The macroeconomic data indicates that Andalusia is doing well, like the rest of Spain, but when looking at the details, the big numbers become blurred. The Andalusian Budget Bill for 2025 was debated by the Government of the PP and the opposition on Wednesday. Three motions to reject the bill were presented by the Socialist, Por Andalucía, and Mixto-Adelante Andalucía groups, but were rejected by the majority of the PP and Vox. The final amount for the Andalusian public accounts is set at 48.836 billion euros, and the project is on track for final approval in December. The opposition groups, including Vox, have criticized the Andalusian budget, calling it “unrealistic” and pointing out that it does not address the real problems.
The President of the Andalusian government, Juan Manuel Moreno, did not participate in the vote as he was in Malaga overseeing the emergency response to the storm affecting the province. The opposition parties criticized the Andalusian budget defended by the Minister of Economy, Finance, and European Funds, Carolina España. They believe that the solutions provided in the budget are ineffective as they do not address the root problems. The Socialist Party highlighted Andalusia’s low ranking in unemployment rate and per capita income compared to the rest of Spain, despite having more resources than ever before. The opposition also raised concerns about the state of public services in Andalusia.
The Minister of Finance highlighted positive economic indicators, such as the 9.1% cumulative real GDP growth since 2018 and the reduction in the unemployment rate. However, the opposition rebutted these claims, emphasizing the issues in areas such as healthcare, with ongoing investigations into emergency contracts. The opposition also criticized the allocation of funds to private healthcare providers and highlighted the challenges in sectors like education and social services. They argued that without acknowledging the problems, effective solutions cannot be implemented.
The Mixto-Adelante Andalucía group also presented a motion to reject the budget, pointing out the deep internal inequalities in Andalusia and the negative socio-economic indicators. They were planning to question the President on the issue of corruption, but the question was not admitted by the Parliament due to lack of sufficient connection to the ongoing investigations by judicial authorities. Despite not requesting the return of the budget, Vox expressed dissatisfaction with the budget and indicated that they would propose partial amendments in the future.
The final approval of the budget will take place in December after the debate on partial amendments by the groups. The budget of 48.8362 billion euros represents a 4.4% increase compared to the current budget. The Andalusian economy is projected to grow by 2.4% next year, creating 72,000 jobs and reducing the unemployment rate to 15.5%. The budget allocates 63.3% to social policies, with an increase of 1.666 billion euros. The investment chapter remains unchanged at 5.804 billion euros. The largest portion of the budget is allocated to personnel expenses, with 292,093 employees of the Junta de Andalucía absorbing 33.3% of the budget. The Junta aims for a deficit of zero in the next year, despite having authorization for a 0.1% deficit.
