The Esquerra Republicana spokesperson at the Spanish Congress considers the measures proposed by the Spanish Executive are inadequate and demands suspension of rent and utility payments

Gabriel Rufián, Esquerra Republicana’s spokesperson at the Spanish Congress, has demanded the Spanish Government apply a battery of 14 urgent economic measures aimed at addressing the social and economic crisis arising from the coronavirus outbreak. It is a package of measures with two purposes: on the one hand, to give the self-employed and SMEs greater liquidity so as to support the productive fabric during confinement, and on the other hand, to guarantee that workers will not lose their jobs so no one is left behind: “12 years ago they did not hesitate to rescue the banks with a bailout worth €60bn. Now let no one hesitate for one minute when it comes to rescuing the people,” Mr Rufián warned Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

Our duty is not only to protect the people from the virus, but also to protect them from dismissal, eviction and from the misery that is to come tomorrow. Don’t forget that.

Gabriel Rufian Spokesperson of Esquerra Republicana in the Spanish Congress

Furthermore, Mr Rufián emphasized the inadequacy of the measures proposed by the Spanish executive, recalling that “our duty is not only to protect the people from the virus, but also to protect them from dismissal, eviction and from the misery that is to come tomorrow. Don’t forget that.” In this sense, Gabriel Rufián detailed the shock measures that Esquerra Republicana advocates to fight both the coronavirus outbreak and the economic and social repercussions it will have:

1. Immediate suspension of rent payments for those most affected by the crisis. Suspension of payment of rents, mainly to banks and vulture funds, as well as compensation for small landlords. “75% of evictions in this country are of tenants. The moratorium on mortgage payments is not enough and must also be extended to those who rent their homes. You cannot turn a blind eye to this,” Mr Rufián insisted.
2. Suspension of electricity, water and gas utility payments. “The announcement banning utilities from cutting off these basic services from the most vulnerable is not enough. Half of these bills are fixed expenses, regardless of consumption and production. There is already an avalanche of requests asking for total suspension of these payments during confinement. You must respond,” he insisted.
3. Ban on dismissals. “Recommending not laying off workers is simply not enough. Six out of every hundred Catalan workers have already been made unemployed by temporary redundancies. That’s over 200,000. And it’s only just begun,” warned the Esquerra Republicana spokesman.
4. A general, direct moratorium on payment of Social Security contributions, the quota on the self-employed, as well as the deferral of the payment period for taxes such as VAT.
5. A Basic Confinement Income. A Citizen’s Basic Income for the vulnerable during confinement. “We propose immediate application of a basic income during confinement for the most vulnerable, with the aim of extending it and making it universal in future. Esquerra has been waiting far too long to discuss this issue, and the day has come. If we let the families down, there will be no country to raise when this is all over. In Catalonia, our companion Minister Dolors Bassa, unfairly imprisoned today, already put in place a similar measure,” he underlined.
6. An extraordinary, solidary and temporary Covid19 tax on all those digital platforms and distribution intermediaries that are seeing an exponential increase in their turnover during the crisis.
7. An extraordinary, solidary and permanent tax on the great fortunes.
8. Take even greater advantage of unused city council surpluses.
   In 2018 alone, city councils declared a total surplus of €6bn. “In these Royal Decrees that you have presented, only €300 million are to be allocated to fight the virus and its effects. Not enough. We’re talking about money that belongs to the people,” said Mr Rufián.
9. Urgent and direct injection of resources for the economy and for the people. “If we were waiting for the day to speak of a Marshall Plan, without hyperbole, that day has come. Of the €200bn in economic and social investment against the effects of the coronavirus you announced the other day, €117bn are public, €83bn are private and only €17bn specifically targets the vulnerable. 8.5% of the total. The rest are guarantees, moratoriums or private resources,” insisted Mr Rufián.
10. An extraordinary benefit payment to compensate those who are at home taking care of family affected by the closure of schools and of the elderly, and who therefore cannot go to work.
11. Extend assistance to the self-employed. “There are 3 million self-employed workers in Spain. Half a million in Catalonia alone. None of the aid contemplated to allay the reduction or cessation of their activity should be below the current official minimum wage, set at 950 euros,” he insisted.
12. Make all essential manufacturing available for the production of medical equipment and material.
    “This would help the state avoid having to go exclusively to a highly speculative and inflationary market, as is the medical equipment trade,” he said.
13. Ease the restriction on telecom portability when it is not requested in person. “To us, the restriction seems protectionist, favouring the major telecom carriers, and punitive for the smaller ones, as denounced this week by the Catalan telecoms company Parlem Telecom.”
14. Make hostels and hotels available to the homeless. “We have been asking people to confine at home for weeks, and we forget that there are many people who do not have a home to confine in,” Mr Rufián concluded.