Sánchez stands up to PP and Vox and defends public pensions against the threat of cuts: "If they come to power, they sign the death certificate of the welfare state"

Pedro Sánchez has made public pensions one of the main fronts of his electoral pre-campaign. During an event held this Wednesday in Zaragoza, the President of the Government has accused the PP and Vox of putting public services at risk and has promised that, if he continues in La Moncloa, there will be "four more years of progressive government, four more years of social progress and zero cuts." His most concrete commitment has been to maintain the revaluation of pensions in line with the CPI, a measure that he directly links to the purchasing power of retirees.

The socialist leader has taken advantage of the differences between the PP's messages on the sustainability of the system to harden his criticism of Alberto Núñez Feijóo and Santiago Abascal. "Between the scissors of Feijóo and Abascal, Milei's friend and his chainsaw, these, if they reach the Government, will sign the death certificate of the welfare state," he warned. Sánchez thus contrasted his commitment to public benefits with the economic proposals of the right, in a speech that also addressed housing, immigration and the future of public services.

Sánchez defends public pensions and accuses the right of opening the door to cuts

The president has asked young people and the elderly for calm in the face of doubts about the future of retirements. "The pension system enjoys extraordinary health," he assured, before defending the reform promoted by his Executive, which has a periodic evaluation mechanism by the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF). Sánchez maintains that the measures adopted guarantee the sustainability of the system and has insisted that "the elderly should not be pitted against the young."

To support his argument, the head of the Executive compared the situation of the pension fund with what, he pointed out, the Government of Mariano Rajoy left. "Rajoy left us a pension fund with 5,000 million euros and we are going to end the legislature with more than 20,000 million," he affirmed. He also claimed the increase in the interprofessional minimum wage and the labor reform as examples of an economic policy that, in his opinion, allows social protection to be strengthened without renouncing growth.

The clash with Vox has focused especially on the pension model and the role of private management. Sánchez has questioned presenting a public benefit and one managed by a financial entity as equivalent: "A public pension is not the same as one managed by a big bank! What kind of joke is this?". The debate comes after Vox leaders have advocated moving towards a mixed capitalization system. The party rejects that this proposal means eliminating public pensions, but its detractors warn that giving more weight to individual savings could increase inequalities between those who can save and those who cannot.

Housing and Maricarmen's case mark PSOE's other great electoral promise

Housing has occupied another central place in Sánchez's speech, who has linked his project for the next legislature with the case of Maricarmen Abascal, the 87-year-old woman who died after being evicted. The president has highlighted the citizen mobilization that arose from her case and has promised that his Government will try to prevent other people from going through a similar situation. "Yours will be the cause of housing in the next legislature," he affirmed when addressing those who demand solutions to the difficulties in accessing a home.

Sánchez has defended the housing measures promoted by his Executive, which, he has maintained, seek to protect both small owners and tenants. The president has focused on large investment funds and those who concentrate resources in the real estate market. "The problem is at the top, in the penthouses and in the vulture funds," he stated, in a criticism of the accumulation of properties and the difficulties many citizens face in finding affordable housing. With this message, the PSOE intends to make access to a home one of the main axes of its electoral proposal.

The socialist leader closed his speech with a call to mobilize at the polls next November 29. "We are going to win that cause again, as all battles are won, by having a much more progressive Parliament," he assured in reference to housing. Sánchez has defended that a new mandate would allow accelerating social measures and has contrasted his project with what he considers a threat of cuts by the right. "With optimism and hope against fear," summarized the president, who seeks to place pensions, housing, and public services at the center of the campaign.