CASTELLO. Almost nine months after becoming president of the Popular Party of Castellón, Marta Barrachina talks about her proposals in an electoral campaign that she considers she already started the day after the last elections. "Politics is a long-distance race, we always have to be by the citizen's side and we cannot leave everything for the final stretch," she points out. She shows less enthusiasm when talking about the situation experienced in the PP of Onda, where she does not see that behind the constitution of a manager there is any type of internal disagreement. The also mayor of Vall d'Alba speaks in this interview with Castellón Plaza about her attitude of reaching out to the governments of the Diputación and Generalitat, governed by socialists, although she stresses that she misses more ambition in these institutions when it comes to getting forward projects that benefit citizens. And about her personal seal at this stage at the head of the Castellón PP, her loyalty to the party, as she herself indicates.

-Do you maintain your position of hand outstretched to the Generalitat to carry out projects? After the debate on the state of the province in the Diputación, I pointed out to the president, José Martí, that I was missing a greater commitment to this land and publicly asked a meeting with Ximo Puig and he considered that the one who should attend to this request was the delegate of the Presidency in Castellón, Eva Redondo, to whom I am very grateful for opening the doors of the Consell headquarters in Castelló. The PP arrived at the meeting with ten blocks of proposals that are the result of our contacts with all the economic and social sectors of the province; It is an extensive dossier with everything that the people of Castellón demand.

In this package of claims there are issues related to education, health, infrastructure, measures in defense of the countryside, livestock... because we understand that our province, once again, is abandoned and we think that Ximo Puig must face up and put work to solve real people's problems.

Outstretched hand? Well yes. But we have been doing this since the beginning of the mandate in the Diputación. It's easy to check. We recently abstained from approving the provincial budgets and that, by far, are the accounts that we would have liked to have gone ahead, but we think that in this time of pandemic it is necessary to join forces and, from generosity, tend the hand in order to give one more opportunity to who governs this institution. An outstretched hand, always, because the defense of the interests of Castellón must be above all else. We think like that and I regret that the Socialist Party does not defend this province as it deserves.

-The PP of Castellón has already paid the reputational debt of the past? I think so. If the PP has something great, it is all its militants and all those people who have carried our flag and have worked for and for the people of Castellón. Each one from their position, from their space or responsibility. The PP has already passed this time and we have shown it with cleanliness in lists, renewal... and what we want is for the people of Castellón to trust us again.

-Is it reflected in this new Diputación, of a progressive nature, which in part preserves initiatives that were born in the previous stage of the PP? We would have to calculate a new thing even when it is new. In other words, this Provincial Council has maintained the broad lines that our previous PP governments carried forward. They have simply stopped, in any case, to change names and little else. But it should be noted that the aid arrives late and badly and, of course, what I see is that the current government team lacks much ambition.

-From what I understand, you have already begun to sack with the electoral pre-campaign. On a strictly personal level I think that any political party that begins the electoral race now I think is already late. The electoral campaign, getting closer to the citizens and making gestures with them... we have to do it the day after the elections. Whether the trust of citizens has been obtained at the polls or if you have not been able to meet your electoral expectations. Obviously, the year before an appointment with the polls, the mobilization is greater, but what the citizens, what they do, is to get the average grade of everything you have done or not done in all this time. It is not only the final stretch towards the elections, what scores is the entire period that goes from one election to another. As they say, it is a long-distance race in which you have to be on the side of the citizens. It is not enough to do everything in the final stretch.

-The PP has always tried to present a list in all the municipalities of the province. Will it be like this again? We are going to try to be in the 135 municipalities of the province. We hope to reach everyone. That is what we are working for in the party. But I have to say that more than quantity, what we are really working on in the PP is that the lists have the highest possible quality. In the PP we are lucky to have a well-established structure in the province, but this happens in other parties that, wanting to cover, tend to fall into something as detrimental as fill-in lists. The idea of ​​the PP is to reach all the municipalities and if we do not arrive, at least that the ones we present have the highest quality.

