SPAIN: Podemos introduces a conditional grant in its electoral program

After having defended Basic Income (BI) for the latest European Parliament elections and rejecting it in its first Economic Policy draft, Podemos maintains a conditional grant measure in its latest electoral program. In this document, the main economic policy instruments related to this conditional grant are the transfer of a guaranteed 600 € per month for every family or every citizen (this is not clear between sources) without a wage, and a complement of a sufficient amount so that every individual cannot earn less than 900 € per month, when employed.

An economic council including specialists like Nacho Álvarez, James Galbraith, Vicenç Navarro, Núria Alonso and Francisco Louçã, has calculated a cost of 15 000 million € per year to finance the 600 € per month measure. Until further notice, this attribution refers to individuals or families without an income as a sole condition, nothing more. That is not a basic income as usually defined, but could be a starting point for evolution later.

Thomas Piketty, professor of economics and author of the best seller book Capital in the Twenty-First Century, has also contributed to this latest version of Podemos economic program. Piketty has been a supporter of redistribution policies for a long time, some of which resemble basic income.

More information at:

Liam Upton, “Spain: Podemos leave Basic Income out of landmark economic document“, Basic Income News, November 30th 2014

In Portuguese:

Catarina Falcão, “Francisco Louçã integra Conselho Económico do Podemos [Francisco Louçã is a part of Podemos Economic Council]“, Observador, October  21st 2015

In Spanish:

Iolanda Mármol, “Podemos expone las líneas estratégicas de su programa económico [Podemos presents its economic program strategic lines]“, El Periódico, October 21st 2015