Junta to provide funds to maintain free public transport for children under 15

Cristina Vallejo

Friday, 25 April 2025, 12:20

Juanma Moreno, President of the Junta de Andalucía, has pledged to provide the money needed to maintain free public transport for children under the age of 15. The meeting of the regional executive committee of Andalusian Partido Popular was held on Monday afternoon in a hotel in Malaga.

In reference to Óscar Puente, Minister of Transport, the president said, "There is no minister who can trample on the dignity of nine million people," to then add: "If he does not want to give a cent, the regional government is here to provide the money that Andalusian young people need; let no one think that they are going to trample on us or intimidate us".

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The national ministry of transport informed the Junta of the withdrawal of the subsidies for free transport for children under 15. The withdrawal was proposed as the Junta failed to comply with the obligation to state that the funding covering the cost comes from the central government.

Moreno described this as "a typical tantrum": "An adult man cannot have such a childish and out-of-place reaction as that. He is managing his own vanity and not the general interest."

"To each his own vanity, his own childishness and his own political actions. We are doing our job, which is to ensure that Andalucía continues to grow above average," continued Juanma Moreno.

"Who does this minister think he is talking to? Does he not know that this region is the first in population, the second in land and the third in economic contribution? It is the backbone of this country. He has to learn to be sensitive and correct with the interests of Andalusians. Nobody is going to trample on us. We are Andalucía and we know our potential," the Andalusian president stated.

In turn, Elías Bendodo, PP vice-secretary for regional coordination, accused Puente of being "very brave with Andalucía and very cowardly with other regions": "He has taken away our public transport subsidies in a dictatorial, unfair way. The Basque Country was involved in the same administrative issue, but he did not dare to do the same. They are brave towards Andalucía, but they are cowards where they have parliamentary support," said Bendodo.

Juanma Moreno boasted that since he began his term as president of the Junta de Andalucía, the region has never grown less than the Spanish average. With a view to this year, he recalled analysis that predicts that it will be the region with the highest growth in Spain, although he admitted that this forecast "is going to be difficult to meet" due to the uncertainty caused by the US tariff policy.

He displayed his good economic management through a string of economic data that in his opinion endorse his success, such as reduction in the unemployment rate, growth in employment, attraction of foreign investment and leadership in company creation. "Andalucía has muscle, capacity and strength," he said.

Moreno insinuated that the actions and reactions of the members of the central government are aimed at limiting the region's growth.

"I believe that the Andalusian government's behaviour over the last six years and two months has been exemplary in its collaboration with the other administrations. When the ministers have called us together, we have been there, contributing our ideas and cooperating. What I ask of the Spanish government is the same exemplary attitude. Because we are a little tired of the fact that when it comes to deciding on investments, when it comes to deciding on the future or sharing out progress, Andalucía is always comes last in distribution," continued the president.

For this reason, he told the PSOE "not to think that after this they can come here with open arms asking for votes when they have mistreated each and every one of the interests of our land in each and every one of the fields for six consecutive years".

Juanma Moreno criticised the central government for not having invested in the electricity grid, nor in judges or public prosecutors, for poor allocation of resources to departments or universities and for not meeting the demand for better regional funding. "There is more than a year left of their term in office. Let no one think that the Andalusians are going to reward those who have punished them," he said.

With his sights set on the upcoming Andalusian elections, Elías Bendodo attacked the PSOE Socialist candidate, María Jesús Montero. Returning to the issue of free transport for young people, he said: "I was expecting a gesture of 'Andalusianism' from Montero, but she hasn't said a peep. Socialism before Andalucía, that's María Jesús Montero."

Of the socialist leader, Bendodo said that he sees her as "in the doldrums" and that she now "counts for less" in Madrid: "They are pushing her aside because she has put her foot in her mouth time after time."

He criticised the central government as a whole for having no budget, no allies, no parliamentary support and for being surrounded by corruption.