For this Basque geographer (Sant Sebastià, 1963), who has been in charge of the High Commissioner against Child Poverty for three years, the study presented a few days ago by President Pedro Sánchez and which figures at 63,000 million euros per year the cost of child poverty in Spain (5.1% of gross domestic product!), gives enough arguments to convince the whole society of the need to move forward 27% of children and adolescents with severe deficiencies .
"Yes, it is true. We try to show every day that it is very unfair that there are children at risk of exclusion, teenagers with less chance of thriving because they do not have resources, but it is insufficient, the message is not getting through. It seems that we citizens are immune to what these poverty figures mean, what the numbers hide. But with the data provided by this research from the University of Alcalá and Pompeu Fabra, it is possible that it will be understood in a different way... And, in the end, action will be taken", he points out.
It's more understandable when they touch our pockets, isn't it? The research calculates that each year child poverty costs each Spaniard 1,300 euros.
It is that poverty hurts everyone, especially those who suffer from it, but also the country. This study says that if there was no such inequality, Spain would have 63,000 million euros more every year (I repeat, every year). I would be richer. If we want to be patriots, we must fight child poverty. It is not only for ethical and justice reasons, but also for economic reasons. It's a matter of collective intelligence, as the study points out.
But it is the High Commissioner and the central government who must fight against inequality.
And we are doing it. We have formed an institutional alliance to resolve this inequality, but we need everyone to find a solution. The Government already has the State Action Plan for the Implementation of the European Child Guarantee (2022-2030), the main tool with which Spain implements the European Child Guarantee (GIE), a recommendation of the Council of the Union European aimed at breaking the cycle of child poverty. And we have 1,600 million euros, 60% more than what was initially planned.
Per?
The goal of the GIE is to ensure that all children and adolescents in the European Union have access to six basic rights: education and childcare, education and extracurricular activities, at least one healthy meal per school day, health care, adequate housing and healthy eating. And we will invest them in education in general, from 0 to 3 years in particular, for scholarships, canteens, housing, technology... In short, to get children out of poverty, something that half of 'they don't get it when they reach adulthood.
Is poverty inherited?
Poverty is burdensome and, for example, prevents a child from obtaining a higher education that would enable him to gain access to a skilled job.
Education as a social elevator.
Don't hesitate. Many of us are what we are thanks to the universalization of education (EGB made us more European) and the scholarship system to go to university...
The next challenge?
We must take the step to guarantee a minimum income in all households, because this will make us richer as citizens and as a country. Children are not to blame for being born in a certain environment and they have every right to develop like the rest. This should be our Brand Spain.
How is it possible that Spain has such a high level of child poverty?
It is structural poverty that has been going on for decades. It has to do with a non-regularized economy in certain areas, we have population groups, such as the gypsies, who have been in a subsidiary economy, because we have citizens from other countries who take a long time to regularize their situation... And to that we can add the lack of public policies and resources.
Are you talking about PP governments?
From 2010 to 2019, payments to combat child poverty have been frozen. During that period, policies aimed at childhood in the budgets amounted to around 350 million euros. From 2020 to 2021, the item is 3,000 million euros.
Does he think that the PP does not want to put an end to this situation that leaves tens of thousands of children marginalized?
I think we have lived through a denialist era, of people who denied that there was poverty and who rejected the data provided and provided by organizations such as Caritas or the Red Cross.
There are communities, however, with better poverty rates than the rest, almost half the average, such as Navarre and the Basque Country, rich communities...
... And that they have maintained these policies. This shows us that if we keep them in time, the results come and they come soon.
In how much time?
In a period of 3, 4 or 5 years it is seen that poverty is reduced. Is it worth it. We have also seen it in Poland, which at the beginning of the century decided to put a stop to the high rates of poverty and is now doing much better than Spain. Biden (USA) is also doing it and they are already starting to see results.
