Changes in the Valencian government of the Botanist. As announced by the President of the Generalitat Valenciana, Ximo Puig, the new Minister of Finance and Economic Model will be Arcadi Spain; of Education, Culture and Sport, Raquel Tamarit; of Universal Health and Public Health, Dr. Miguel Mínguez; of Territorial Policy, Public Works and Mobility, Rebeca Torró; and Innovation, Universities, Science and Digital Society, Josefina Bueno.
In this way, the socialists Vicent Soler (Treasury), Ana Barceló (Health), Carolina Pascual (Universities) leave the Consell, who join the already announced march of Vicent Marzà, who left his functions to focus on his party, Compromís . For its part, Arcadi Spain changes its powers, moving from Public Works to the Treasury, and Raquel Tamarit leaves the regional secretary of Culture.
During his speech, the president highlighted the “professional, managerial and solvent” profile of the new Consell, which for the first time has more women than men among its members.
In parallel, he referred to the good economic times that the Valencian Community is going through, “with more than two million Social Security contributors, which represents the historical record of workers, 14 months in a row creating companies, and foreign investment that has tripled in the last 6 years.
Puig thanked the outgoing ministers for their work in the Consell and highlighted that it is “a moment of restart to accelerate the transformation of the Valencian Community at a decisive moment”, with “the overcoming of the pandemic and the activation of the European funds”.
“We are in a disruptive moment”, he stated, for which he has defended the need to make “changes” that “require a new political ambition” to “avoid inertia” and that give “power to government action”.
The current Regional Minister for Territorial Policy, Arcadi Spain, takes over the Ministry of Finance and Economic Model, replacing Vicent Soler.
An economist by profession, he will be in charge of the department that has agreed “in a timely manner” on all the budgets in the seven years of the Botànic’s government.
The president has indicated that in the new “post-pandemic” scenario, this department will “promote” the change in the economic model and will acquire a “fundamental role” in economic reactivation, the execution of European funds, and the transformation of the productive fabric Valencian.
At the head of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport is Raquel Tamarit, who has held the position of regional secretary of Culture until now and is a former mayor of Sueca.
According to Puig, it faces the “great mission” of deploying the new Valencian Vocational Training, expanding free education from the first year of children’s lives and promoting digitization in the classroom.
The president recalled the achievements obtained so far by this department, such as overcoming the “barrack model”, the construction or reform of more than 700 educational centers, the expansion of the teaching staff by more than 14,000 teachers and the activation of the Valencian culture with the “Fes Cultura” programme.
Miguel Mínguez, current head of service at the Hospital Clínico de València, principal investigator at Incliva and full professor at the Faculty of Medicine, assumes the Ministry of Universal Health and Public Health to replace Ana Barceló.
The president has assessed that this ministry has positioned itself as a “reference in the pandemic and vaccination”, in addition to expanding the workforce by 20,000 health workers and recovering the public management of the Alzira and Torrevieja hospitals.
Puig has highlighted that Mínguez will have as its main task to execute “the greatest reform of Valencian public health”, as well as to promote the ‘Crèixer’ health infrastructure plan and modernize citizen care.
The portfolio of Territorial Policy, Public Works and Mobility, passes into the hands of Rebeca Torró, until now regional secretary for Sustainable Economy and of whom Puig has highlighted his “key role” in the arrival of the Volkswagen gigafactory in Sagunt.
The president highlighted the contribution of this Ministry to convert Parc Sagunt into a platform for “macro-investments”, and its commitment to “revolutionize” mobility in large metropolitan areas.
Puig has indicated that the Conselleria now has the challenge of becoming an “active asset for the economy”, with more public works, and “a main actor in sustainability”, with more public transport and new logistics.
Finally, at the head of the Ministry of Innovation, Universities, Science and Digital Society, is the senator Josefina Bueno, professor, researcher and vice-rector of the Universitat d’Alacant, and general director of Universities during the first legislature of the Botànic .
According to Puig, it is a “key” ministry for the new period of transformation, where innovation will be a “transforming lever” to modernize companies, especially SMEs; adapt training to the new labor reality, and promote science with the new Valencian law.
The president highlighted that this ministry has consolidated Alicante as the “great innovative cluster” of the Valencian Community and has promoted university education by doubling scholarships and lowering fees by more than 20%.
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