Andalusian left skips 2027 budget debate over general strike, PP-Vox defend bill

Opposition stays away from the chamber

On Wednesday, 11 November, the Andalusian Parliament began the totality debate on the 2027 regional budget, the stage at which the chamber considers the whole bill. The three left-wing groups, PSOE-A, Adelante Andalucía and Por Andalucía, did not attend, backing the general strike called for that day by the UGT and CCOO unions, even though they had filed amendments to the entire text. Carolina España, vice-president and councillor for economy, finance and European funds, presented the bill to a chamber where only the PP and Vox benches were filled. She called it the largest budget in the region's history and the most important debate of the year, and said the coalition government's first budget would give Andalusians certainty.

“They are not interested in what happens to Andalusians on 1 January, they only worry about what happens to themselves after 29 November.”

The 29 November date she referred to is the day of the next general elections. She said the absence reflected a lack of a sense of responsibility on the part of the opposition.

Government and PP reaction

Regional president Juanma Moreno accused Pedro Sánchez of deciding that the three left groups would stay away from the plenary. Moreno criticised what he called a drift toward radicalism in the PSOE-A under Sánchez's leadership, and described the absence as extremely irresponsible. He argued that deputies have a statutory and regulatory duty to attend the chamber, since neither the parliamentary rules nor the Statute of Autonomy grant them a right to strike.

“We are facing something absolutely abnormal.”

In Marbella, PP Málaga president Patricia Navarro said her party did not share the motivation, arguments or target of the strike, and that its officials had carried out their duties as normal. She recalled that PSOE-A secretary general María Jesús Montero had said the strike was aimed against the opposition, which Navarro called curious. Navarro added that a Feijóo-led government from 29 November would offer a model inspired by Andalusia, legislating through parliament rather than by decree.

“Spain does not need another standstill after eight years of paralysis under the Sánchez government.”

Housing claims and the strike

Vox parliamentary spokesman Javier Cortés called the absence a circus. He said the budget includes a tax cut for buying a home and nearly 1,000 million euros of investment in public housing. Cortés contrasted 800 homes built over the previous eight years with a target of 20,000 homes over the next four, and accused the opposition of exploiting a housing problem it had itself created. PP-A secretary general Antonio Repullo said the Socialist group had not even offered minimum services for the debate, and described the strike as a political one. He linked it to train accidents at Adamuz (Córdoba) and Urda (Toledo), which he said had occurred within a span of nine months this year.

Votes and tributes

The morning session opened with a minute of silence for the victims of Urda and an institutional declaration of support. The opposition also missed the debate on reforming the law governing the Cámara de Cuentas, which it had criticised, and so could not argue its case against the reform. The chamber then voted on the Andalusian Ombudsman, the chair of the RTVA board and a new RTVA board member. Marta Bosquet, Rafael Porras and María Jesús Botella were elected to those posts, with no opposition members taking part in the votes.