The Madrid Assembly approved the autonomous community’s upcoming forecasts for 2026, which reach 30,663 million euros, reflecting an increase of 6.98% compared to the previous year. These are “historic” hypotheses, according to the popular, but “ineffective” for the opposition. The PP has incorporated 25 partial enmiendas, of which 22 come from Vox, More Madrid and the PSOE. Even if the proportion of adjustments is higher than that of previous exercises, these seem insufficient after having recorded more than 3,600 entries. They therefore accuse the autonomous executive of giving priority to private interests to the detriment of citizens’ concerns.
This coincides with the Federation of Associations for the Defense of Public Health. It is important to note that among the autonomous communities that have already presented hypotheses for the year 2026 and have not been extended, as is the case of Murcia, Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Extremadura, Madrid has obtained autonomy for the sixth consecutive year with the lowest increase in health allocation per capita: 1,537.28 euros per capita, assuming a slight increase compared to 2025 55.03 euros more. However, the national average stands at 2,013 euros per citizen.
“We know that one more year, the public health infrastructure in Madrid will have serious consequences for the population,” warns the president of this entity, Sergio Fernández. Anticipates long waiting lists and accessibility issues in primary care. “The Community of Madrid plans for the year 2026 to have lower consolidated public health expenditure than for 2023, the last year for which there are figures. This represents around 1,700 euros per inhabitant,” he underlines.
“It is the population that suffers the consequences of years of dismantling, cuts and privatizations,” insists Fernández after warning that this autonomy would require at least 4 billion additional euros to alleviate the needs that affect their health. At the same time, “health concerns have reached their historic maximum: 1,486 million, 6% more than the previous year”, denounced the Comisiones Obreras union, after showing itself dissatisfied with the approved funds, despite the fact that the greatest departures were allocated to education and health, up to 58.6% of the total.
The spokesperson for Más Madrid, Manuela Bergerot, insists that “the PP once again approves the hypotheses of austerity, which leave the community without fiscal resources and condemn public services to chronic infrastructure”. He accuses the autonomous president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, of giving up collecting millions of euros each year to allow large estates to benefit from tax reductions.
“With this money we could finance free school meals for 16 years, guarantee fair funding to universities and restore public health in Madrid, but Ayuso believes that it is more important to exempt the rich from taxes so that they can buy houses with which they can speculate,” says Bergerot.
According to him, the PP does not invest enough and, in addition, spends poorly because “it devotes public funds to inflating the hypothesis of the Grupo Quirón, to financing shows aimed at tourism instead of promoting culture and neighborhood sports, or to financing cayetane scholarships for high-income families.” This requires a tax policy and would be radically different, otherwise it is estimated that public services will not be protected to the extent of Madrid’s needs.
He also opposes the assumptions of the Minister of Digital Transformation and Public Functions, Óscar López. “It’s not a question of public health and it’s a problem for Quirón. How much does it take for a family to rent in Madrid? I want someone who has private insurance and who also pays for a concerted school. It’s a model for millionaires from all over Latin America to come and buy money and expel Madrid residents from Madrid,” he explains. In your opinion, you are converting your rights into business. “Madame Ayuso organized a private party in her attic and financed it with everyone’s money,” he concludes.
Car Comisiones Obreras also believes that “the violation of real spending, the stagnation of primary care and the payment of surcharges associated with privatized hospitals” persist. They believe that there are still funds for public health and criticize the fact that the Isabel Zendal hospital “continues to absorb resources without a clear plan”.
They regret that the assumptions for 2026 highlight tax benefits. “This involves more than 6.5 billion in rebates and deductions, the distribution of which mainly favors high incomes and limits the financing capacity of public services,” they emphasize.
Creation of educational concerts
The education budget stands at 7 billion euros, but the union warns that growth is concentrated in concerted and private education. “Concerts represent 20% of total spending, or twice as many decades,” he insists. They consider that the public education network is only growing. “The same infant and primary centers are maintained and special education is reduced, despite repeated promises,” they deplore. Whereas investment in infrastructure shows a new low level of execution and lower ambition for 2026.
Even if the amount intended to finance universities is increased by 75 million euros, this amount is considered insufficient by the education sector, which last November led to three days of suffering through financial “asphyxiation”.
For the union, next year’s accounts will widen the social gap and reinforce a model of privatization in health, education and social services. “The deepening of economic, territorial and gender inequalities,” he underlines. They also denounce the regression of the Minimum Integration Income, a provision compatible and complementary to the Minimum Vital Income, which ensures in 2021 that it will benefit more than 14,000 families.
For 2026, they warn, “only one million euros will be recorded”. They estimate it will only affect around 500 families, which they say means abandoning the most vulnerable households. The proposals of the Public Commissions promote the recovery of the public network as a pillar of social protection and equality in the Community of Madrid, “a tax reform that allows financing quality public services and, above all, a radical change in relation to the presupposed priorities of the Government of Madrid”.
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