He 41st Federal Congress of the PSOE is approaching. In just over a month, Seville will host the socialist conclave where those of Pedro Sanchez They intend to renew discourse and teams for the coming years. Before the event itself, the party is working to announce, next Friday the 25th at the latest, the framework presentation. That is, the political document that serves as a basis so that the federations can later make their contributions.
It is in this context that since Socialist Youth of Spain (JSE) move to be able to influence and include some of their priorities. Either in said initial document or later a posteriori if they have the necessary support in the Federal Congress. The youth organization of the socialists wants to focus on several issues. They stand out among them housing, mental health or the demand to vote at 16 years old.
Last Sunday thousands of people took to the streets in Madrid to demand improvements in the right to housing or rent regulation. Several of these convening groups put the Minister of Housing in their sights, Isabel Rodriguezwho is accused of inaction in the face of the crisis. Representatives of the JSE and the PSOE of Madrid also attended the demonstration.
From JSE the focus was mainly on the PP and the rebellion of leaders such as Isabel Diaz Ayuso to not apply the Housing Law. Its general secretary, Víctor Camino, demanded “urgent solutions to lower rents” and warned that “renters and speculators are increasing their incomes thanks to the inaction of the PP at the regional level.”
But the JSE also want to put on the table internally “innovative but achievable solutions” to address the problem from the Government. “It is now. We must intervene. And we are going to ask for it in the PSOE Congress. A generation is waiting for us,” Camino himself stated a few days ago in reference to the position of the Bank of Spain, which defends the public intervention in rents.
“We urge the regulation of rents,” highlight the Socialist Youth
The JSE is still finalizing all the details of its proposals. But they already have clear objectives. One of them is to “penalize those who buy real estate for speculative purposes without the intention of putting it up for rent or sale.” Regarding rentals, the horizon is clear: “We urge the regulation of rents to prevent large funds and speculators from continuing to inflate prices in an excessive manner.”
Other measures proposed by the JSE have to do with the demand for “clear regulations that stop the uncontrolled expansion of tourist apartmentswhich is aggravating the lack of housing available for residents.” The creation of a public registry of empty homes to mobilize these properties and offer them for social rental is another of the ideas of the young socialists.
The youth organization also seeks that the PSOE supports its demand for young vote at 16 years old. The socialists have doubts about this measure. A few months ago the Socialist Parliamentary Group defended this right in Congress, but it was highlighted that it would be conditional “on an in-depth study by the Government.”
And, on the other hand, “to the creation of a subcommittee to reach a broader consensus regarding the age reduction“. This was reflected in the text agreed upon by the parties that make up the Government coalition: PSOE and Sumar. The No Law proposal (PNL) went ahead and reached Congress hand in hand with a Sumar proposal amended by the socialists. In 2022, the PSOE rejected an ERC bill that called for lowering the voting age.
Regulation of social networks
Another point of special interest for the JSE has to do with mental health in youth. For this reason, they defend the regulation of social networks to prevent these problems. The proposal is also reflected in a PNL that will be debated next Tuesday in Congress. The objective is “a regulation that guarantees that social network services are ethical, Avoid handling techniques and limit harmful characteristics“.
NLP also includes the “creation of new tools accessible in applications on digital detoxto be able to manage the content and the time spent in the application.” Likewise, young socialists consider that it is essential “to detect and combat the vulnerabilities that platforms take advantage of to capture the attention of users. users, especially younger people, to monetize their data.
The JSE are traditionally combative within the framework of the Federal Congresses. They usually present, for example, resolutions in support of opening the debate on the monarchy and in favor of a republican system. They did it in 2021 and everything indicates that they will do it again. During these years they have organized a series of meetings to debate a possible constitutional reform in this regard.