The second vice president of the Government, Yolanda Díaz, has aligned herself with the proposal of Unidas Podemos after publishing this Tuesday a message on Twitter favorable to the option of setting prices or doing so in the case of the marketing margins of certain products, with a view to reverse the inflationary trend of food. To do this, and through a message, she has simply published an image of article 13 of the Retail Trade Law, which includes both market control options after hearing the affected sectors. One option, continues the aforementioned provision of this regulation, when it comes to “essential products or strategic raw materials”.
The vice president’s message comes one day after the Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, met yesterday with the representatives of the large supermarkets, who ruled out measures to cap prices or discount products in the basic shopping basket, as requested Can. He has also said that the large distributors are not getting rich with the increase in food prices.
Last week, the second vice president supported taking measures “in charge” of the large distributors to alleviate the price of the shopping cart, since she considers that “it is not acting”, or at least “not enough” in relation to at food prices. In her opinion, companies are registering “excessive” and “more than relevant” margins, while for families it is “mission impossible” to maintain a “healthy diet” with current prices.
For his part, Podemos held the Planas meeting yesterday because supermarkets are part of the problem of food inflation, which he accused of acting as “looters”, “speculators” and “ruthless capitalists”. The solution, as claimed by the party, is to cap the maximum prices of these products or discount 14% of the cost of the shopping cart.
The response of María Jesús Montero
For her part, the Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, has affirmed that Podemos must explain how this measure does not isolate and leaves local businesses in a “marginal market”. “It is up to whoever makes the proposal to explain how and in what way a measure can be made that does not isolate and leave small local businesses in a marginal market,” Montero said at the press conference after the Council of Ministers -and that Ephetras collects to be asked about the measures to be taken to lower the price of food.
The head of the Treasury has insisted that “any proposal” has to protect local businesses, something that for Montero is a “concern of the Government.” Likewise, the minister has defended that with the VAT reduction on a selection of products, which came into force last January, one of the elements that contributed to inflation has “stopped”, although she considers that it is a measure that must be combined with others.
