The Local Cooperation Council will meet next week because local NGOs pushed for it. These groups criticised the budget cuts on Monday, as expected in talks with Vox. They think the €120,000 set aside for International Emergencies is “meagre” and said that the cut goes against the PP’s promise to not exceed 0.4% of the investment objective by the end of their tenure. The cooperation sector is the only one that has spoken out, but these are not the only cuts for local organisations in the 2026 budget. The Federation of Popular Festivals, the Moors and Christians Association, and the Unió de Festeres del Camp d’Elx are the three main festival groups in the city. This year, they will each get about €50,000 less than they did last year. The Junta Mayor de Cofradías (Main Board of Brotherhoods) has also been affected. Subsidies have decreased from 2.1 million euros to 1.8 million euros in total.
In this regard, Mayor Pablo Ruz had already told the festival organisations in the town centre and the city at a news conference that there might be budget cuts if the argument over the floral presentation to the patron saint during the August festivities last summer wasn’t settled. The festival and the offering have now experienced a significant reduction in financing compared to 2025. However, it’s true that the City Hall’s budgets are continuously changing, and they may always be raised later. In fact, the Festivals Department has seen the biggest budget boost in a long time.
Four big cuts of about 50,000 euros each
So, although though the Federation of Popular Festivals had a grant of €101,825 in 2025, this year it has only gotten €61,000. The Unió de Festers del Camp d’Elx (Union of Festival Organisers of Elche Countryside) got €75,000 last year, but this year’s budget only gives it €14,000, as you can see in the budget sheet. The executive had earlier warned about this pressure technique in order to try to get both groups to agree on a single offer, even if their opinions are completely opposite. The row has been building for years, but this summer it reached a breaking point when tensions spread to the coalition government, which had never happened before.
But there are also cuts in payments to other groups that aren’t involved in this debate, such the Moors and Christians Association. They got a €152,000 subsidy for 2025, but this year it is just €101,875, which is €50,000 less. The Governing Board got about the same amount of money last year. The Governing Board of Brotherhoods and Fraternities has also experienced a decrease, from a budget of €158,000 in 2025 to €108,000.
The €2,600 for the Brotherhood of San Agatángelo and the €4,500 for the Confraternity of Our Lady of Sorrows are still there, but so are the €24,000 for the Society of the Arrival of the Virgin, the €17,000 for Nativity Scene Makers, and the €14,875 for the Townspeople.
The biggest cuts are to Cooperation and Eurotaxis
The biggest decrease right now would be to Cooperation funding, which the Valencian NGO Coordinator says will go down by 52%, or €164,000. This is in addition to festivals and traditions. Last year, the Cooperation budget was €200,000, but this year it is still €120,000 set aside for “International Emergencies” with no further details. A few weeks ago, the coordinator also said that agreements with humanitarian aid groups had fallen through. The coalition government had already said this when they presented the budget, but they made it clear that there would still be projects through competitive bidding even without specific funding lines.
There are, however, additional alterations. The budget for Eurotaxis for those with limited mobility stays at €66,000, while the amount set aside for subsidies to help them adapt has gone down from €130,000 to €80,000. The budget for Camp d’Elx has also been slashed, from €141,000 to €105,000. This money will be used for its development, an agreement with ADR, and marketing efforts. The amount of money given to women’s groups has also gone down from €25,000 to €15,000.
In addition to the budget cuts in this sector, some types of funding are no longer available. For instance, the €15,000 that was set aside for Abril en Danza last year is no longer stated, even though it might have been included in a number of general budget categories. Also, in circumstances like the Red Cross, a second arrangement for €25,000 for emergencies has been cancelled.
On the other hand, the biggest boost is in the deal with Suma, which has gone up from €2.4 million to €2.8 million. Next is the Conciénciate deal, which has grown from €206,000 last year (for the foundation and the overnight centre) to €315,000 through three agreements: €50,000 for the foundation, €200,000 for the overnight centre, and €65,000 for the Conciénciate Familia foundation. Last year, there was a general budget of €80,000 for Social Action. This year, that budget has grown to €100,000.
The help that is still there
There are also the following subsidies: 220,000 euros to Cáritas, 200,000 euros to Elche Emprende, 90,000 euros to the Al Taufik soup kitchen, 190,000 euros to the Puçol Foundation, 180,000 euros to the Elche City Symphony Orchestra, 95,000 euros for the L’Alcúdia site, 80,000 euros for the University Foundation, and 15,000 euros for research projects like excavations. The Cidaris Foundation, which runs the Paleontological Museum, the Mupe, gets 50,000 euros. Also, 35,000 euros went to the Red Cross, 70,000 to the San José nursing home, 75,000 to Elche Acoge, 70,000 to the San José nursing home, 45,000 to Un Abrazo de Luz, 44,000 to the Fundación Secretariado Gitano, and 35,000 to the private Obra Mercedaria Foundation.
The same goes for a few grants of between 10,000 and 12,000 euros to rural music groups or brass bands. For example, there is a general grant of more than 99,900 euros for “bands.” The normal amounts of money for the Guitar Festival Association (8,000 euros), the Luis Buñuel Film Club (6,000 euros), the Royal Order of the Lady of Elche (10,000 euros), and the Friends of Arroz con Crust (Rice with a Crust) Association (a little amount) are still being given out.
Author: Derek Appleton
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