The reactions have not been long in coming. The announcement of the stoppage of the Irrigation Law in Doñana by the president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, and the third vice president and minister for the Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, which took place yesterday after two years of tensions between both administrations, has not left anyone indifferent. Even less to Vox, promoter of the controversial initiative that is left alone in defense of its final approval in the Andalusian Parliament, something that was scheduled for next week.
Although all the political groups of the parliamentary arc and the environmentalists have celebrated this principle of agreement between the regional government and the state government in order to preserve the green lung of Europe, and which took everyone by surprise due to the in extremis fit in the calendar Andalusian politician, those of Abascal have frontally rejected the change of course of the popular ones. “It is the umpteenth mistake by Moreno,” said Manuel Gavira, spokesperson for the extreme right in Parliament, who has criticized that Moreno gives “air to the socialists and the Government of Pedro Sánchez” while “belittles and makes fun of "to the farmers of Huelva."
Faced with the immobile position of Vox, the general secretary of the PSOE-A, Juan Espadas, the leader of Por Andalucía, Inmaculada Nieto, and the representative of Adelante Andalucía, José Ignacio García, positively value the rapprochement of both Executives and trust that An agreement can be reached that offers other socioeconomic alternatives for the inhabitants of this area of Huelva County.
The approval of the Law has been postponed, not withdrawn. Under this premise given by Moreno, a period of one month is opened for a joint working group to be established between both administrations and the agents involved in order to find an alternative and beneficial formula for Doñana and its surroundings.
The president of the Board has warned that, if fruitful agreements are not reached on the matter, at the end of October the proposal would end up being approved as drafted in Parliament. The leader of the Andalusian PP has stressed the need to provide a solution to the farming families who "are trapped in a situation of illegality" so that the dialogue, which must be based on "rigor and generosity", can reach a successful conclusion. port.
These same farmers are called next week to a meeting with the Ribera team, which has committed to listening to their demands to, together, find a way out of this complex situation. “Doñana cannot be incompatible with territorial progress and economic activity cannot be incompatible with the preservation of Doñana,” stated the acting third vice president.
Yesterday, the Minister for Economic Transition announced an economic allocation of 350 million euros to promote an economic and social development plan in the County of Huelva, measures that "suppose more water" in the area. Surface waters that would only be viable if the province had the pending hydraulic infrastructures in the province, such as the San Silvestre tunnel (which would enable the transfer of the Tinto-Odiel and Piedras) and the Alcolea dam.
The head of the branch did not want to go into the details of these plans yesterday, although she made it clear that there would be no land purchases or expropriations of the farms of those farmers who were going to benefit from the reclassification of the land from dry land to irrigated cultivation to avoid “speculation”.
Teresa Ribera has expressed that she is “very satisfied” with the willingness of the Andalusian Government to work together for the good of Doñana. "We have made the decision to join and not stay away," she explained in an interview on TVE. "It is always important to reach agreements, guarantee institutional loyalty and keep in mind that, in defending the general interest and of citizens and in identifying challenges, we do not need any court to tell us anything," he assured, while explained that the agreement, in which the opinion of farmers, irrigators, environmentalists and mayors of the affected municipalities will be taken into account, "allows Doñana to be saved and to commit to territorial and social development and that people feel that they can have a future, progress and diversification of economic activity without putting Doñana at risk".
“I have always expressed my interest in dialogue with the Government,” said Moreno, who has assured that he has “held out his hand” until the last minute and “trusts” that “among all of us” alternatives will be proposed that will provide a solution and protection to the workers of the Andalusian countryside. In this sense, and moments before the meeting between both politicians, the spokesperson for the regional Government team and Minister of Sustainability, Environment and Blue Economy, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco, established a red line that the Board will not exceed: “ We are not going to leave the farmers stranded,” he expressed.
Vox, for its part, questions this commitment of the popular ones to the families of the Northern Crown of Doñana, and criticizes that Moreno is “delighted” with the open dialogue with the central government, when the minister with whom he met yesterday wants to "charge the countryside of Andalusia and Spain; he encouraged a campaign against the Huelva strawberry and called the president of the Board an arrogant gentleman."
Gavira has regretted this new impasse in the approval of the law, which should have been approved in the Assembly this week but was postponed due to the coincidence with the investiture debate of Alberto Núñez Feijóo, and that it was planned to give it the green light next week. The man from Vox hopes that the proposal does not remain “in the drawer,” he said.
Dialogue, as the only way out to resolve the conflict. All parties on the parliamentary left have welcomed this incipient agreement. Also environmentalists, who are satisfied with the change of course adopted by the regional government.
Juan Espadas, leader of the PSOE-A, has committed to “working and making the agreement a reality” from “a useful opposition that actively listens to civil society, from the scientific community to farmers, including those who dedicate their lives to to protect the environment or Doñana.” For her part, Inmaculada Nieto, from Por Andalucía, “welcomed” the PP and Moreno Bonilla “to reason and science.” “We could have saved ourselves this time of international discredit and tensions,” she expressed through a message on social networks. The parliamentary spokesperson for Adelante Andalucía, José Ignacio García, also celebrated this progress, adding that the Board "pulls up the cable" every time they warned that they would be vigilant and attentive to the evolution of the conversations.
Greenpeace and WWF, environmental associations, also positively valued the steps taken by both administrations to take care of this protected space, while the president of the Citizen Participation Council, Miguel Delibes, appreciated the efforts of the governments to bring closer positions: “Today I believe more on our rulers” who have focused on the “conservation of Doñana and the well-being of the inhabitants of the region” leaving behind “waste disputes.”
