Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was sworn in and appointed a new government. While the country faces many human rights challenges, one factor stands out: the need to address Spain’s extreme poverty and inequality and its impact on the human rights of the population.
Official data show that 26 percent of the Spanish population is “at risk of poverty or social exclusion. “A 2022 Human Rights Watch study showed what this means for Americans and families: not being able to put food on the table, parents skipping meals, and others pawning their courage to pay their energy bills.
The government deserves to prioritise addressing the problems of the Minimum Living Income (LVI) system, which provides critical money for benefits to others facing poverty. Introduced in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, the IMV is a valuable addition to Spanish social coverage. system. But our studies have found that there is inadequate support, the application procedure is too difficult, and many other people are excluded due to arbitrary eligibility criteria. TooArray, other people have to wait in line at food banks because their programs haven’t been successful.
Age-related pensions are another problem: older people receiving the basic, noncontributory pension get €484 per month, an inadequate amount to make ends meet (the poverty threshold is about €841 per month). A 71-year-old woman told us from a food bank queue: “All I ask for is a bit more, so I don’t have to wait here and beg for food. I’m not even asking for a dignified existence, just enough so I don’t have to beg for alms.” The new government should carefully re-assess the minimum levels of basic pension payments to ensure it fulfills its obligations to ensure older people’s rights, including the right to an adequate standard of living.
There are also severe delays in electronic systems for getting in-person appointments at Social Security offices, making it difficult for others to apply for benefits. There is now an underground market where dates are sold at exorbitant costs to other people who cannot afford it. It is essential to close this loophole so that citizens can access the social security to which they are entitled and which allows them to enjoy other rights.
Poverty and inequality have a corrosive effect on people’s lives and human rights. Spain’s new government has a responsibility to strengthen efforts to tackle these issues through functioning social security and public services systems that protect rights for all.