If Esquerra governs, we will establish a Commission for the Next Generation to lead the recovery funds, an Equity Department, and we will remove Ibex-35 corporations from public services.

“We have presented a guide for recovery that will be fruitful for citizens today and that will help progress towards the republican horizon tomorrow.” That is how the presidential candidate, Pere Aragonès, described Esquerra Republicana’s manifesto for the forthcoming elections. The current Vice President of the government and Esquerra’s National Coordinator said that “while we continue to work to complete the path to full sovereignty, we cannot give up on any instrument that will allow us to improve the lives of the people of the country today. We mean to build a new nation for everyone, and that is why today we cannot leave anyone behind.” In this regard he added: “Now is the time for Esquerra’s leadership in rebuilding the country and laying the foundations for the Catalan Republic. We are convinced that this is the best way to chart a broad path, our High Road to amnesty, to the right to self-determination and to independence.”

Mr Aragonès has presented a proposal for economic and social recovery “based on the experience of government, ready to deploy from the word go.” For her part, the candidate for Lleida and Deputy Secretary General Marta Vilalta emphasized the feminist proposals “because the gender perspective is essential and transversal,” along with the environmental perspective to tackle the challenges of the 2030 Agenda.

Now is the time for Esquerra’s leadership in rebuilding the country and laying the foundations for the Catalan Republic

Pere Aragonès Esquerra’s National Coordinator

Appointing a commissioner to lead the European funds in Catalonia

On the economic front, Mr Aragonès announced that Esquerra will establish a commission to lead the European reconstruction plan if Esquerra governs. “We propose a Commission for the Next Generation led by economist Miquel Puig, who has already been collaborating with the government to promote and encourage national projects,” he disclosed.

Esquerra’s candidate assured that these projects must focus on transforming the productive fabric of Catalonia. “We need a strong, equitable economy. We are fed up with the country only coming out of the crises with the Spanish state’s low-wage based neoliberal model. It is necessary to change the model with innovation and industrial policies that will renew the economic fabric of the country,” he indicated. Mr Aragonès focused on projects that centre on the decarbonisation of the automotive industry, on green hydrogen to allow the storage of renewable energies, and on those projects aimed at modernizing irrigation, among others.

Expelling Ibex-35 from Catalan public services

In his speech, Mr Aragonès reviewed the work of the government and detailed new measures if Esquerra governs again: “Esquerra Republicana is synonymous with republican governance and this translates into public policies that leave no one behind: the creation and deployment of a Citizen’s Guaranteed Minimum Income, rent containment policies that limit the power of landlords to exploit the vulnerability of their tenants, because housing is a right and cannot be allowed to be a gouging business,” he said. In this regard, Mr Aragonès was very clear about model public services: “We will expel the Ibex-35 corporations—referring to the conglomerates listed on Spain’s stock index—from public services because we want these to be strong, agile and modern. And the best guarantee for this to happen is that those of us who defend that schools should be open and that hospitals should be well funded should preside the Catalan Generalitat government.”

The candidate for the Presidency also defended the proposal to “reduce university fees by 30%, as well as recover the participation of the Generalitat in the financing of education from 0 to 3 years” to ensure universal access to education. “It is now time to rebuild and that is why it is essential to break with the past 40 years of socialist-conservative back-and-forth at the head of the Generalitat,” he concluded.

We propose that in the next Government there be a Ministry of Equality and Feminism, a cabinet rank to deploy public policies with a gender perspective. Because equality cannot play second fiddle in public policy, we want it to be influential in all actions and tools deployed by the government

Marta Vilalta Candidate for Lleida

A Ministry of Equality and Feminism to secure equal rights

For her part, the candidate for Lleida spelled out one prerequisite for forming a government: “We propose that in the next Government there be a Ministry of Equality and Feminism, a cabinet rank to deploy public policies with a gender perspective. Because equality cannot play second fiddle in public policy, we want it to be influential in all actions and tools deployed by the government,” she assured.

Ms Vilalta also reviewed the work done in this regard, such as the promotion of the Strategic Plan for Gender Equality Policies 2019-2022 or the approval of the Equality Plan of the Parliament of Catalonia. “Only by placing feminism at the centre of government action will we move toward true equality,” she explained.

100% renewable energy and zero waste to tackle climate change

Finally, the Deputy Secretary General recalled the importance of pursuing and achieving the goals of sustainable development: “Esquerra Republicana’s commitment to solving global challenges from the Catalan-speaking countries also translates into a transformative proposal that addresses the challenges the 2030 Agenda sets. We will do this to face the climate emergency, with a change to a fairer, greener energy model that has a 100% renewable energy and zero waste horizon, Ms Vilalta concluded.