-How would you describe Marta Barrachina's PP? The PP belongs to each and every one of us who form them. It doesn't belong to anyone in particular. Here and everywhere.

-Yeah, but you want to give your presidency a personal stamp, right? Well, if we have to talk about a personal brand, I think that what is going to differentiate my presidency the most is going to be my loyalty to the acronyms and to the rest of my colleagues, besides to work tirelessly to return to the PP everything that this party gives us.

-There are voices that relate this stage of the provincial PP to the 'fabrista' period, is it so and to what extent? I have nothing to say except that we are all the PP. We are all part of the same family. I respect each and every one of those who have had responsibilities in this party, who have carried the PP flag and have defended us, from the highest position to the grassroots affiliate. I don't care about the comments made on social networks, etc., the criticisms and far-fetched comments that come from a left bent on trying to damage the image of the new Popular Party. That I look more like some than others? Well, I will say that what really worries me is that I resemble what the people of Castellón want.

- But does it bother you or worry you that former leaders of that time applaud and encourage you? Well, it doesn't bother me or worry me. I have a lot of respect for everyone and everyone can do and say what they want.

-How are your relations with Vox. The polls that we are seeing speak of the possibility that the PP needs pacts with this formation to reach majorities... I am very blue and not green at all [laughs]. My relationship with the members of Vox is normal, as with the rest of the political formations. No more no less. My work is focused on the PP being the majority option and I am not worried about the rest. Then it will be seen.

-Do you have voting intention surveys? We have had them and they have not gone badly for us, but it is not something that worries me either. The trend, let's say, is very good. We can say that we are progressing adequately [laughs].

-The PP will take advantage of the complicated situation that Citizens are experiencing, according to those polls on voting intention? Will we benefit or not the day that people decide at the polls. Ciudadanos is a very touched brand, we don't know how it will evolve, but I think that these votes will be distributed among the rest of the formations. Everything will be seen.

-In the internal conflict generated in the government team of the City Council of Onda, do you think it is due to political or personal motivations? Nothing has happened in the City Council of Onda. They are working with great normality as in the rest of our 66 municipalities.

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-Are there no internal disagreements within the PP of Onda? No.

-But there is a manager and it is understood that it has been created to bring order where there is none...As president of the PP of Castellón, I cannot enter into an assessment of the decisions made by the party's bodies, which, I understand, always decide in defense of our training and the people who integrate it. When organic decisions are made, they are always for the benefit of all and whose objective is to gain the trust of citizens.

-Can we say that Carmina Ballester will repeat as a candidate for mayor of Onda? We can say that the Popular Party of the province of Castellón is going to work to put the best candidates anywhere. We are currently on it. Arming structures, putting all the machinery to work because we are a very large organization. Therefore, as soon as the time comes to choose the candidates, we will see, as I said before, because the idea is that all the lists are the best possible in all the places.

- Do you have a fluid relationship with the mayor of Onda? I have a good relationship with all the members of my party.

-And what is your relationship with the current Secretary General of the Castellón Socialists? The truth is that I have a good relationship with Samu because, ultimately, we are mayors of nearby municipalities. We have shared events, consortium meetings, etc. The day he was elected I congratulated him, we had a contact in Fitur, I encouraged him, I asked him to always take the people of Castellón into account in the decisions he made and he assured me... the truth is that with the previous secretary general I had so much relationship due to lack of proximity, but with great political correctness, with Samu I am united by the municipal vision of two mayors always open to a good understanding, which is always necessary in politics.

-Let's talk about the economy, the tile industry is going through difficult times as a result of rising costs. What can the PP offer you that hasn't already been done? The PP is fully aware that tile is a fundamental pillar for our economy. Our regional president, Carlos Mazón, knows this, and he has said that the moment we reach the government we are going to implement a tax reform that will benefit the entire sector. We, from the province, have tried to be a spokesperson for their interests, so that they are defended as they deserve from the Spanish Government. Because they are going through a very complicated situation. I think the socialist government has lacked ambition with ceramics.

