The mayoress of Valencia, María José Catalá, immortalized yesterday the change in criteria when distributing subsidies to Valencian with a photograph together with the president of Lo Rat Penat (an entity that does not share the criteria of the unity of Valencian and Catalan ). The new mayor promised to subsidize with at least the same 70,000 euros that this historic entity received during the Rita Barberá years.
A change of criteria when awarding subsidies that will reward this type of associations that, with the previous government, saw their funding drowned. The local government of Compromís and PSPV lowered its contribution to Lo Rat Penat to 13,000 euros, placing this type of secessionist entities (which also saw how the Consell did not meet a large part of their demands for not using a normative Valencian) in a complicated situation.
In parallel, during the campaign, Catalá announced its firm intention to "turn off the tap" to those entities that, in its opinion, contradict what the Statute of Autonomy establishes and that the PP considers "Catalanists." Thus, now, those who will have the worst time are those who defend this linguistic unity such as the Escola Valenciana, the Societat Cultural el Micalet or ACPV.
Sources from the Catalá environment explain that these types of subsidies are nominal, so simply by removing them from the budget they disappear.
At the same time, at the regional level, the PP has already raised its intention to re-approve a Law on Identity Signs like the one that was repealed by the Botànic and which allowed the PP to direct subsidies to those entities related to its postulates.
María José Catalá -who as general secretary of the PPCV has helped the future president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Carlos Mazón, to get closer to that world that still manages an important niche of votes (although less and less)- wanted to make clear her affinity with Lo Rat Penat.
The leader of the PP transferred the still president of the institution. Enric Esteve, his gratitude "for so many years of service to the Valencians and to the Valencian culture". Catalá highlighted the importance of Lo Rat Penat, "as an institution that always thinks of Valencians" and as "a cultural project of hallmarks in the city of Valencia".
Likewise, during their meeting, the mayoress and Esteve addressed the next change in the presidency of the entity and advocated "a very calm transition." Catalá assured that he will get along well with the new president.
