The Orihuela City Council has announced a € 42,000 funding scheme for non-profit societies and social interest institutions to support international integration programs. The programme has already been published in the province’s official gazette. As a result, beginning on Friday, July 4th, organisations will have 15 days to submit proposals for this funding through a competitive bidding process.
The City Council accepted the budget proposed by the Department of Social Welfare, led by Agustina Rodríguez (PP), during the regular meeting on June 25th. What stands out is that it was unanimous, with nine votes in favour. The proposal received approval from Rodríguez, Popular Party councillors Pepe Vegara, Mónica Pastor, Víctor Valverde, Matías Ruiz, and Rocío Ortuño, as well as Vox councillors Manuel Mestre, Gonzalo Montoya, and Anabel García, despite Mestre’s party’s support for measures like the “Return Ticket” motion to expel immigrants.
Party sources explain this inconsistency, stating: “Vox is not against these associations, as their work involves integrating foreigners, which Vox Orihuela does not oppose,” and they add that the motion “referred only to illegal immigration, which does not integrate into our society.”
However, the legislation also included the elimination of payments to immigrant assistance organisations. In fact, the measure sparked a heated debate, putting Vega Baja Acoge, Recicla Alicante, and Columbares on a war footing, demanding that the resolution be rescinded. It eventually made it to the plenary session, where it received only Vox’s support, even defeating its governing partner, the PP, who joined the opposition in blocking its passage.
In recent decades, three main organisations in this field have worked to promote the rights of migrants and refugees, supporting their social inclusion in a friendly, tolerant, and fair manner with a dedication to equality for all people in the Orihuela municipality.
The motion also sought to declare Orihuela a town that does not support associations and NGOs that collaborate with “human trafficking and illegal immigration mafias,” as well as to expel “illegal immigrants” and promote “the necessary legal changes to prevent fraud in the registration process that allows them to access benefits and social assistance.”
In this sense, the text spoke of promoting that the funds allocated to “foster the pull effect and finance illegal immigration” be used to “transfer illegal immigrants to their countries of origin, or if necessary, and those who wish to, to the Belgian city of Brussels, where the European elites who encourage and promote their arrival are located.”
In September, the governing board approved a €33,999 allocation to fund various programs operated by various humanitarian organisations that provide services to migrants seeking social inclusion. Among them, Vega Baja Acoge received €19,280 for its “comprehensive intervention project aimed at the foreign-born community residing in Orihuela.”
Cracks
In the last plenary session, the PP once again left Vox alone in its rejection of the Lamb Festival, voting against, along with the opposition, a motion to urge the local Corporation to condemn a celebration that the party considers “incompatible with Spanish customs” and “erodes national identity.”
During Pride month, the Popular Party saved Mestre from being reprimanded for homophobic remarks he made days before. This was similar to Vox’s attempt to restore patriarchal society during the month of 8M under the guise of Father’s Day. One of the other conflicts revolves around sexist violence.
However, as is already the case, the local government board recently accepted a call for competitive funding for associations and non-profit organisations to establish equal opportunity and gender-based violence prevention projects, which was sponsored by the Department of Equality. This line of aid, worth 32,000 euros, aims to encourage associations, women’s empowerment, work-life balance, co-responsibility, social inclusion, and the abolition of gender-based violence, so promoting a more egalitarian society.
Author: Derek Appleton
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