The Debate on the State of the City has closed with an unequal distribution of political victories among the municipal groups and a clear winner in terms of approved initiatives. The Popular Party has managed to push through all its proposals, as has the non-attached councillor Marisa Gaspar, while Vox has seen most of its initiatives supported and Zaragoza en Común has managed to save several points from some of its motions. The PSOE, on the other hand, has not managed to approve any of the six proposals that it has taken to the Plenary Hall.
This year’s debate has been marked by topics that have been so much discussed in recent months such as housing, mobility, security, green areas, rural neighbourhoods or social policies. The result leaves a political map in which the municipal government keeps its roadmap intact, incorporates several initiatives promoted by the opposition and certifies the isolation of the Socialists in the votes.
THE PP CONSOLIDATES ITS ROADMAP
The six proposals defended by the Popular Party, most of them announcements made by the mayor, Natalia Chueca, on the first day, have obtained enough support to go ahead. Among them are the recovery plan for the Imperial Canal and green areas, the preparation in six months of a study on the mobility of Zaragoza for the next ten years, the promotion of the new baby cheque or administrative simplification through the single electronic file.
Initiatives to support the connections of Zaragoza Airport, condemn the corruption of the Government of Spain and demand a new investment agreement for rural neighborhoods with the Provincial Council of Zaragoza have also prospered.
The PP has had the support of Vox in practically all its initiatives and also with the votes of the non-attached councilor Marisa Gaspar in several of them, especially in those related to mobility or the modernization of the administration.
VOX AND MARISA GASPAR MANAGE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THEIR INITIATIVES
Vox has managed to approve five of its six proposals. These include the declaration of the third phase of the avenida de Navarra as a priority action to prevent flooding, the development of a Strategic Plan for Metropolitan Mobility Zaragoza 2050, the adaptation of the La Cartuja treatment system to European regulations, the promotion of the air conditioning of schools and institutes together with the Government of Aragon and the implementation of the principle of national priority in access to protected housing and social renting, adapted to current legislation.
The only proposal that has not prospered has been the construction of a high-rise car park in Las Fuentes and the adaptation of provisional parking lots in the area, an initiative that only received the support of the PSOE.
For her part, Marisa Gaspar has once again become one of the names of the day by managing to approve the three initiatives that she has defended with the support of the government team: the creation of a municipal support service for caregivers of dependent people, the promotion of a stable opera season in Zaragoza and the preparation of studies to define the future of the municipal slaughterhouse and Mercazaragoza.
THE PSOE IS LEFT WITHOUT SUPPORT AND ZEC SAVES PART OF ITS PROPOSALS
The PSOE has not managed to gather sufficient support for any of the six initiatives presented. Proposals such as the Enfría Zaragoza program to combat high temperatures, a municipal affordable housing plan, the future tram line 2, a rescue plan for those affected by the works or a municipal inclusion ordinance have been rejected.
Zaragoza en Común, on the other hand, has managed to incorporate part of its proposals into the final agreement of the Plenary. Measures have been taken to prioritise the planting of trees in public schools with empty tree pits, guarantee truthful information on bus shelters, reinforce pedestrian routes and the network of bike lanes and demand dialogue between the City Council and the Provincial Council to unblock investments in rural neighbourhoods.
