Sommer says he has the key to lowering purchase prices: the presence of public supermarkets, run by the administration, Interference in the prices of basic products Such as bread or milk.
For this reason, Mas Madrid (an independent party incorporated in Somar) led an initiative in Getafe to urge the Spanish government, of which they themselves are part, To create this type of institution under countries such as Cuba, Venezuela or Bolivia. “And Sweden,” as they themselves insist.
The proposal, introduced on Monday, was not implemented precisely because the SWP abstained in the vote in which the PP and VOX voted against it. Madrid found nothing but support from Podemos.
In 2023, the people of Ioni Pillara presented themselves for general election with the proposal to establish these general stores, an initiative marked by disagreements with the socialists in A full-fledged battle for the vote for the space to the left of the SWP.
Now MAS Madrid – SUMAR at the national level – is once again considering the creation of these institutions managed by public administrations, which could lead to a confrontation in the government with the majority partner.
They did so after a few days ago also defending another Podemos strategy, this time in House of Representatives.
that Yolanda Diaz They raised the flag for public education and proposed in the House of Representatives an initiative to end co-ordinated education, a star proposal of Podemos for several years.
The debate on the initiative in the plenary session of Getafe caused tension in the municipal government, as the mayor, Sarah Hernandezwho was General Secretary of the Socialists in Madrid, was in a delicate situation.
The proposal, which was presented as a mechanism to stop rising prices of basic foodstuffs, urged Pedro Sanchez to put it in place Maximum prices for products such as bread, milk, meat, fish, oil, fruits, legumes and baby foodIn addition to establishing a network of general supermarkets throughout the country. Something “utopian” for socialists.
Aware of the rejection of its main partners in the executive, MAS Madrid defended the initiative, stressing that it was not a “Bolivarian” measure, as the People’s Party and Vox criticized them, but “a practice that has existed in Sweden for decades.”
Food aid
There, they explained, “general food distribution models” operate. Ana Gonzalez, a defense spokeswoman, recalls that “The mayor of New York will fire her.” To emphasize that this idea is not limited to Latin American countries.
The group denounced that major distributors “set exorbitant prices” and that more than 1,110 families in Getafe already depend on food aid.
They confirmed that Madrid families spend more than 37 thousand euros annually on food – Including non-alcoholic foods and drinks – which is why “more and more people are abandoning eating fresh food and opting for ultra-processed foods.”
Podemos, the local government partner, acknowledged that it was not a new initiative, as they had already championed it in 2023, but they voted in favor of it, stating that “the time has come to make it a reality.”
But their support did not help the measure move forward.
For its part, the People’s Party accused this initiative, describing it as an “extreme left-wing event” and accused MAS Madrid of “imitating Podemos.” They pointed out that the project that the Purples tried to promote at the state level “did not even become a bill.”
In their speech, they directly asked the socialist mayor of the city: ““Are you going to vote for or against something that the SWP has already rejected?” They concluded that they were a “government without ideas.”
Fox raised the tone further and emphasized that the proposal “sounds very good, but it hides communism” which, according to them, “they want to sneak in through the back door.”
“The increase in shopping basket prices did not fall from the sky,” their spokesman said, adding: “They want the state to fix the disaster, and to interfere in everything more. From Venezuela to Cuba, setting prices has never worked.”
By voting, Sumer’s initiative Reviving “general supermarkets” Finding staple foods again hits the same barrier as it did in 2023: The Socialist Workers Party refused. Of course, this time the door was closed to Mas Madrid, not Podemos.