A few months before the regional elections, the parties are establishing themselves on their electoral springboard. When there is a previous coalition government like that of Valencia, the need to differentiate oneself in the face of the possible and necessary relaunch of the pact, but not to distance oneself too far, creates friction that turns out to be trademark. This is what happens in the Valencian government called Botánico between two of its partners, the Socialists and the Compromís, especially on environmental issues. The third, Unides Podem, wasn’t that significant this week.
“Compromís is interested in fishing in the Greens’ fishing area,” say socialist sources in the Generalitat. “We don’t have an election campaign wish, we have a mandate to protect the environment,” say those from Compromís. The management of renewable energies, an imperative for the energy transition, and the northern expansion of the port of Valencia are the two points where the discrepancies have been most evident.
“We have eight years of experience with agreements.” The phrase, repeated by socialist sources, reveals that the blood may not reach the river, despite repeated warnings and even threats of treason. Evidence of this is the agreement for the Energy Agency, which started from two opposing models and has finally moved forward. “We put on an unnecessary show,” Comprom sources say.
The socialists believe that in the case of renewable energies and photovoltaics in particular, there are two blocs: the landscapers (Compromís) and the energy sovereignists (PSPV). They consider their position to be more realistic than that of their government partners and, despite “absolute respect for our natural, cultural, scenic and social heritage”, they are committed to accelerating energy production in order to react to the climate catastrophe and reduce electricity prices. “We are committed to respecting the values of our territory but remaining realistic. We cannot subject the urgent development desired by a population that respects the natural environment to an alleged deterioration of a landscape,” stress socialist sources in the Generalitat.
Comprom’s sources call for planning: “We are for renewable energy and photovoltaics, but with better planning so that companies do not decide where to locate and that they do not focus on specific communities, that the administration is the one that plans and directs to Protection of the environment and for degraded places, not on productive land”.
For socialists there is a difference in rhythm. “They monopolize the marketing and announcements of renewable energy and leave the administration in the hands of the PSPV while trying to slow down the same administration,” say the members of the group, led by Generalitat President Ximo Puig. Comprom’s sources assure that work on the projects already underway will be completed and resolved, meeting the Department of Ecological Transition’s first deadline of requiring an Environmental Impact Statement (DIA) for each project before January 25th. And as a sign of shock this week, the dismissal of the Director General of Ecological Transition, Pedro Fresco, who was appointed by Compromís but is very critical of his position.
What affects most is what happens closer. Subscribe so you don’t miss anything.
Subscribe to
The distance between the two parties regarding the expansion of the port of Valencia is slightly greater. “Compromís believes that the growth of the port only favors business people and forgets the 40,000 families who depend on this infrastructure,” criticize Socialist sources in the Generalitat. For the government partners, however, management is “one of the greatest nonsense”.
Led by Valencia Mayor Joan Ribó, Compromís claims that a project that underwent an environmental impact assessment in 2007 cannot resume 15 years later without another environmental impact statement. The advisory councilors for ecological turnaround, both of Ribó’s party colleagues, Mireia Mollà and Isaura Navarro, shared the same opinion. They want a new environmental impact statement and deny that the port, which they consider a judge and party, is the competent body to decide on it, despite reports from prosecutors that consider it a “material body” for its creation. Port leaders believe the compromise position aims to delay the new pier as much as possible until it becomes unfeasible.
make compatible
However, the Social Democrats have retained their support for the port project if environmental regulations are respected, which has once again confronted them with their government partners in the Valencian Parliament and City Council. Both their allies in the Botanical Executive and opposition parties have accused them of high profile on the matter. “What they have to do is to demand the resignation of Port Authority President Aurelio Martínez,” Compromí sources say. But the PSPV-PSOE considers the Port of Valencia to be a top-tier asset for the Valencian economy. However, their leaders have publicly tried to be cautious and avoid engaging in controversy. Puig sees the plausibility of reconciling sustainability criteria with economic growth and has campaigned to find a balance point, despite fierce opposition from Compromís’ now-former Vice-President of the Generalitat, Mónica Oltra.
The clashes were repeated in Valencia City Council, where socialist Sandra Gómez is defending a port that meets environmental criteria. This week, amid the maelstrom of the Costas report on this macro-expansion, the deputy mayor recalled that without the existence of the two Valencian ports, there would be no Volkswagen project in Sagunto. “Creating jobs, development and opportunities is just as important as protecting and preserving our natural heritage such as the beaches or the Albufera,” said the socialist. Socialist sources in the Consell go even further: “The situation on the coast has existed since the dam was built, it is not new.”
For the socialists, the problem of Compromís is the search for identity “after nationalism has gone out of fashion because they don’t have a clear model, with micro-opinions in a party where nobody is in charge”. For Compromís, it’s an ideological issue that has always been inherent in his identity, “because the environment is a limit to business plans.”
Subscribe to continue reading
Read without limits