report of the General Intervention of the State Administration (IGAE) that confirms the huge difference between the budgeted investment and that actually executed has reawakened controversy and the false feeling that the State discriminates against Catalonia. According to said IGAE report, in the first half of 2022 only 15.78% of the total public works budgeted for the year as a whole were executed, an even more damaging percentage when compared to the 41% of the liquidated investment in the Community of Madrid in the same period. The economic figures can be presented in a thousand ways, and this is what the Ministry of Transport did to try to justify the Catalan underinvestment in infrastructure. Since it would also be necessary to account for a payment of 1,069 million to Abertis for improvements to the AP-2 and AP-7 (which would raise the percentage to 69%, but which the IGAE itself excludes) until, in absolute figures, Catalonia received more territorialized investment than any other region (without taking into account that it is the second most populated autonomous community and therefore with a more intensive use of infrastructure, nor the accumulated delay that requires greater investment to modernize a network with many deficiencies ). Then there is the argument -as Adif said at the time- that the unexecuted budget is not lost, but is transferred to the next years, which forces an effort of confidence in the future when the precedents invite the contrary. What is difficult to refute is the repeated reproach for the specials difficulties encountered in Catalonia in the search for agreements between administrations when it comes to designing and unblocking projects on the territory, such as the Fourth Belt, which, by the way, was opposed by the new ‘conseller’ of Territori, Julia Fernandezduring his period as mayor of Sabadell.
It is not surprising that the Government reiterated this Wednesday the classic expressions of grievance: the spokeswoman, Patricia Plaja, referred to “continued mistreatment by a State that has abandoned the Catalans.” The historical deficit with Catalonia is one of the arguments used by those who fuel the confrontation with the State, and ERC, now without Junts as a partner of the Government, will find it more difficult to maintain its position in favor of the dialogue table, with figures such as the well-known this week. Proclamations of independence aside, underfunding is a serious problem for Catalonia with the State, as has been pointed out from the Catalan economic world by entities such as foster wave Barcelona Chamber of Commerce. The lack of public investment is a brake on economic development.
The systematic breach of public accounts -not only in territorialized investment- means that these are received with considerable skepticism. It happened days ago with the General State Budgets for 2023, which has a forecast of GDP growth and collection that will be difficult to carry out. It also allocates 17.2% of the State’s investment to Catalonia, which is close to its weight in state GDP, as established in the famous third additional provision of the Statute. Few doubt that this does not pass the paper either. If the promised items are not executed by excessive optimism (or government propaganda) That’s when the outrage arises. But if there are also disparities between autonomous communities, it can be a breeding ground for tensions and an increase in disaffection. It is of little use that the Ministry of Transport denies “lack of political will” if it is not remedied. the minister said Rachel Sanchez that this year the pending works will be accelerated: those of La Sagrera are one of them. More facts are needed to convince an already very tired citizenry.