by Liam Upton | Jul 8, 2015 | News
A number of groups within Spanish political party Podemos are campaigning to make Basic Income a central party policy before the upcoming general election, scheduled for the end of November this year.
The party is a relative newcomer to Spanish politics, forming less than 2 years ago, but with widescale dissatisfaction with established parties, it stormed to the top of opinion polls and won 5 seats in the European elections after less than 10 months in existence. A central policy during those elections was Basic Income(1.12), at the time part of one of the party’s six core policies.
The party has since dropped in the polls to third on average and Basic Income no longer has such a prominent place among its principles. The first indication that Basic Income may have lost favour was a landmark economic document published in 2014, designed to put meat on the bones of what some had claimed were unrealistic policies. The document didn’t mention Basic Income, instead talking of a conditional, means-tested Guaranteed Minimum Income. The document was described at the time as a ‘realistic’ plan for Spain’s economy.
Then another important party document, this time the program for the regional Autonomous Communties elections, also failed to mention Basic Income, again favouring a Guaranteed Minimum Income. This document was again called a ‘short-term’, ‘realistic’ and ‘general’ plan for the five years after the elections.
However, there has been push back within the party to return Basic Income to its position as core party policy in time for the general elections in November. The party’s internal ‘Círculo Renta Básica’ or Basic Income Circle, launched a petition, which currently has over 13,000 signatures out of a necessary 37,000. If successful, the petition would force an internal referendum on whether to enshrine Basic Income as core party policy, a decision which could then only be changed with another referendum.
After this, the influential Circle for the Economy, Ecology and Energy adopted a policy document entitled ‘Proposed Economic Program, The Fiscal Reform Spain Needs’ which prominently proposed a Basic Income of €7,500 a year for every adult and €2,250 a year for every child. At the time the national leadership said there may not be space for every idea from the document in the general election program.
Then, Juan Carlos Monedero, called by the media the former ‘number 3’ of Podemos, also called for the party to include Basic Income in their election manifesto.
And most recently of all, a number of senior party figures, including an MEP and regional deputies, joined the call for the prioritisation of Basic Income, releasing a document called ‘Opening Podemos’. The document called for more transparency and to avoid turning into ‘just another party’, with Basic Income listed as the number one policy that they wanted the party to support.
There has so far been little response from the party leadership on the issue other than the repeated release of party documents failing to mention Basic Income, favouring instead the limited, means-tested Guaranteed Minimum Income. General elections are tentatively scheduled for the 29th of November this year with Podemos currently placing third in most opinion polls, polls which also suggest no outright winner of the contest. Even without a boost before the vote, this will leave the party in an influential position to change the course of Spanish politics. The best hope for Basic Income to be part of that change, should the leadership continue to ignore calls for its re-instatement, is possibly the intended internal referendum, which, if enough signatures are collected, may take place in the coming months.
For more information, see:
Language: Spanish
Podemos, “Documento Final del Program Colaborativo [Final Document of the Collaborative Program]” (European Elections manifesto), 09 May 2014
Liam Upton, “SPAIN: Podemos Leave Basic Income out of Landmark Economic Document”, BIEN, 30 November 2014
Language: Spanish
Francesco Manetto, “Podemos olvida sus medidas más radicales en un programa difuso [Podemos forget their most radical measures in diverse manifesto]”, El País, 05 May 2015
Stanislas Jourdan, “SPAIN: Podemos working group seeks 37,000 signatures to reinstate basic income as a manifesto commitment”, BIEN, 14 April 2015
Language: Spanish
Alejandro López de Miguel, “Podemos plantea una renta básica de 7.500 euros al año por adulto y de 2.250 por menor [Podemos considering a Basic Income of 7,500 euros a year per adult]”, Público, 24 April 2015
Language: Spanish
Aitor Riveiro, “Cargos de Podemos reclaman “pluralismo interno” y “apertura al exterior” ante el reto de las generales [Senior figures in Podemos demand “internal pluralism” and “openness to the outside” before general election challenge]”, El Diario, 10 June 2015
Language: Spanish
M Ruiz Castro, “Monedero presiona a Podemos para que incluya la Renta Básica en el programa de los generales [Monedero pressures Podemos to include Basic Income in general election manifesto]”, ABC, 08 June 2015
by Stanislas Jourdan | Apr 8, 2015 | News
Several Italian civil society groups have rallied to a 100-day campaign which promotes the concept of a ‘dignity income’ as a way to counter mafia power.
There was a resolution at the European Parliament on 16 October 2010 which stressed the important “role of minimum income in combating poverty and promoting an inclusive society in Europe”, and recommended that all EU countries adopt a minimum income scheme. Italy is still one of the few EU countries (along with Hungary, Bulgaria and Greece) which has not yet done so.
In order to remedy this problem, a new alliance of civil society organisations started a campaign called “100 days for a dignity income” on March 13th. The campaign has a simple goal: get a minimum income passed into law within 100 days.
