Valencia approves 2026 budget with Vox's 'national priority' clause, Llorca denies discrimination
The Valencian parliament approved a €33.3 billion budget on Wednesday, the first under President Juanfran Pérez Llorca, incorporating Vox's 'national priority' principle into law for the first time in Spain.
The Valencian parliament approved the 2026 regional budget on Wednesday, handing President Juanfran Pérez Llorca his first budget victory and embedding Vox's "prioridad nacional" (national priority) into law for the first time in any Spanish autonomous community. The €33,305 million spending plan passed with votes from the PP and Vox, while the opposition PSPV and Compromís voted against it.
A late budget with political significance
The budget arrives more than six months after it should have taken effect and only five months before the year ends, making it the latest in Valencia's history. Llorca, who succeeded Carlos Mazón, secured the deal after accepting nearly all of Vox's over 100 amendments. The PP rejected only one Vox proposal, a cut of almost €1 million to the Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua. The left's 5,065 amendments were all dismissed. Llorca framed the approval as proof of stability, contrasting it with the Spanish government's three years without a budget.
El PP no se pliega a nadie, dialoga y busca consensos.
The 'national priority' clause
At Vox's insistence, the budget law now includes the principle of "prioridad nacional" in housing and social aid. The text states that public resources should be allocated preferentially to those with "real, lasting and verifiable roots" in the Valencian Community, using criteria such as historical registration. The term appears in dozens of amendments covering rental assistance, emergency social aid, maternity support and even homelessness programmes. Llorca insisted the concept is about "arraigo" (rootedness) and will not distinguish by skin colour or nationality.
Este presupuesto no distinguirá por el color de piel jamás, no lo toleraría ningún dirigente del Partido Popular.
Opposition leaders condemned the measure. PSPV secretary general Diana Morant called it "apartheid in the budget law", while socialist spokesperson José Muñoz labelled it "racist". Compromís also voted against the accounts, arguing the PP had surrendered to the far right.
Where the money goes
The budget grows by 3.1% compared to 2025, with a real spending increase of €845 million. Education receives €7,749 million, a rise of €430 million, while health spending surpasses €9,400 million for the first time, representing 36% of the total. Social services climb by €144 million to €2,732 million. Llorca stressed that 80% of resources go to education, health and social policies.
- Education
- 7749 million €
- Health
- 9400 million €
- Social Services
- 2732 million €
- Total real increase
- 845 million €
- Education
- 430 million €
- Social Services
- 144 million €
A blueprint for national politics?
The Valencian budget is seen as a test case for a potential PP-Vox pact at the national level. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the PP's national leader, did not interfere in the negotiations, Llorca said, and conveyed "absolute calm" at seeing a serious government achieve stability. The budget also shields the remainder of the legislature, as neither PP nor Vox intends to negotiate a 2027 budget before elections. Llorca's own candidacy for 2027 remains unconfirmed, but he said it does not worry him.
No me quita el sueño, me dedico a cumplir la misión que me encomendaron.
The approval marks the second time Valencia has been the pioneer in PP-Vox cooperation, after Llorca brokered the investiture pact for Mazón in 2023. With the "prioridad nacional" now in law, the region sets a precedent that the left warns could spread.