We at Diputación are committed to reducing the IAE for this sector, but an ambitious reduction. The populations that have a ceramic industry know the income they generate and the jobs they create, so we have the obligation to be by their side and demand the attention of the Government of Spain.

Here there are plenty of photos in Europe, we must insist before Brussels day after day to show the importance of this sector for all citizens.

There is the paradox that it is an industry that does not stop receiving orders, but current energy prices are causing some companies to stop producing due to lack of profitability, due to the high costs of raw materials and energy. Today it is very expensive to produce and we have the obligation to create favorable scenarios so that they can do it in the best possible conditions, with tax incentives, aid, etc.

- Well, the Castellón countryside, like the citrus fruits, are not receiving many joys either... The countryside already needs a shock plan with urgent measures to compensate for losses; From there, a national plan to support these sectors must be drawn up. I have to point out that agriculture is not against imports from outside the Community, they are against our farmers being required to carry out more controls every day, being punished with very restrictive regulations, while the product that comes from outside is not demands of him The imported product sometimes comes in handy to complete the market, but these products have to come under the same requirements, traceability and controls that are imposed on us here. For the cotton, the same, a shock plan to alleviate the situation in the Castellón field.

-You recently visited Fitur, how is the mood in the tourism sector? There was a good mood because there was already some calm after a very complicated period due to the pandemic. Easter and next summer we will return to relative normality that will allow us to recover. The sector does not know to what extent we will return to normality, but it trusts that the situation is already tending towards that long-awaited recovery. The complaint is that many people in the sector have been lost due to lack of aid. European funds have not arrived and do not arrive, despite the promises of a government that does not act at a key moment like this. From Fitur I am left with the optimism transmitted to me by a sector that is key to Castellón, a province that has to think big for everything it represents.

- And as far as the local commerce? Lately they have been very active and vindictive. We have been meeting this week with the merchants and what they are asking for is aid and a great municipal plan to revitalize the center of the cities. In the case of Castelló capital, the concern that exists is evident. We are not going to stand by and watch the city center die. The installation of planters is not a solution. And in Castelló I see, for example, that the budget remains unexecuted for an amount that we understand to be exorbitant, such as the 56 million that we have already denounced. Why hasn't an aid line been earmarked for revitalizing trade? The sector is asking for help and our obligation is to attend to those demands. We have to make it easier for citizens to go shopping in their city and we have good examples in other cities that do put measures in place to revitalize this local trade.

-Is depopulation a problem for the PP? You are the mayor of the interior of the province and you know something about this. It is a problem that Vall d'Alba does not experience directly, because it is a municipality that continues to grow in population, in job opportunities, industry, commerce... but it does It is a problem that we are very aware of in the PP. We have created a committee dedicated to this matter and we are working hard to offer proposals that will be aimed at what we understand to be the most important, such as offering job opportunities in the interior. For that, it is necessary to improve services, roads, etc., in addition to municipalities being able to receive funds to ensure and expand services, as is the case with conciliation.

-Your boss, Carlos Mazón, is from Alicante. Do you see it as an advantage or a disadvantage compared to the previous stage? It is neither an advantage nor a disadvantage, the important thing is that he is a key figure, that he is developing a very ambitious program and there is no doubt that he will be the next president of the Generalitat

-Do you think that Castellón will take advantage of the European recovery funds? I am optimistic, but I confess that in this case I am not sure. Even the businessmen themselves doubt that it will arrive as they were told at first. I do not trust the Government of Spain. Requesting funds is not easy because there are many obstacles and the Spanish Government does not provide what it should to facilitate the arrival of these funds. In this subject there is much announcement and little concreteness.

-And at the municipal level, on Vall d'Alba where you are mayor, what will the industrial estate hold? Our wish is that it continues with the pace of current business investment and I would like to thank the entrepreneurs who have trusted Vall d'Alba to make their businesses grow. Our industrial estate is very competitive and well endowed, which generates very important income for the municipality, as well as contributing to job creation.