The PSOE Proposes 40 Million in Amendments to Combat Depopulation and Strengthen Services in Small Municipalities

The Socialist Group in the Alicante Provincial Council has presented a package of amendments worth over 40 million euros to the 2026 provincial budget, focusing on supporting small municipalities at risk of depopulation. Deputy Ismael Vidal has argued that it is "a determined commitment to small municipalities at risk of depopulation, because without services there are no residents, and without residents, there is no future."

The socialist proposals prioritize the improvement of public services, the creation of local employment, and environmental and heritage recovery as engines to retain young populations in the province's interior. More than 21 million would be allocated to investments in town halls, health centers, social services, multifunctional centers, spaces for the elderly, municipal swimming pools, and the +Sport 2026 Plan, endowed with 7 million to modernize sports facilities.

The package also includes technical reinforcement for municipalities with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants, with pools of administrative assistants, emergency technicians, and funds for project drafting, aiming to remove obstacles that hinder the execution of works or access to subsidies.

Specific measures against depopulation include the creation of "Smart Villages" coworking spaces, rainwater harvesting systems for irrigation, mobile sales areas to boost local commerce, and support for mobility and extensive livestock farming, all aimed at generating new economic opportunities, socialist sources detail.

In environmental matters, the amendments raise investment in forest fire prevention to 2.5 million and include allocations to repair roads affected by the 2024 fires, as well as to restore wetlands and natural sites that promote sustainable tourism. Vidal adds that lines aimed at "the conservation of dry stone, traditional architecture, and cultural heritage" are also reinforced as a way to create jobs and attract visitors.

Additionally, the Socialist Group will defend a motion in the plenary session to demand that the Generalitat immediately renew contracts that ensure the presence of ATMs in municipalities without a bank branch. They demand that the service not be interrupted during processing and that it be expanded as an essential resource for life in the villages.

Socialist spokesperson Vicente Arques summarizes that "the PSOE places the fight against depopulation as a central axis for 2026, strengthening services, accessibility, local public employment, and environmental and heritage recovery to ensure a viable future in the interior municipalities."