The Congress of Spain rejected the draft budget 2019 and opened the door to early elections

The Congress of Spain on Wednesday rejected the draft general budget of the state for 2019 proposed by the President of the Government Pedro Sánchez, including the Socialist Party (PSOE) which governs in minority, which opened the doors to an advanced general election.

They voted against, for various reasons, the conservatives of the People's Party, the liberals of the citizens and the Catalan separatist parties ERC and PDeCAT, while Socialists Unidos Podemos (left) and Basque nationalists supported the draft budget.

The House called for the return of the executive draft by 191 votes in favor, 158 against and one abstention.

The rejection could lead to an electoral advance which, in any case, would correspond to Sanchez's announcement, after several days of media conjectures about the possible dates of the elections. The Vice-President of the Government, Carmen Calvo, recently acknowledged that the legislature, which should end in June 2020, could be shortened if budgets did not go ahead in Parliamentas was the case on Wednesday.

Far from focusing solely on economic and financial issues, andThe budget debate revolved around political issues, mainly the situation of the Autonomous Region of Catalonia, ruled by the separatists, who demand the recognition of the "right to self-determination".

ERC and PDeCAT claimed that the government was not going with a roundtable dialogue that resolves what they call a political "conflict" in Catalonia and called for more public investment in this community autonomous because of its importance in the Spanish gross domestic product.

Conservatives and Liberals, which require early elections, rejected the accounts because they believe that they are agreed with the Catalan separatists, increase public spending without offering credible revenues and will bring greater indebtedness to the Spanish economy.

This is the second time that some general state budgets have been rejected in the Spanish democracy, since 1995, the Congress has opposed the 1996 accounts of the government of the Socialist Felipe Gonzálezwhich provoked early elections.