The Councilor for Culture of Vox in the Orihuela City Council, Gonzalo Montoya, has left the Miguel Hernández Foundation without the annual subsidy, according to Information and confirmed by this newspaper. The cultural promotion entity allocates 6,000 euros of nominal aid that it has received from the municipality since 2000 to cover the costs of the call and decision of the prestigious Miguel Hernández International Poetry Prize.
Carolina Gracia, spokesperson for the PSPV in Orihuela, denounces that "this subsidy has not been processed because they did not want to, there are no excuses." She comments that the budgets of the corporation, governed by PP and Vox, contemplated this subsidy. "What had to be done was to carry out the processing, pass it through the Government Board, authorize it and have the beneficiary justify it; the problem is that being contemplated in the budget, it has not been processed," adds the socialist.
The president of the foundation, Aitor Larrabide, tells this newspaper that all the administrative procedures were completed in September even though the aid had not been called. Since the beginning of the 2000s, this same aid has been validated with governments in the Oriola City Council under the absolute majority of the Popular Party, with the tripartite PSOE, Los Verdes, CRL or during the eight years of coalition of PP and Cs.
He also comments on an important fact: since he was appointed councilor, the head of Culture of the Orihuela City Council has not attended any of the events held in memory of the great poet. "This is an important symbolic issue, Miguel Herández, Orihuela and Vox, and it fills me with enormous sadness that this is happening," he adds.
The socialist spokesperson comments that the president of the foundation, Aitor Larrabide, has tried to contact the Vox councilor "but it has not been possible." Last December, the new board of trustees of the foundation was established, chaired by the mayor of the city, the popular José Vegara Durá. "As mayor I should know about the subsidy," says Carolina.
The socialists announce that they are going to immediately request a draft of the budgets to check whether the subsidy from the Department of Culture to the foundation is maintained "and if not, we will present an amendment."
