According to data from the Community Social Services Department released by XeC, this represents €1.7 million less and a 22% drop. Suso Domínguez, a councillor for the party, described this trend as a “terrible contradiction” in the face of problems involving access to housing, poverty and homelessness.
“At a time when more and more people are struggling to pay their rent, evictions are increasing and more people are living on the streets, the People’s Party government is reducing precisely the aid intended to cover the most basic needs,” he denounced. According to ZeC, rent assistance has fallen by more than €750,000 compared with 2023, while food aid has dropped by nearly €650,000.
ZEC FOCUSES ON CHILDREN’S AID
Domínguez expressed particular concern about aid linked to children, intended for expenses such as school meals, educational materials and childcare. According to data presented by Zaragoza en Común, 766 benefits of this type had been granted by June 2023, compared with 522 in 2026, a total of 244 fewer. The amount also fell from €224,046 to €168,381. “The most worrying thing is that we are reducing protection precisely for boys and girls while the reports themselves warn of an increase in child poverty,” he cautioned.
ZeC links this trend to access criteria it considers increasingly restrictive and maintains that, since the People’s Party came to power in the municipal government in 2019, €16 million earmarked for emergency aid has gone unspent. “In a city where more and more people need support to pay their rent, fill the fridge or cover an electricity bill, leaving €16 million unspent is an absolute luxury,” Domínguez said. The councillor called for the regulations to be amended and insisted that “the mechanisms exist; what is lacking is political will.”
Domínguez also accused the municipal government of eliminating specific anti-poverty measures, such as employment inclusion agreements and aid intended to facilitate access to sports and culture for vulnerable minors. “The problem is that the People’s Party is not replacing the policies it eliminates with new ones. It is simply giving up on having a specific policy to fight poverty,” he said.
THE CITY COUNCIL BLAMES THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT
Following these statements, Zaragoza City Council blamed the Spanish Government for some families’ difficulties in accessing this aid, arguing that they are linked to its “inability to approve the General State Budgets since 2023.” For this reason, it stressed, the IPREM has remained frozen for three years. This is the state indicator that sets the thresholds for access to this type of aid.
To address this issue, Zaragoza City Council said it is working on an amendment to the Municipal Ordinance Regulating Emergency Financial Benefits, “to improve the thresholds even if the Spanish Government continues not to update the IPREM.” It also reminded ZeC that work on amending the ordinance began “long before this municipal group called for it, as the councillor for Social Policies reported during the plenary committee meeting last June.”
