The second vice president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, defended this Thursday the need to protect families and companies from the economic consequences of the escalation of the conflict with Iran. In an interview on the program The Time of 1Díaz has demanded to avoid layoffs, intervene in food prices if necessary and reinforce Europe’s role vis-à-vis the United States, on the same day in which the Government meets with social agents to discuss possible response measures to the crisis.
The meeting between the Executive, unions and employers is scheduled for this Thursday at 10:30, within the framework of social dialogue, with the aim of analyzing the economic impact of the conflict in the Middle East and studying possible actions.
The minister wanted to highlight that the Government has been working on anti-crisis measures for some time. “Although it is not visible, we have been meeting for hours and hours working on the measures,” he stated.
Criticism of Europe and Trump’s position
Díaz has warned of the political and economic impact that the international escalation can have and has questioned the response of the European institutions, especially the position of the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, both with the conflict and with Trump’s demands. “Wars are very expensive, especially for those who have the least,” he noted.
The vice president has also defended Spain’s role and its position within the community bloc, compared to the rest of the continent. “The only Government that is saying something is Spain,” he stated, while adding that “Europe is not doing what it has to do”, criticizing von der Leyen.
In his opinion, the European Union is bowing to American pressure. “Europe, instead of reducing financial dependence, bows to Trump’s interests,” he said, and warned that “Trump is hindered by Europe” and that is why he is trying to get the European bloc out of the way and leave it offside.
Díaz has also warned of the political consequences that this situation may have on the continent: “The extreme right in Europe is still going to grow more.”
Anti-crisis measures and social dialogue
The vice president explained that the Government is directly dealing with the situation with unions and employers within the framework of social dialogue to analyze possible measures. “If there is something that works in the economy, it is giving peace of mind,” he noted in reference to the first possible measures to be taken and their urgency.
“We are calibrating what is happening day by day and the response is going to be, as we always do, calm, exhaustive, almost daily, but the vision is that in the next Council we will take some measures,” the minister clarified when asked about when the first anti-crisis measures will be taken.
And regarding its effective application or entry into force, Yolanda Díaz has assured that it will occur when they are published in the Official State Gazette (BOE).
As indicated, among the measures being debated are “preventing layoffs”, “freezing leases” or stopping “evictions in homes”.
Regarding the freezing of rents, Díaz has acknowledged that there are discrepancies between PSOE and Sumar, although he has also admitted differences when it comes to intervening in food prices.
Díaz has insisted that the priority is to provide stability in a context of international uncertainty. “Above all, we are going to accompany the families,” he stated.
He has also sent a direct message to the business community: “I want to send a message to companies: no one should be fired.” Díaz has insisted on this idea, so that companies do not go crazy firing people in the event of a crisis. “I take advantage of the interview to refer to the self-employed, to companies and to say that we should not fire anyone,” remarked the second vice president of the Government.
Intervene food prices and criticism of the opposition
Among the measures she defends, the minister has proposed intervening in the food market to stop the rise in prices. “I think we should intervene in the prices in the shopping basket, which is absolutely possible,” he stated. And he added that “in case of acting on food, prices must be intervened.”
Díaz has also rejected other measures that have been applied in previous crises, such as the reduction of VAT on food to 0%, and which is now being proposed again by the president of Mercadona, Juan Roig, as he considers it “a mistake.” “We are not thinking about lowering VAT on food because it is not effective,” he assured.
In parallel, he has asked distribution companies for responsibility in the economic context. “I ask the distribution network to make a commitment to the Spanish and to control prices in supermarkets,” he claimed.
Díaz criticizes the position of PP, Junts and the employers
The vice president has also taken the opportunity to attack the opposition. Regarding the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, he stated that “Mr. Feijóo is like an old washing machine, which only has one program: lower taxes” and has asked him “to abandon the single program of the old washing machine and to side with the Government.”
He has also criticized the employers’ position in the debate on economic measures. “The employers’ association has received hundreds and hundreds of aid,” he recalled, and argued that they should take into account “the enormous benefits they are having today.”
Finally, Díaz has accused right-wing parties of blocking social measures. “The three rights are hitting the people in Spain,” he said, adding that “it is not true that Junts is helping the Catalan people.”