Montero attacks the 'rebellion' of the mayors: "Here nobody steals anything. There is no other alternative"

• Femp.The 'rebellion' of the mayors raises the pressure: "We fear that the Government will punish us"

The clash between the Ministry of Finance and some thirty mayors of large Spanish cities - the so-called 'rebellion of the mayors' - increases its intensity for days before the disagreement of municipal representatives with the pact that the Government and the

reached to use local remnants for aid against the coronavirus.

The first councilors accused the Executive of "robbery" and "plundering", among other things, and the Minister of the Branch,

, attacked this Monday responding to these accusations:

said. in the Congress of Deputies.

During his appearance to give an account of said agreement, Montero has defended the alternative proposed by his department as the only possible option to finance the recovery at the municipal level and allow the consistories to spend

or the Law of Stability of 2012. "It was necessary to make a specific line and use those treasury surpluses because nobody understands that if the municipalities have money in the banks, at this time it is not used," he assured.

In his words, keeping that money in the entities costs the municipal coffers about 70 million euros a year, only in interest, but that amount would only be accessed "respecting the legal framework."

And it is that, as the Executive spokesperson also recalled, Article 135 of the Constitution and the subsequent Organic Law of Budgetary Stability prevent municipalities from making use of their remnants, and are two rules whose reform requires conditions that do not give today in Spain.

The confrontation between the Treasury and the opposition mayors dates back several weeks, when the Government and the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (Femp) closed

an agreement

that establishes the mechanism to use the savings of the municipalities, the so-called remnants, to alleviate the economic and social effects of Covid-19.

The amount amounts to

and, in exchange, the Executive undertakes to return that money within 10 years in addition to creating a fund of 5,000 million (2,000 for this year and 3,000 for 2021) in charge of the State's general budgets.

Only those localities that have contributed something can access this fund.

The agreement went ahead with the support of the socialist councilors and the casting vote of the president of the Femp, the mayor of Vigo and socialist

.

The rest of mayors have been against when considering that "it violates the financial autonomy of the local entities" and generates "an inadmissible discrimination" between them.

The minister has also responded to these accusations and has denied that the Government "needs the remnants of the municipalities", however, she has also recognized that they have few alternatives to carry out the aid and that the agreement may be "counterproductive" for some municipalities .

In this sense, Montero has urged not to use it to "wear down" the Executive because "making everything always an element of injury or an element of impairment for the Government is out of place."

The confrontation between both parties has left collateral damage that affects the Federation of Municipalities and Provinces itself.

The mayor of Zaragoza,

, in conversation with

, acknowledged a few days ago that the organization faces a crisis of "reputation and credibility" like never before in its history.

And this Monday, the Minister of Finance wanted to give a cable to the socialist mayors and to Abel Caballero himself, who supported the final agreement.

"The Femp is a democratic body that increases its resolutions by majority and we have to be respectful. Not accepting that agreement or that representation would be like saying that the body is illegitimate [...] It would be inappropriate to consider that the majority of the Femp does not represents the majority of the town councils in Spain ", he assured.

The first councilors grouped in the so-called

of the mayors plan to meet this Tuesday by telematic means to launch a message of unity again and ask the Executive to reconsider some of the measures incorporated in the royal decree that is being processed.

Few concessions

Almost the only concession that the minister has made in the face of the disagreement is the offer not to start up the remnants fund until the decree is validated and then process it as the norm as a bill so that Congress can perfect that part.

"It is the most that I can raise. I am absolutely clear and sincere", has settled.

It has also promised to cancel the application of the spending rule to city councils for next year through the General State Budget project for 2021. Montero explained that it is not possible to address this cancellation for next year by decree law.

"Once we reach agreements with the European Union (EU) we will be in a position to do so. But the intention is that the spending rule for municipalities will remain without effect, also for 2021," he said.

Rejection of the opposition

After Montero's intervention, it was the turn of the rest of the groups present in the Chamber.

And his rejection has been evident from the first moment.

"It is a despicable blackmail to the municipalities", has been the response of the PP spokesperson,

, who has advised the Government to withdraw the decree to avoid defeat and reopen a negotiation with the municipalities.

And if the Executive goes ahead, they will appeal to the Constitutional Court.

In similar terms,

Coello from Portugal, from Vox,

has spoken

, who assures that he does not participate in this "robbery" and that he will resort to this mechanism by all the means at his disposal.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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