Jesús Maeztu, Ombudsman in Andalusia, would already warn in his last annual report that "the reality is that poverty is present in a large part of the population." The figures speak for themselves of absolute inequality.

43.2% of Andalusians living under this risk, equivalent to 3,620,684 people, according to a report by the Andalusian Network for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion (EAPN-A). 12.8% would be in extreme poverty.

"We have insisted on having an encounter with Susana Díaz with five writings". Maeztu clarifies that this is a sector of the "population that survives with an income of less than 332 euros per month per consumption unit". Another million people sleep on the streets without a social shelter to stay.

Faced with this bleak view, Vega began his third hunger strike on October 10th to ask the Junta de Andalucía and the central government for an account. The first strike started a year ago.

"In November 2016, it was ten years since the Statute was approved. In article 23 we talk about the guarantee of a basic income using a very important concept such as the dignity of the human being to receive this help, " affirms Público.

Paco Vega is currently 65 years old and has been in the social services of the municipality of Málaga, struggling as a worker with families in very disadvantaged situations and dependent children.

"I'm tired of seeing people in the containers looking for food or the endless queues in the social dining room of Santo Domingo here in Malaga," clarifies Público.

No chance of getting a political agreement
The beginning of the first hunger strike last November and its continuation in March of this year allowed Vega to get in touch with senior officials of the Junta de Andalucía, to talk about the remoteness of the Andalusian Government with this "unbearable "Situation.

"During the second strike I arrived at 29 days without a bite.
In April 2016, I had two meetings with the Equality Counselor, Mª José Sánchez Rubio, two others with the Deputy Minister, Manuel Martínez Domene, and three with technical staff from the Ministry ".

Vega's claim was clear: include a heading in the budget of the Board for 2018, in addition to initiating the framework of the law of basic income Andalusian.

However, the negotiations came to a standstill in the month of July, without being resumed to date.

"We have insisted on having an encounter with Susana with five writings."
The last one dated on November 14. They only tell me, from their cabinet, that the president's agenda does not have 24 hours a day and that she can not help us."

The raw history of Demetrio
Paco Vega has had, in this third strike, a fighting companion from the neighboring city of Granada: Demetrio Cano, 52 years old, has joined the basic income group to ask for their rights.

"I met Vega at a meeting of social groups in my city and from there my struggle has been very close to being one of the victims of this process"

Demetrio worked until 2012 as a union link for Workers Commissions. The crisis left him at that time at a serious crossroads. "Without possibilities of finding another job for others," he exclaimed.

After five years, Demetrio would rely on unemployment for twenty-four months, undertaking personal projects with a company that so far has not allowed him to live off his work. "When the aid ends and your age does not allow you to enter the labor market you have it increasingly difficult," Demetrio explained.

 

Demetrio lives in a house, owned by his mother and his uncle in the neighborhood of Albayzín. "I live without electricity and the house has a demolition order for the next five years. It is difficult to maintain food, especially with the heat it does in Andalusia most of the year." This man from Granada has been on strike for 34 days in the La Ribera social center.

Paco has been without food for 37 days in front of the Government Sub-delegation. "The pressure we are making is becoming more and more visible. We have to get to that part of society, which is having a bad time. It is a demobilized collective and sometimes very apathetic for the suffering that is on it."

The claim of a basic income of 654 euros (instead of 415)
Vega is committed to an income of 654 euros per month for people who do not have enough income to have a decent life. The data has been analyzed through a study signed by Daniel Raventós of the Renta Básica collective nationwide.

Vega notes that "this amount is what is stipulated in Europe to not starve and cover the most basic, and we think a fair amount of money," he says.

On the current minimum income of "insertion" that the Board has in force, 415 euros, Vega points out the "false hope" that creates for families.

"You're ensured only for six months, while you have to go to meetings with the social workers to study your conditions and that can maybe take almost two months to even collect them."

It also clarifies the fallacy of the term "insertion" in this type of monetary aid. "They believe that families can recover, that this help is only to get ahead a few months. It does not understand that the majority are long-term unemployed, with little training and competitiveness in the market. With that low amount they are still poor."

The figure approved by the Board does not allow living "or at the minimum threshold of poverty." ... "You do not have to be living this reality in the first person. We are all citizens."

Vega would already ask these questions in the few meetings he had with politicians. Who can live with that amount? Faced with this question many of them spoke of the "effort of the administrations without being aware of the real problem of the problem" points Vega.

They also spoke of the "need for a basic income", although three months later they ended the negotiations of this future law. "Who says he can not perform? The government has applied article 155 in only a few days for Catalonia. The Board can also fight for urgent measures against poverty in their community."

The daily routine of Paco Vega in his constant struggle against social exclusion was threatened yesterday with the admission for a few hours at the Civil Hospital.

"They checked me in to see that I had not lost all my strength, but today we continue to vindicate, and put pressure on what the Andalusians need."

When we talk to Vega, about his personal situation in front of the struggle, he clarifies that "he is one of the lucky ones with a decent pension".

However, he ruled that "the fight for these groups" starts with oneself.

You do not have to be living this reality in the first person. We are all citizens," concludes Paco to Público.

Paco Vega is an activist on hunger strike for a basic income in Andalusia, Spain. He is president of the Basic Income group in Andalusia. Paco is helping to push the Universal Basic Income movement forward.

TRANSLATED FROM ORIGINAL PUBLISHER AT: http://www.publico.es/espana/precariedad-mes-huelga-hambre-renta-basica-andalucia.html