“Staying in or returning to your village must not become a challenge, but rather a life choice offering the same opportunities and rights as any city,” Beltrán said. The candidate stressed that tackling depopulation requires ensuring residents can develop their life plans and criticized the PP for failing to put forward proposals to address municipalities’ needs.
HOUSING AS A KEY TO RETAINING RESIDENTS
In Alpartir, accompanied by Mayor Félix Ángel Navarro, Beltrán took part in a meeting with residents at the Cine Hall on the challenges facing rural housing. He warned that the lack of available and affordable properties is holding back the arrival of new residents. “We cannot ask young people to stay in their villages if they do not have a home to live in or a job that allows them to build their future,” he said.
The candidate highlighted the initiatives taken by the town council to bring homes onto the market and its request to the Government of Aragón to assess whether Alpartir meets the requirements to be designated a stressed housing market area. “Alpartir has shown that small towns do not simply sit back and wait,” he said. He also accused the regional government of closing the door on the request and argued for housing, mobility, connectivity and economic activity to be addressed together.
COMMERCE AND SERVICES TO SUSTAIN RURAL COMMUNITIES
The visit continued in La Almunia de Doña Godina, where Beltrán visited businesses and met with traders alongside Socialist Congress candidate Marta Gracia. He said commerce and services account for approximately one-third of local economic activity and generate employment both in the municipality and the surrounding area. He also highlighted the role of female entrepreneurship and the new generations of business owners.
Beltrán advocated support measures for the self-employed, small businesses and entrepreneurs, along with improvements to transport links and digital connectivity. In this area, he recalled Pedro Sánchez’s government initiatives to expand broadband, promote digital training and finance innovative projects that contribute to the economic and social development of small municipalities.
The candidate contrasted these measures with the PP’s model in Aragón, which he accused of “weakening public services to pave the way for their privatization,” and called for healthcare and education services close to people’s homes. “Retaining residents means keeping schools, businesses and public services open,” he stressed, before insisting that the future of rural areas also depends on housing, employment and social and cultural activity.