The leaders of the campaign argue: “It is not impossible, our proposal is not unrealistic: there are several bills pending at the Palazzo Madama (the Italian Senate building).”
The campaign is led by the 20-year-old anti-mafia organisation, Libera, later joined by several anti-poverty networks. In a press release, Libera stressed the relevance of minimum income as a key tool against the Mafia’s blackmailing of the poor’:
“The Minimum or Citizen’s Income, is also a key tool for fighting organised crime in a period of crisis and increasing poverty and social inequality. It removes oxygen from those who exploit the need to work and turn it into economic blackmail, which fuels criminal networks who then take advantage of poverty for their own businesses. A minimum income law would make people less vulnerable in the face of those who want to exploit their needs and vulnerabilities.”
A first step towards basic income in Italy
Behind the concept of “dignity income” the campaign is the idea of “a minimum income support that provides a safety net for those who cannot work or go to a job that can guarantee a decent income or do not have access to social security systems,” says the manifesto. It is therefore not exactly a basic income as we understand it.
In the context of Italian politics however, a means-tested and conditional minimum income is often considered as a necessary first step towards a universal basic income.
The Basic Income Network Italia (BIN-Italy) supports the campaign because it goes in the right direction. BIN-Italia will foster public initiatives, debates, seminars and other meetings to raise awareness both amongst public opinion and decision makers of the necessity of a guaranteed basic income nn a country where 10 million people live in relative poverty (16.6% of the total population) and more than 6 million, (9.9% of the population), in absolute poverty.
After 30 days of campaigning, 65,000 citizens have already supported the new campaign by signing a petition to the national parliament. The organisers aim is for 100,000 signatures. Two years ago, a similar citizens’ initiative received more than the necessary 50,000 signatures to be discussed at parliament, but was never given a serious hearing.
This time, as with the last campaign, many politicians and political parties have expressed their support for the campaign, including political parties Sinistra Ecologia Libertà (Left Ecology Liberty), Movimento 5 stelle (5 Stars Movement) and Rifondazione Comunista (Refounded Communist Party) and one of the main metalworkers labour unions, FIOM.
Moreover, the mayors of the cities of Udine, Cerveteri, Monterotondo have not only signed the petition but also presented a petition at their City Councils for their cities to officially promote the campaign.
However, the Minister of Labour Giuliano Poletti remains unconvinced. Just a few days after the start of the campaign he publicly opposed it, claiming that a minimum income would “cost many billions, and be unsustainable for the current national budget”.
With contribution from Emanuele Murra
by Sandro Gobetti | Apr 29, 2013 | News
On April 8th the Association Progetto Diritti organised the presentation of both BIN Italia last book, Reddito minimo garantito, un progetto necessario e possibile [Guaranteed Minimum Income, a feasible and necessary project] (published by Edizioni Gruppo Abele) and the campaign ‘#Just Approve it!’ launched by the associations involved in the campaign for a popular initiative bill on guaranteed minimum income. During the event they screened the video ‘Reinventing the Welfare State: a European perspective’ by Francesca Bria and Sandro Gobetti.
The event was attended by Luca Santini (President of BIN Italia), Massimiliano Smeriglio (Deputy Governor of Regione Lazio), Celeste Costantino (MP of Sinistra Ecologia Libertà [Left, Ecology Freedom]), and Arturo Salerni (lawyer and member of Progetto Diritti). The meeting was introduced by Mario Angelelli, President of the Association Progetto Diritti.
https://www.progettodiritti.it/
https://www.bin-italia.org/
by Sandro Gobetti | Apr 21, 2013 | News
On the 15th of April, 2013 more than 50,000 signatures gathered for the campaign to propose a popular initiative bill on guaranteed minimum income in Italy were delivered to the lower house of the Italian Parliament. A delegation of the 170 associations involved in the campaign met the newly elected President of the lower house, Laura Boldrini.
Before meeting the President of the lower house, the delegation met also some MPs of Partito Democratico (Democratic Party), SEL – Sinistra Ecologia Libertà (Left Ecology Freedom) and Movimento 5 Stelle (5 Star Movement) who came out of the Parliament to express their willingness to bring the discussion on a guaranteed minimum income into the lower house. In front of journalists and media photographers they grabbed the boxes containing the signatures as a symbolic gesture and declared to be in favour of a bill on guaranteed minimum income.
A few days before delivering the signatures, the associations involved in the campaign launched a call to the new elected MPs for approval of the guaranteed minimum income bill. The call highlighted the increasingly alarming conditions of precarious workers and unemployed in Italy and demanded that MPs who during the electoral campaign put on their agenda measures addressing citizens’ economic conditions to take a stance on this issue, back this proposal, and support the necessity of introducing a right to guaranteed income.
Article based on this report (in italian)
