Minister Ribera reproaches Manueco by letter for implementing “the antithesis of demographic measures” in Castilla y León

The Third Vice President of the Government and Minister of Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, has reproached by letter to the President of the Junta de Castilla y León, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, for implementing “the antithesis of demographic measures” in Castilla y León, without specific regulations on demographic revitalization and with a smaller number of health and educational professionals in rural areas.

“I cannot hide the concern caused by the analysis of demographic trends in Castilla y León, which registers the greatest loss of population throughout the 21st century, over 100,000 inhabitants,” said Minister Ribera in the letter dated 5 of May – to which this newspaper has had access.

This Wednesday in the Congress of Deputies, the third vice president has alluded to a “very important” reversal in depopulation trends throughout the country except in Castilla y León, where “things are going fatal.” Two weeks ago, Ribera accused the regional government of “encouraging the abandonment of the towns” by “closing clinics and educational services.”

This afternoon, Mañueco has demanded in Soria the resignation of Ribera after some “unfair and unworthy” attacks on the community. “The Government of Sánchez in the face of depopulation, the summary of what he has done is nothing at all”, has censured the president of the Junta de Castilla y León.

200 toilets less in a year

As calculated by the minister, the basic rural health zones have lost 50 doctors, 108 pediatricians, and 47 nurses between 2021 and 2022. The 160 basic rural health zones have 1,275 doctors, 1,183 nurses, and 78 pediatricians, a staff that is “clearly insufficient ” for the 3,600 rural clinics.

In the letter, the minister urges the regional president and the Minister of the Environment, Juan Carlos Suárez Quiñones, to apply measures with a “medium and long-term” horizon in the face of a “complex problem” such as depopulation. She also underlines how Castilla y León is the autonomy with the greatest population drop in the last decade.

The third vice president demands a “firm” commitment and “continuous, light rain” work, with collaboration between the administrations and recalled that the Government of Spain has allocated 26 million euros since 2021 to Castilla y León to try to stop the bleeding population.

“The community has received a significantly greater volume of funds, they must be an effective instrument to promote innovative actions that improve the provision of basic services in rural areas, reversing cuts and closures,” he reproaches in the letter.

Negative reports from the Common Attorney

Ribera also resorts to the reports of the Common Attorney – the Ombudsman of Castilla y León -, in which he warns of the “deficiencies” of health care in the towns, the waiting list – especially after the pandemic – and medical transport —which will continue to be in the hands of the same HTGroup conglomerate, but with a different trade name than Ambuibérica.

Given the proposals of the Public Prosecutor to incorporate a dining room and generalized school transport in rural areas, the minister recalls how the Ministry did not take this proposal into consideration. In the last ten years, public schools located in towns with less than 5,000 inhabitants have been reduced from 192 to 179, with 965 fewer teachers than in the 2011/2012 academic year.